Back in the “old days”, customer service was carried out in one of two ways – either by telephone or face-to-face. If you wanted great customer service, you often had to show up in person when the opportunity was present. But it also wasn’t unusual to spend countless hours on the phone trying to solve a problem or get your point across. Sadly, this might still be the case with companies who haven’t yet figured out the secrets to good customer service.
Today, with technology at our beck and call, providing quality customer service for your clients should be so much easier than showing up at a service desk or being on hold forever. For companies that use all the IT tools at their disposal, good customer service is simple.
If you’re not sure you’re doing all you can to make your business’s customer service the best it can be, it’s a wise idea to take a look at your technology and make sure you’re using it to the best of your ability in order to serve your customers. Consider some of these options.
A variety of new ways to communicate
Email and web forms have been around for a few decades now and many companies still use them to communicate regarding customer service issues. But there are other options as well.
- Live chat – So much faster than waiting days for a return email or holding on the phone for hours waiting for a real person to answer, live chat is a very viable customer service option for many companies. It allows customers to get timely advice and support from someone knowledgeable about the product or service in question and often leads to a quick fix. When it doesn’t, customers are immediately referred to another department or individual who can help them.
- Remote support – This is generally used for issues with computer software or hardware. It uses technology to allow a support person to remotely connect to the customer’s device in order to detect and diagnose problems. It’s far less costly than having to send a technician to a physical location and much quicker as well.
- Self-help – End users of products and services can be given access to ways to help themselves solve problems. This could include things like how-to guides, common fixes, YouTube video guides, and more. This needs to be done well, however, or the customer could spend large amounts of time looking for the answer to their problems and may wind up getting angry and frustrated.
- Help from “super users” – Have you ever had a problem with a computer program or platform and have turned to the internet for help? Often, you’ll find other individuals who are familiar with the program/platform that are eager to help others who are experiencing difficulties. These are “super users”; individuals who’ve established an internet presence in order to assist others. They can be an integral part of customer service. So even though they’re not an “official part of your team, recognize them, label them, and ask them to participate in things like support forum posts or Q&As on your products.
- Deliver support through social media – Channels like Facebook or Twitter are great ways to deliver information and support. These channels are especially attractive to younger users and are convenient and super easy to access.
If you’re missing out on options such as those listed here, you may need to take a closer look at your support desk software, which may be outdated. With the right service management platforms, you can create a faster and more convenient customer support system, making it more likely that you’ll retain happy customers. At Stillwater IT, we’re eager to share our knowledge of customer/client support options and teach you how to use IT to streamline your customer service.
Don’t let technology hold you back. Let it propel you forward! Call us at 604-899-1105 to chat about new options for customer support or use our contact form, we’ll be here for all your other IT needs.