When interacting with partners or customers, business owners can “waste” a lot of time exchanging countless emails and phone calls. In most cases, these interactions involve payments, transactions, and sales-related details. However, you can work with the best vendors to create an enterprise client portal that enables safe and efficient collaboration between you.
Summary Customer portals improve customer loyalty They increase customer responsiveness Customer portals provide increased security They offer peer-to-peer support They save money ConclusionThe portal provides customers with access to the company information they need, such as invoices, policies, delivery information and enables online payments and orders. It also eliminates costly data entry and can be integrated with your business systems to automate the transfer of information in real time.
Here are some reasons why your business should use customer portals:
Making accurate and timely information available to customers and tailored to your customers' needs ensures that you are likely to retain it. Online forms that are centrally located in a customer's portal, such as support requests, contact us, quote requests, work orders, and quote acceptance, allow your customers to make deal more easily with your company than with your competitors. Instead of email newsletters, a shared news page on the customer portal keeps everyone up to date with important information.
Granting direct access to information and applications to customers improves your responsiveness and business flexibility. Customers can do what they need to do outside of business hours, when it's most convenient for them. Plus, working collaboratively with partners is easier because you can operate at the most convenient times. This saves time because you don't need long face-to-face meetings with staff. Everyone involved can log in to the client portal and carry out collaborative projects.
Among the benefits of a customer portal is the ability to provide secure platforms for your customers. Not only is the data secure, thanks to server encryption, you can also set access levels. This means that you grant some users greater access rights than others. This is a great option in areas where a hierarchical setup is needed, such as employees and managers or members and administrators.
Regardless of the services you offer, some users have more experience with your products. You can provide a platform for them to share advice, solve problems or help eradicate doubts. You can build a community for your customers through a portal as new users get support from existing customers. Therefore, your agents can focus on more complex questions and the most troublesome features. This way you can also collect valuable data and information that would otherwise be difficult to collect.
With a customer portal, you save time on repetitive tasks and use it to take care of other critical functions that increase sales for your business. Additionally, traditional communication channels such as phone calls, courier services, and postal letters cost money. Printing documents also translates into ink and paper costs.
With a customer portal, you eliminate these recurring costs. Although setting up the portal requires some upfront capital, especially when customized, it pays off in the long run as it is a one-time expense.
Having a customer portal is essential because customers and others find it a convenient way to communicate. It is empowering, efficient and faster than other solutions. Additionally, the business benefits from valuable insights into customer interaction with products and engaged users.
