App customer service: Photo of a man putting a headset on while sitting at a computer.

Your much-anticipated Shopify app is officially live—now what? Planning and delivering an exceptional customer experience is an important first step in gaining the trust of your app users. Good app customer service is also a surefire way to step in where your FAQs may fall short.

The moments immediately after a user installs your app are a critical opportunity to identify your users, usher them towards implementation, and find ways to keep them engaged with your business long after they've installed your app (even if they've decided not to use your app at all).

We've gone through this process ourselves. Simplr is in the business of customer service, so when we developed our Shopify app, we knew that our app users would need to be treated with the same level of care that we provide for ecommerce businesses and customers. As is the case in all industries, excellent customer service hinges on quick response rates, all-around availability, and empathy.

To make sure we were providing that high level of customer service, and to build trust with our new app users, we built a post-install game plan for our app. Below, we look at four of the steps in that game plan, and how you can leverage them to build trust with your users and continue building your app business. Let's dive in.

1. Get notified when your Shopify app is installed

As we all know, ecommerce is a 24/7/365 industry. Installing a Shopify app is no exception. The best way to kick off a positive customer experience is to know when an install comes through, no matter the time of day. This can be accomplished by:

Keeping your app’s dashboard up at all times on desktop and mobile.
Setting up email alerts through your Shopify app page.
Connecting app activity to your team's Slack account via Zapier. This has been particularly helpful at Simplr, as all departments—sales, marketing, and development—are all in the loop.

Screenshot of a Zapier notification on Slack informing the app developer of a new install. Information includes, the online store URL, and the entrepreneur's name and contact information. — A Zapier notification on Slack informing us of a new install.

Armed with the information that a new install has occurred, you can then jump into action to welcome your new user aboard.

You might also like: How to Build a Shopify App: The Complete Guide.

2. Learn more about your user through an email sequence

Now that you know when an install (and therefore email address) comes through, the quickest and most effective way to reach out is through email. Triggering an email sequence at the time of install puts you at the forefront of the customer experience. The sequence can be set up via an inbound marketing platform such as Hubspot, or with your preferred email system.

The email should kick off with a "thank you for installing the app," followed by next steps and any follow-up questions you’d like to ask. Those can be links to self-onboarding, an attached PDF, or even a phone number to get started.

A sequence of three to five emails over the course of a couple weeks is ideal, as it keeps the customer engaged if they haven't had time to fully implement your app.

Here's a sample that we've used:

Hey Brett,

Just got your details, and now I'm doing my homework: I'm looking into [COMPANY NAME] to better understand how you do customer service, channels, and hours available today and if we may be able to help you reduce your response time while lowering your costs.

I'd love to learn more about your needs, do you have time over the next few days to set up a call? Feel free to let me know a few times that work or if you prefer, there's a link directly to my calendar in my email signature.

Until then!

There are a few benefits to this approach. By connecting through a personalized email like this, it:

Establishes your brand as friendly and helpful
Paves the way for a two-sided dialogue about the app and its functions, while the install is fresh on the mind of the customer
Provides an opportunity to touch base with potential customers on the verge of conversion
Helps to understand the intentions of the customer—has their store launched yet? Are their platforms fully compatible with your app?

You might also like: 9 Pro Tips to Create a Stellar App Customer Experience.

3. Be available on all channels

Part of delivering good customer service is being everywhere, all the time. We recommend making sure your app page clearly shows the many ways to get in touch, including:

Live chat window on your company's homepage
Social media accounts that are monitored closely
Phone number (note that it's important to make sure your company's phone number has an established phone tree path among all team members so no call is missed)
Email addresses for team members in various departments

The email contact on your app listing page should include specific names of members of your development team. This personalization can make users feel closer to your brand and more likely to reach out if they have a question or concern immediately after installing the app.

You might also like: From a Leap of Faith to Building New Futures: The Chatdesk Vision of Creating New Jobs.

4. Launch a nurture campaign for the ones that get away

There are instances where a merchant who installs your app doesn't turn into anything. Perhaps their store hasn't launched yet or their systems aren't compatible with your app. The good news is that these stores and their points of contact are now in your marketing ecosystems.

While your company is still fresh in a customer's mind, use the opportunity to send them a survey in an email sequence to figure out if and how they can be part of a longer-term marketing strategy. The survey can be as simple as a drop-down selection of pain points that are common among your target demographic, or a more comprehensive questionnaire about what technology their business is currently using.

Knowing more about their pain points and business can help dictate which marketing/content flows those people receive via email. You never know, they may come back as paying customers months (or years!) later.

You might also like: 5 Key Strategies to Improve Your App Support.

Help your customers adopt your app

Don't leave a customer stuck in the moments after they've installed your app. Acting quickly and with empathy will help move customers one step closer to your brand. This can be done by monitoring every app install that comes through, learning about your new customer through an email sequence, and nurturing the folks that installed the app, but didn't move forward with it.

What have you done to help your app's onboarding process? Let us know in the comments below!

Julia Luce