As per market research firm Forrester, 70 percent of consumers prefer using the company's website for getting answers to their queries rather than depending on customer support agents. This shows the growing importance of elements like FAQ section on an e-commerce website.
Online retailers generally focus of elements like informative product descriptions, HD images and easy navigation while designing the website. Optimization of 'Frequently Asked Questions' or FAQ section is often neglected by the online retailers. This happens because they believe that customer support through phone is sufficient for handling customer queries.
But in reality, not having an optimized FAQ section may impact the satisfaction levels of customers in present scenario.
Here are some important tips which will definitely help you in designing finest FAQ section for your website.
1.Do not put less than 5 questions
Having a FAQ section with less than 5 questions will give an idea to customers that you are not serious about helping the customers. It may also reflect that you have not done proper research related to general queries of the customers.
2.Keep the answers to the point
The attention span of online users is less and they prefer information in short and concise manner. Make sure to avoid long paragraphs which may confuse the readers. Also, use bullet points while writing answers in the FAQ section.
3.Put customer support numbers at the end of the page
A customer prefers getting help immediately in case a query is not cleared from FAQ section. Therefore, make sure that customers don't have to search the helpline numbers to get the queries resolved. You can ensure this by putting information of customer care services at the end of this page.
4.Make the FAQ page easy to find
You do not want customers to think that searching the FAQ section itself is a big challenge. Make sure to attach the link of this section on the Footer area of the website. You can also include the link of this page in the drop down menus which generally have the product categories of your retail store.
5.Forget promotions when it comes to FAQ page
Various online retailers do this mistake of promoting their product categories or specific item through 'Help' section which is completely a wrong practice. Make sure that all questions and answers on this section are dedicated only to resolve the queries so that customers can do the shopping conveniently.
6.Update the page immediately if there are changes in policy
You will never want a customer to leave your store due to outdated information mentioned on the webpages. Therefore, make sure that FAQ section is updated as soon as there is modification in the policies related to 'Shipping,' 'Return' and 'EMI' of your company.
7.Use customer support to process to analyze basic queries
You can take support of customer support agents to analyze the common issues faced by customers on regular basis. You can use this information to create or modify the 'Help' section which will ensure better satisfaction level to the customers. Various U.S. call centers can help in providing useful insights on general queries of the customers.
8.Integrate images and videos
Gone are those days when FAQ page was filled only with questions and answers in text format. The customer from present digital era loves visual elements when it comes to resolving their queries. Therefore, you can include screenshots, infographics or animated images on your website in the form of answers. If possible, you can also create and upload videos which can solve basic queries of the customers.
9.Categorize the questions under specific questions
Do not just leave the questions in this section uncategorized especially when there number is high. If the questions are scattered on the page, the customers may tend to waste a lot of time in searching the optimum one as per their query which may infuriate him/her. And this is the last thing you want for your business.
Therefore, make sure that different set of questions are divided into different categories. Some major categories include:
- Order Tracking
- EMI queries
- Warranty
- Return and Exchange
- Modes of payment
- Order Cancellation
- Refund policies
- Shipping and Product Delivery
10.Add relevant links in between the answers
Include suitable links in the answers to make sure that customers are able to reach the desired place instantly. For example, if a customer is going through 'Return and Exchange' section, make sure to include the link of the page where customer can immediately initiate the process of returning the project. This trick will also be beneficial from SEO point of view.
11.Enable 'Search' option for this section
There is possibility that due to multiple questions in 'Help' section, customers are unable to find specific answer. This issue can be tackled by including a 'Search' option in this section where customers can type keywords of the query to reach the specific question immediately.
Conclusion
A properly designed FAQ section using above mentioned techniques will not only provide convenience to the customers but will also act as stepping stone for the success of your online shopping website.