Two of the most important things that you can offer your customers are convenience and ease of use. They want to be able to receive your product or service in a timely fashion and they want the process to be as painless as possible. One of the ways you can do this is to offer some sort of self-service utility on your website.

Let’s face it. Most of us live, breathe, eat and sleep on the Internet, so for many customers, it can be much more useful to place an order or adjust account details online rather than over the phone with a customer service representative. While there are certainly initial costs in setting up your online utility, these are quickly recouped through the savings you’ll gain through the reduced need for phone- and mail-based customer service.

Many different industries and types of businesses can benefit from the practice of online self-serve. Courier companies, for instance, can allow customers to book pickups and dropoffs via an online tool. Similarly, some pizza places let you order your dinner online, possibly even pre-paying via credit card so you don’t have to pay the delivery person when they arrive.

If you are looking for a way to improve your customer service experience, one of the better (albeit somewhat ironic) ways to do this is to offer an online alternative to your standard phone-based interaction. Just make sure your online tool is intuitive and easy to use.