Customer support is currently standing at a crossroads: One road leads to exciting automated technologies, and the other to the ‘human touch’. Recent technological advancements are many, ranging from Artificial Intelligence (AI) (and related automated tools like virtual assistants, chatbots, etc.) to real-time messaging, simulation, self-service and crypto-currency. These technological breakthroughs point toward a future with remarkable changes in the customer service landscape. Despite these advancements, the human element still rules as the best way to deliver efficient customer support. Human agents make informed judgments and offer personability, both highly desired traits in the CS ecology. In fact, the success of new support technologies is ultimately based on how efficiently they are able to assist humans working on the front lines.
Tag Archives: customer support
Every time a customer comes in contact with your brand, whether it’s in-store or online, each interaction is a touch point that contributes to the customer experience. Consumers are demanding more, and their choices are ever expanding, which means that better service will lead to greater customer loyalty.
Here are 5 customer service mistakes that are negatively effecting your support operations.
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Which social channels do you turn to for customer support? Twitter? Facebook? Maybe even a direct message on Instagram? Over the years, social media has taken a minimalist approach to B2C support. But despite its architecture, social media remains a hot spot for customer service. In recent years, Twitter has undoubtedly become a key player; 80% of customer service requests on social media happen here, and the cost per resolution is 1/6th that of resolving through a call center. Additionally, Bain & Company found that when companies use social media to actively engage customers on service-related issues, those customers will spend 20% to 40% more on average with that company.
As other social platforms catch up to the customer service game, time is of the essence to perfect your social support strategy.
Here are 5 things to keep in mind when handling customer support on social media: Continue reading
What’s driving the enormous interest in chat bots right now? A year after Facebook’s launch of its bot platform (which TechCunch called “the new app store”) it now has 33,000 bots. Competing platforms have high numbers too: 19,000 for Kik and 10,000 for Line.
Most impressive – to me, at least – is the number of companies that have invested in bots as a new channel for customer service. This early adoption is uncharacteristic. I certainly applaud the willingness to experiment with an unproven new channel. But I’m puzzled by the eagerness, especially compared to the slow uptake we saw with social media, chat and other channels by the same companies. Have they learned from those experiences and decided to be more aggressive this time? Or is something else going on? Continue reading
Right now, the only news story you’ll see about Twitter is speculation who will acquire the $16B company. (Latest rumor: it’s Disney or Microsoft.) Twitter hasn’t seen the user growth investors expected and, as a public company, its fortunes are at the mercy of those expectations. (Even though those expectations aren’t always reasonable or relevant.)
Regardless, the company hasn’t stopped evolving its product. Lost in the buy-out chatter was an announcement that, I think, is quite significant: The introduction of specialized “customer service accounts”. This is the second time this year that Twitter has shown it recognizes its unique advantages in this area. It is willing to adapt to the needs of customers and companies who use it as a support channel and that could prove more valuable in the long-run, than all of its current schemes to goose ad revenue. Continue reading
The burning questions for the customer service industry today are which channels of communication are currently most relevant, and which will be most relevant down the road. In recent months, the discussion has centered around Facebook Messenger and other messaging channels.Many people are debating whether any of these platforms (Messager, Snapchat, Kik, Line, etc) can “win” the B2C communication platform war. (See here, here or here.) The fact that WeChat has seemingly “won” China, and achieved near dominance of online customer service, adds fuel to this fire. (My take on that: Will the WeChat Model Work in the West?)
Then Facebook opened Messenger to automation, i.e. “Chatbots”, and the fire went supernova. (The role of bots in customer service is the topic of a live online discussion we’re hosting next week with a great panel of experts. Register here to join the Google Hangout.)
Lost in all this glare has been Twitter, which continues to be a powerful – and popular – channel for customers to interact with businesses. This is somewhat puzzling because, on the surface, it’s not really well-suited for this purpose. What’s the secret to Twitter’s enduring popularity as a customer service channel? Continue reading
You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back towards the technology, not the other way around. – Steve Jobs
The invention of brand new experiences that your customers can fall in love with is no easy task, I mean, even the greatest of visionaries struggle. Sometimes we need a little help in the inspiration department to get our creative juices flowing. That’s why we’ve scoured the interwebs to find out where you can find visually and verbally stimulating content for some serious CX brainstorming. From quizzes, to infographics, to motivational quotes, here’s our list of places to find your CX inspiration and bring them to life. Continue reading
Is social customer service a critical part of your call center? If so, how do you provide excellent support using social media? So many call centers managers ask themselves these questions and wonder how they can guide their agents to successfully deliver support over these channels.
Social networks provide businesses with the opportunity to respond to customer comments and rectify their complaints instantly. Because of this, it’s important for customer service agents to be present, active and alert on these channels.
If you’re looking for ways to improve customer support on social media, look no further. In our latest video we cover 3 foolproof ways to set your agents up for success.
Take a look… Continue reading
Have you ever thought about the type of customer feedback you could draw from a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey, or wondered what a good NPS should look like? If so, The Zendesk Customer Service Benchmark Report is sure to have the answers you’re looking for.
This report is based on actual customer service interactions from more than 25,000 companies, across 140 countries. It measures key metrics around customer self-service, customer support, and customer engagement. Continue reading
The study of customer experience is a rapidly developing field. More and more companies are realizing that delivering a good customer experience is no longer optional. Rather, it is essential for maintaining a competitive advantage.
But what are the best practices? What studies are the most credible? Unfortunately, the internet is awash in questionable data and flimsy advice about “delighting your customers”. (I’ve started cringing when I hear that phrase.)
One of the best ways to cut through the noise is to find a group professionals in the field and learn from them. Luckily, social media makes that easy. Below is a list of 10 thought leaders in the space of customer experience that we recommend following, if this is an area of interest to you.
We certainly appreciate and value the quality info they crank out and the expertise they share.
