Why is customer support important to your business?
Dissatisfied customers can quickly damage a company's reputation. Therefore, customer engagement and loyalty are one of the important factors in the development of the company. By improving the quality of customer support, the company will receive satisfied and active customers who will stay with you and will also be able to bring new customers through their feedback and recommendations.
Previously, people made decisions based on the price of the product, now the decision is based on the overall impression of the company.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration 68% of users leave because they have encountered a negative experience of contacting support.
According to research, users take support actions to heart:
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92% want to be treated with respect.
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76% expect that the problem will never happen again.
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74% are waiting for an explanation why this happened.
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63% want to express what they think.
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62% expect an apology
What does the support service include?
Support usually includes chats on a website or app, phone support, and email requests. Most customers find it annoying to send them a support number in response to a call, as they find such communication not informative and not lively.
When, instead of answering a question, I receive a phone number, I feel a little offended, because I wanted to get an answer or a link to a solution to my problem, and not a number that I could find on the site myself.
Customer support must be personal. Each client should receive a one-to-one conversation with the company and not receive a heartless response with a name change.
Each client should feel their value, feel their involvement in the work of the company.
Features of support development
It is worth highlighting the key features of suppor:
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Response style
Which answer option do you prefer, whether your answer will contain a text description of 3-4 paragraphs of text, include links to the necessary documentation, or have a video with a response to a client's request.
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Answer tone
How formal should be communication with clients. Whether you will use a conversational or business tone. Should you use images, emoticons, or gifs in your answers?
In some cases, overly strict answers give the impression of being answered by a robot following its instructions.
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Answer quality
An important factor in this step is training operators to meet customer needs quickly and efficiently. Conduct trainings, meetings, so that each support operator clearly understands how to satisfy customer needs.
Make sure your operators are provided with all the software they need.
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Response speed
In ideal conditions, all customers want to communicate with a customer service representative in real time. But in the context of large companies, this is often impossible.
Think about what tools you could offer your customers while they wait for a support specialist.
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Omnichannel
Some users prefer to discuss the problem over the phone, someone wants to get an answer in the messenger or chat on the site.
It is important to support customers equally well across all communication channels.
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Process improvement
Your employees must clearly understand what to do during emergencies. It often takes a long time for a support employee to contact a manager or other employee to solve a problem. To avoid this, empower your support staff.
Customers not only shape the face of your company, but they can also be the source of ideas for your growth.