One aspect of the internet that can be real trap for your customers is that it can be a very impersonal form of communication. One way to overcome this, to a degree, is to utilize automated responses on your website. This means that whenever someone contacts you or places an order, an automated message is sent to them, thanking the customer for their business and advising them of the status of their order.
Amazon.com are very big advocates of this form of customer service. Whenever you make a purchase from this company you will receive an e-mail confirming that the order was received, a confirmation number and an approximate shipping date. You are then advised of when the package has been shipped and the approximate arrival date. The next e-mail that comes through thanks you for making a purchase from Amazon.com.
While all of the above is fully automated, you can't help but be impressed by both the accuracy and timing of the follow-up. Someone has put a lot of thought into the after-sales contact for this company.
Automated responses can be used in a variety of situations, but they all work the same way. When a customer carries out a particular action on your site, they will receive a follow-up e-mail, sent out at a time determined by you.