Your new gadget didn’t arrive this morning from that big online retailer as promised, and you need to contact them. Where do you go first: a phone call? your laptop? Maybe less likely, text them? Ping them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram?
Customers shouldn’t need to know how your customer support channels work to get help. They don’t need to know that Twitter feeds into your help desk and that your chat channel offers self-service solutions using a friendly chatbot. Customers, in other words, aren’t interested in your omnichannel solutions. What customers need is to be able to get help easily, when they want it.
Consider all the different ways humans have come to rely on machines to expand their abilities. From calculators to cell phones, industrialization to robotics, humans have been able to achieve more than they ever have before, due to adopting machines. Machine learning is the next frontier in using machines to work more efficiently. And it’s particularly helpful in optimizing customer support. What is machine learning?
Social media is growing in popularity as a support channel. Customers love it because it allows them to get help right where they’re already spending time, and all companies should love it because it’s an excellent way to gain insights about your customers and cultivate brand loyalty. Paying attention to your customers on social media, also known as “social listening”, allows you to do a few key things that can help build lasting relationships with your customers.
What if there was one customer support channel that helped cut down the number of support tickets and delivered faster customer service, without relying on customer support staff? It exists — and it’s entirely powered by a network of users who volunteer their time and knowledge to help other users, building what’s known as a customer community.
For most companies, the largest segment of users are those who are on a trial or using the free version. In fact, as your company grows, your free user count will likely grow even faster than your paying customers do. But, every support interaction costs a company something, so as your customer base grows, how can you handle support for a group that doesn’t pay you anything for your product?
You know the value of helpdesk software, but it all comes down to allocating budget for your team. You’ll have to convince your boss to invest in a helpdesk software—or even better, show them how a helpdesk software can enable your support team to achieve more return on investment (ROI). We’ll show you how a helpdesk brings unique value to your support team, with lots of evidence to back it up. Your boss will be wondering why you haven’t invested in a helpdesk already.
The entire reason you created a business in the first place was probably to help a customer meet a need or solve a problem. Chances are, you designed your products and services for the same reason. 2You should operate in the same way. But most brands have lost sight of what’s truly important: the customer. If you don’t put your customer’s needs and issues above all else, you’ll have to deal with the consequences. And they’re not so sweet.
If you’re a sales professional, you’re likely sick and tired of external prospecting. Whether you’re soliciting in person or making outbound calls, it’s one of the most frustrating and time-consuming parts of the process. That’s why, when you receive an inbound call for information from a prospect, it’s a joyous occasion. One common mistake a lot of sales professionals make is assuming that an inbound call is a slam dunk can’t-miss sale. This is not the case.
Humans have always loved the idea of robots having feelings. Hollywood has cashed in on this affinity in multiple films, from making robots fall in love with each other, to an alternative dystopian future where robots are taught to feel, leading them to overpower humans. But even with such narratives, humans like it better when chatbots are taught more about feelings and made to assist them with empathy1.
Providing good customer service is an art. Typically, someone calling into a customer support department is already angry and frustrated with the services your company offers, and it is the job of a skilled customer support agent to diffuse that issue and help that customer leave satisfied and smiling. Blindly fumbling about or taking a one size fits all strategy toward the happiness of your customers is a perfect recipe for failure.
Gone are the days when artificial intelligence (AI) was a mere buzzword. Today, AI is transforming our lifestyle. AI enables machines to perform a myriad of tasks with minimal human interference. Whether in sales, marketing, or customer service, AI has revamped business processes. According to a recent Gartner report1, 55% of established companies have started making investments in AI or have prioritized it for their immediate plan of action.
All our activities, online and offline, leave an almost imperceptible electronic trail. Traffic cameras “see” you cross a junction around the same time each weekday, your phone lets your favorite coffee shop know when and how long you visit through their “free” Wi-Fi. The data collected by these devices or from our interactions with others tend to end up in a data archive somewhere, unused and unanalyzed.
