What is customer support?
Customer Support is a process of quick and effective solving any problems that customers face with through chats and social networks, mobile communications and email.
What is the purpose of companies seeking to provide qualitative customer support?
Companies’ aim is to learn what users think about the support they receive because finding new clients is usually more complicated and more expensive than supporting existing or regular customers.
Briefly speaking, business exists because of the profit, and to remain profitable and be able to grow, it needs a strong trusting relationship with customers. A satisfied and happy audience will bring more profit to the company to which it appeals. Building the same relationship falls to sympathetic support team members.
Why does it matter?
If the reasons described above are not enough, let me tell you why the following quote is correct.
The quality of service is the new standard by which customers judge the quality of the product.
William Bend
Strategic Management Practice, Coopers & Lybrand Consulting Group (Торонто).
People used to purchase products or services based on the value-to-quality ratio of a product or services. Nowadays a person primarily draws his attention to a company's interaction with users and their feedback. Will you substitute a product yourself being aware that previous customers were treated affably and sympathetically, and their problems were successfully solved?
These arguments are supported by analysts of the U.S. Small Business Administration, who found out that 68% of customers stop using a company's services if they have got negative experience with customer support. Thus, the quality of support decides for the user whether to purchase the product or not.
How to provide qualitative support to customers?
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Choose happiness of customers as the main purpose of the company's work.
If all employees are interested in satisfying thier customers, the teamwork will be synchronized and will be aimed at reducing the percentage of clients who are dissatisfied with any stage of work.
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Train operators.
Each support agent has got a responsibility to know how to meet audience needs and how to interact with them. According to MIT Sloan research, 92% of respondents want to be treated with respect.
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Respond to customer calls as quickly as possible.
The customer always strives to find a solution quickly. 66% of adults believe that there is no company more valuable than the one that knows how precious time is.
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Establish a cross-platform support.
Customers should be able to communicate seamlessly with your support operators, no matter what device a client has got. The team should be prepared to respond to incoming requests via mobile phone, email, social media, and any other communication channel your customers prefer. Providing omni-channel communication reduces the possibility of stressful situations and makes the service more accessible to customers.
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Conduct surveys, analyze customer feedback.
Rather than assuming that you know what your customers want, reach out to them through surveys and find out their opinion. Customer feedback on the support service will show the effectiveness of the tools you use. These tools will improve the customer experience.
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Give customers the opportunity to help themselves.
About 50% of consumers prefer to solve problems on their own, and this can be used to provide high-quality service. There are so-called knowledge bases, which are category-divided articles with answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ).
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Seek for a creative solution.
Finding a unique solution will not only pleasantly surprise the client, but will also demonstrate the tenacity and determination of the support team in providing assistance. Establishing self-service resources will put your team on a par with the best support services.
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Set goals and reach them.
Formulate specific and measurable goals. For example, “reduce the number of support requests by 5%”. Determine the timing of their achievement and track progress. Make sure the support team goals are not at odds with the company's main goals.
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Keep on tracking performance indicators.
The most common indicators are the level of Client Satisfaction (CSAT) and the Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Customer experience is a memory. An impression that can leave a mark on his memory for a minute or for a few years. Positive experiences can lead to a long and lasting relationship. The bad promises their instant break and the possibility of losing your company’s reputation.