Outstanding customer service is essential for Etsy shop growth. Besides offering a high-quality product that blows away the competition, you should make your customers a number one priority.
From the moment a visitor gets to your listing and your store, the journey begins. Your goal is to ensure that the buyer’s journey runs smoothly. It’ll result in a happy customer at the end of the day.
We’ll start with listing optimization, and we’ll talk about your shop’s policy, communication, and service effectiveness. We’ve also included a couple of message examples that’ll help you nail a conversational tone with your customers.
Let’s dive in!
Focus on the Buyer’s Journey from the Start
Customer service starts from the moment a buyer comes across your Etsy listing. It’s essential to get things right from the start. That means presenting clean photos and detailed product descriptions.
Invest Time in Making Quality Photos
Good photos are everything in the eCommerce world. They directly impact your conversion rates. The better photos you have, the likelier it is the customer is going to buy from you. Starting your customer service off on a great foot.
Unlike with retail shopping, a buyer can’t pick up a product and take a closer look at it. Your photos are the best thing the visitor has.
Therefore, use them to showcase your product from all angles. Make sure there’s enough light, and the photos are clear. Also, throw in a couple of photos that’ll depict the product’s size compared to other everyday items.
If you want to explore more about product photography, we’ve prepared a guide for you. You can also take great photos with your smartphone.
Write Relevant Descriptions
After seeing your photos, the next thing the potential buyer will explore is the listing description. It should go over all the relevant details about the product. Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to answer the following questions:
- What’s the material used for making the item?
- What are the dimensions and product’s weight?
- What are the crucial features of the product?
- What are the technical specifications (it will depend on product type)
- Is it a handmade item? Make sure to remind your buyer that it is!
Providing information that answers these questions will help your visitors get a realistic idea of their buying. It’ll positively affect your overall customer service impression.
With the help of our Listing Helper tool, you can quickly see what you could do to improve your Etsy listing.
State the Essentials in Your Shop Policy
When the visitor stops by your shop, it’s only a matter of time before they explore your shop’s policy. Etsy has several sections that you should fill out. Why’s that important? So, the visitor can check out the essential rules.
It shows how professional you are, especially if you include all the details about the purchasing process.
Your Etsy shop should include the following details.
Shipping Policies
Sit down and figure out how much time you would need to ship your products. That’s an essential piece of information to share with your shop’s visitors.
Additionally, you need to specify the details about shipping time. Don’t forget that you’re making an estimation. Therefore, take into account both the slow and fast delivery times.
The majority of online buyers want to know when they can expect the product to arrive. They’ll appreciate this information being in your online shop’s policy.
Payment Options
The store’s policy section is the perfect place to declare what payment methods you support. In most cases, if you’re working with Etsy Payments, you can accept a wide range of payment methods.
In case you’re from a territory where it’s not supported, you can offer PayPal to your customers.
Whichever the case, you should include what payment methods you provide. It’ll help customers navigate through the buying process more easily.
Returns Policies
Offering returns can increase the level of trust between you and your customer. When setting up a store, you’ll have two options available. You can either opt for accepting returns or not accepting returns.
There are a couple of exceptions for those who have shops based in the EU. They are subject to the EU consumer rights regulations.
If you opt to offer returns or exchanges, you can specify time frames during which customers can reach out to you or ship the items back. Furthermore, you can pick products that are exceptions to this rule.
Privacy Policy
You’ll have to take some time to write your store’s privacy policy. It needs to be compliant with different territories. For example, the EU’s GDPR has specific privacy policy requirements.
Here’s an Etsy Privacy Policy Generator that’ll quickly set you up with your own Etsy shop privacy policy.
Additional Information
You have a “More information” section in your shop’s description. Get creative and share something about your store that visitors will find helpful.
You can always make an FAQ section and answer some additional questions you’ve received from your previous customers.
Filling out the shop policy is the best way of being transparent about your services. It sets the ground rules for your shop and your customer service.
Communicate Clearly and Politely
Your communication will largely determine how the customers perceive you. While being relaxed is a good approach, it’s essential to remain polite at all times.
When you address your customers, you always need to be:
- Polite - Your customers will appreciate the respect you are showing.
- Resourceful - Have all your bases covered when it comes to your shop. Have an answer always ready for your customer.
- Honest - Always be honest in your communication. If you lie, it’ll immediately show. If the mistake is on your part, simply apologize and maximize your efforts to correct the error.
- Concise - While respecting all of the above, make sure you are to the point. The last thing you want is for your customers to feel like reaching out to you has been a waste of time.
If you’re wondering how your communication should look like, here are a couple of examples.
Delayed order
If your customer is reaching out regarding a late delivery, you can send something like this:
Hey [Customer],
I’m sorry your order is taking so long to arrive! Your order has shipped, however, and is currently in-transit with USPS so you should receive it within the next few days.
Here is the tracking number: [insert USPS tracking number]
According to it, your order is due to arrive on [insert the new estimated arrival date]. Please accept my apologies again for the inconvenience and let us know if there’s anything else I can do to assist you.
Thanks.
Kind regards,
[your name]
Damaged Item Response
Unfortunately, there’s always a chance of products being damaged in transportation. You should prepare for these kinds of situations. A response such as this one would be perfect.
Hi [Customer],
I’m very sorry your order arrived damaged! We do our best to package our products securely with the highest quality packaging materials. But unfortunately, sometimes things do still get damaged during the shipping process.
I will get a replacement item shipped out to you asap and make sure to send it priority.
Please feel welcome to contact me if there is anything else I can do for you.
Thanks,
[Your name]
Wrong item delivered
Sometimes mistakes occur and the best approach is to own it:
Hi [Customer],
I’m very sorry for the mix-up and any inconvenience it has caused! I do my best to get our orders right 100% of the time. But unfortunately, mistakes can sometimes occur. I’ll get the correct item shipped out to you asap and make sure to send it priority.
Please accept my apologies again and let me know if there’s anything else we can assist you with.
Thanks.
Kind regards,
[your name]
Shipping Address Update Response
It sometimes occurs that people make orders for the wrong address. Etsy has no system to change this in the order settings. You can either change it when printing the label or refund the order and request the customer to repurchase the product.
Your response could sound something like this:
Hello [Customer],
Thank you for letting me know about the new shipping address. I’ve changed the delivery address on my end and I’ll make sure it gets delivered to your new address. Once your order has been shipped, you’ll receive a tracking number with an estimated delivery date.
Please note that the address will not match the Etsy invoice and the address registered in Etsy’s system.
Thanks.
Kind regards,
[your name]
Thanking Customers for Feedback
Sooner or later, you’ll likely receive some feedback from your customers. Your response should always be polite, even if the feedback is negative.
Here’s an example:
Hi [Customer],
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review. I’m happy to hear that you liked the [order placed]
We hope to see you again soon!
Kind regards,
[your name]
These examples serve to give you an idea of how you could contact your customers. Don’t forget to add emojis to your messages. It helps translate intent, as all too often, the tone of text can be misinterpreted. Also, you can rely on Saved Replies in Messages. Here’s an Etsy guide on how to do it.
Be Quick to Resolve Service Challenges
While communicating politely and making realistic promises is a great start, remember that actions deliver results. From the moment the customer gets in touch and requests assistance, do your best to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
No matter if it’s a lost package or any other issue with the product, make sure your customer feels heard and that you’re on their side.
Stay Committed to Building Relationships
Customer service does not stop after you’ve made the sale and everything’s finished. You can nurture relationships with those who’ve decided to buy from you.
Given how popular social media is, you can leverage them to build a community around your Etsy shop.
Organize special discounts and offer promo codes to your followers. It’s one of many ways to get reviews of your Etsy shop.
Final Thoughts
If you want to get your customer service through the roof, reach out to us!
Our tool packs a range of features that’ll help you optimize your listings, rank better, and remind you to send follow-ups to your customers.
