Customer support is a broad term, describing the agents, teams, departments, and tools that are responsible for providing assistance and solutions to help ensure that customers are successful in resolving any issues they may encounter with an organization's products or services.
Regardless of your industry, regardless of the products or services you offer, your business' success depends on your ability to meet customer expectations. Customer support plays a pivotal role in achieving this, encompassing any assistance provided by your organization to ensure that your customers' inquiries, concerns, and issues are being addressed promptly and effectively. The support you provide your customers defines their experience and can make a crucial difference in turning a potentially negative encounter into an opportunity to build better customer relationships.
To accomplish this goal, your organization must be capable of reducing the amount of effort a customer must invest when seeking support from your organization. By streamlining the experience and meeting customers how and where they are most comfortable, organizations of all sizes and in all markets can more effectively provide the support their customers desire.
As such, improved customer support is an important competitive differentiator, crucial to achieving effective customer experience management.
Here, we discuss customer support—what it is, what challenges it faces, and how you can ensure that your business is using it to provide an exceptional experience for your patrons
At its most basic, customer support describes the services, tools, actions, or strategies designed to help customers resolve any issue with a specific product or service. Customer support may include everything from original planning and installation, to training, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
Contact centers often play a vital role in customer support. When a customer encounters a problem with the product or needs further direction on how to use it correctly, they may opt to contact trained support personnel via the company’s contact center. The customer calls in using their phone and is able to speak one-on-one with a support agent. The agent can then walk the customer through the troubleshooting process and help them find a solution.
Other customer support channels may include the following:
- Social media
- Messaging apps
- Live chat
- Chatbots
- Forums/message boards
- On-page support widgets
- Online self service
Each option provides certain advantages in reach, availability, usability, and communication effectiveness. Successful businesses tend not to limit their customer support options to just one or two channels; multi-channel support ensures that wherever your customers are and however they prefer to reach out, you will be waiting for them and ready to help. Omni-channel support takes this interaction even further, connecting all available service channels and allowing agents to freely share relevant information to promote a more seamless customer experience.
Before the advent of the digital age and the introduction of global online ordering, customers were effectively limited to those businesses that were located nearby. Most people would purchase locally, and when they encountered problems with the product or service, they would simply return to the shop and speak with someone there.
But as larger businesses expanded to include more locations, it became clear that the need for customer support was growing too. At the same time, new communication technologies—such as the telephone—made it possible for customers to call into stores directly to find solutions to their problems.
The first call centers began to appear in the 1960s, offering a more efficient way for businesses to manage customer support at scale. The advent of toll-free numbers helped solidify call centers as the preferred approach to customer support. Then, through the 70s, 80s, and 90s new technologies further revolutionized customer support. Interactive voice responses (IVR) and phone trees made limited self-service a possibility, and help desks—backed by on-site computer software—allowed agents to quickly retrieve customer-relevant information. The emergence of home internet technology brought with it email and eventually live chat support options. Finally, the 2000s introduced wide-spread availability of mobile smart devices and increasing AI and automation capabilities further revolutionized digital support and introduced new customer-support channels (such as social media, live chat, and extensive self-service options).
Today, we are living in a golden age of customer support. However, as support options and capabilities expand, the line between customer service and customer support is starting to blur.
There is a lot of overlap between customer support and customer service. Both play an essential role in the customer experience. Both depend on reliable communication. Both have an impact on customer retention and customer loyalty. But customer service and support are not the same.
Customer service
Customer service is a blanket term that encompasses most interactions between a business and its customers. It includes every action that you take, and every resource you provide, to help ensure that customers’ expectations are being met and that they are enjoying a positive customer experience. It’s the assistance and advice you provide to those who are interested in doing business with you.
Customer experience is not a one-and-done task; it begins with the first contact between your business and a prospective lead and continues throughout the entirety of the customer relationship—even beyond the finalization of a purchase.
Customer support
If you think of customer service as an umbrella covering the full range of customer-facing tasks, then customer support is a subset that sits under this umbrella. It also plays a role in meeting customer expectations and promoting a positive customer experience, but it is most focused on providing solutions to customer problems.
Customer support is more short-term than customer service, with clearly defined beginnings and endings. Generally, the customer support process begins when a customer experiences a problem that they are unable to solve. They reach out to the business through an available support channel in the hopes of finding a solution. Either with the help of a support agent or through self-service support resources, the customer finds a solution to their problem, effectively bringing the customer-support relationship to a close—until the next time they need assistance.
In creating a customer support strategy, you will need to define several key features. Addressing these points early in your planning will help you stay on track and provide a consistently positive experience for your customers. Here are several key features to consider:
- Approach
How will you approach customer support? Will you focus on one-on-one conversations where your agents walk customers through potential solutions? Or will you take a more comprehensive, but less personalized approach and simply direct customers towards informative resources?
Both options carry their own advantages and disadvantages and may be more or less appropriate depending on your business and customer base. - Voice
The tone of voice you use in communicating with your customers can have a substantial impact on their overall experience. Your agents should be friendly and informed, but how casual or formal they are depends on how you would like to present your brand. - Quality / speed
Although every business should strive to provide the highest quality support as quickly as possible, you may find that your industry or your audience values one of these traits over the other.
Determine early in your planning stages which is more important. If quality is a bigger concern, then hiring a smaller, but better trained support team will help ensure that customers enjoy comprehensive solutions. On the other hand, if your customers are more interested in a fast response and quick turnaround, hiring a larger team can help make that a reality.
Ideally, you would want a large support team made up of knowledgeable, skilled individuals. But if you lack the resources to field such a team, first concentrate on ensuring you can provide either a fast or quality experience, and then supplement your choice with automation and other support tools.
- Availability
When will you provide dedicated service? Will you limit support to traditional office hours, or will you make sure that there is someone available to provide support at any time of the day, on any day of the year? - Process
There will be times when your customer support department encounters problems of its own. At the same time, even routine events will require defined processes to ensure that they go smoothly. Defining your emergency and non-emergency processes, including who has the authority to make critical decisions, will help ensure that your support team remains effective as you scale your business. - Training plays
a pivotal role in building an effective customer support department. Support agents require the right education and resources to effectively represent your company and assist customers in resolving problems. Through comprehensive training programs, agents gain product knowledge, communication skills, problem-solving techniques, familiarity with various support tools
Although customer service may encompass a broader definition, customer support has become at least as important to business success. This is partly thanks to customer support functioning as a last line of defense against a negative customer experience. Thus, the more complex the product or service, the more support customers require. Likewise, the more challenges those customers face, the worse they view the overall experience.
Today’s customer expectations are higher than ever before. Customers are informed, self-assured, and are aware that they have many other options when it comes to doing business. At the same time, modern customers are accustomed to having their problems solved and their concerns addressed quickly, expecting instant gratification when they reach out for support. And when the organizations fail to meet these expectations, customers are not shy about sharing their story, potentially causing reputational damage that extends well beyond the original customer relationship.
When your customers encounter a problem, they look to your support channels to help make it right. If you can solve their problem in a fast, convenient, and friendly way, then they are more likely to view your company positively. They will be more willing to do business with you in the future and may refer you to friends and associates.
In other words, customer support is a crucial opportunity to turn potentially damaging issues into positive support experiences. It is also a chance to identify and address the root causes of customer support issues, creating an improved experience for those who come after.
Business growth depends on a variety of factors, but at its core, it is all about customers. Happy, engaged customers will spend more and do business with you for longer. At the same time, companies depend on candid customer feedback to improve products and inform future decisions.
Effective customer support provides for these needs. It offers a means to meet expectations and engage customers when they need it most and collect honest evaluations and criticisms to help drive innovation.
One of the primary challenges support departments face is that they are responsible for inheriting and resolving negative experiences. Customers who contact the support team may already be unhappy. It is up to the support department to not only resolve their issues, but to do so in a way that creates an overall positive experience.
Dealing with unhappy or angry customers while salvaging the customer relationship can be an uphill battle. It demands patience, empathy, and an in-depth understanding of your business and your products. It also demands the right tools and support software.
Other customer support challenges include the following:
Challenge: Long resolution times can be frustrating for customers, causing dissatisfaction and eroding trust in your business. Waiting for extended periods means greater effort on the part of the customer, which is compounded when a customer is forced to reach out multiple times before a resolution can be found. This can be particularly problematic when customers are facing urgent or critical issues that require immediate attention. Long wait times and a lack of first-call resolutions can lead to customer frustration, result in negative word of mouth, and eventually impact your organization's reputation. This can be particularly problematic when customers are facing urgent or critical issues that require immediate attention.
Solution: Implement a streamlined support process. Provide training to empower agents to resolve issues promptly on the first call. Utilize automated ticket routing to connect customers with the most appropriate agents for quicker solutions.
Challenge: A customer who has gone through an automated system or spoken with an agent and is then transferred expects the new agent to be up to speed on the problem. Unfortunately, when different agents across multiple channels lack access to real-time customer information, customers may be forced to explain their situation multiple times.
This can be a very frustrating experience for customers. Businesses should strive for a unified customer support system, breaking down silos and ensuring that everyone involved has access to the same up-to-date information.
Solution: Implement a unified customer support system that centralizes customer information. Use customer service management (CSM) software to ensure agents have instant access to previous interactions, enabling them to continue the conversation seamlessly.
Challenge: A multi-channel approach to customer support will help ensure that your business is available when and where customers need you. However, managing multiple channels can be a daunting prospect. Agents need support software that is capable of handling all available channels via a single platform, allowing them to provide true omni-channel service.
Solution: Employ an integrated support platform that covers all channels. This ensures consistent service quality across various channels, allowing agents to switch between them effortlessly.
Challenge: Prioritizing customer support tickets can be difficult, particularly given that every customer tends to view their own issues as the most important. Intelligent automation can help agents effectively prioritize cases based on relevant factors, ensuring the most crucial issues are being addressed first, without letting lower-priority cases fall through the cracks.
Solution: Utilize intelligent automation to analyze and categorize incoming tickets. Implement a priority system that factors in issue severity and customer impact, ensuring urgent cases are addressed promptly while maintaining overall efficiency.
Customer support agents serve as the frontline representatives of your business, providing assistance, resolving issues, and building relationships with your customers while creating a seamless customer experience. To do this effectively, successful agents take on a range of responsibilities, including:
- Replying to email requests and questions
Customer support agents are responsible for promptly responding to customer email inquiries and requests. They should provide clear and concise answers, addressing customer concerns and offering appropriate solutions while presenting a friendly, helpful, and positive attitude. - Engaging in Live Chat for customer requests
Customer support agents engage in real-time conversations through Live Chat platforms to address customer requests, provide instant assistance, and guide customers through their concerns or issues. - Managing, triaging, assigning, and working on cases
Customer support agents handle incoming cases, categorize them based on priority or complexity, assign them to appropriate team members, and personally work on resolving cases when necessary. They ensure that each case receives proper attention and timely resolution. - Educating customers on how to use your products or services
When customers reach out for support, customer support agents are responsible for interacting them using clear terminology to educate them on how to effectively use the products or services. They provide step-by-step guidance, troubleshooting potential problems, and clarify any confusion the customer may have. - Advising customers on company, product, or service information
Customer support agents act as a valuable source of information about your company, its policies, and its products and services. They advise customers on features, functionalities, pricing, and other relevant details to help them make informed decisions. - Understanding the product or service inside and out
Customer support agents must possess in-depth knowledge relevant to the product or service. To achieve this, they continuously improve their knowledge of the latest updates, features, and improvements, allowing them to provide accurate and comprehensive assistance. - Suggesting solutions tailored to customers’ needs
Customer support agents analyze customers' requirements, goals, and challenges to suggest appropriate solutions tailored to their specific needs. They listen actively, ask relevant questions, and offer personalized recommendations. - Working with customers until they feel their issue is resolved
Customer support agents demonstrate persistence and dedication by working closely with customers until their issues are fully resolved. They follow up, provide progress updates, and ensure customers' satisfaction before closing a case. - Delivering a seamless customer experience to build brand trust and loyalty
Customer support agents strive to deliver a seamless and positive customer experience at every interaction. They ensure consistency across channels, employ active listening skills, show empathy, and go the extra mile to build trust, foster loyalty, and enhance the brand image.
To effectively address customer needs, resolve issues, and provide exceptional service, customer support agents require a diverse skillset. Essential customer support skills include:
- Communication
Strong communication skills are essential for customer support agents. Agents must be able to convey information clearly and concisely, while also actively listening to customers and adapting their communication style to suit specific individuals with varying degrees of user experience. Effective communication builds trust, resolves conflicts, and ensures mutual understanding.
- Product expertise
In-depth knowledge of the product or service being supported is crucial. Customer support agents should possess comprehensive product expertise to address customer queries, offer accurate guidance, and demonstrate credibility. Product expertise instills customer confidence and facilitates efficient issue resolution. - Problem solving
Customer support agents must be skilled problem solvers, able to analyze customer issues, identify root causes, and devise effective solutions quickly. Strong problem-solving abilities enable agents to think critically, troubleshoot complex situations, and find resolutions that meet customer needs. - Empathy
Empathy is vital for understanding and relating to customers' emotions and experiences. Customer support agents should empathize with customers' frustrations, concerns, and challenges, showing compassion and care. Empathy creates a positive connection, enhances the customer experience, and builds trust and loyalty. - Mental resilience and patience
Customer support can be demanding and challenging. Agents need mental resilience to handle difficult customers, manage high workloads, and remain calm under pressure. Patience is crucial in dealing with complex issues, ensuring thorough problem resolution and maintaining professionalism
To efficiently manage customer support operations and enhance customer experiences, businesses employ various types of customer support software. Each software serves a specific purpose and helps streamline support processes. The following are some common types of customer support software:
- VoIP phone software
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone software allows customer support agents to handle phone calls using internet connectivity. This makes possible features like call routing, call recording, and call analytics, enhancing communication efficiency and providing a seamless phone support experience. - Helpdesk ticketing software
Helpdesk ticketing software organizes and tracks customer support requests by generating and managing tickets within the helpdesk system. Proper ticketing ensures that customer queries are appropriately categorized, prioritized, assigned, and resolved. Helpdesk software promotes collaboration among support agents and provides insights into support performance. - Central email support
Central email support software consolidates and manages customer inquiries received via email. This software helps organize incoming emails, routes them to the appropriate support agents or departments, and ensures timely responses and resolutions. Central email support software streamlines email communication, reducing response times and increasing customer satisfaction. - Surveys
Survey software enables businesses to gather feedback and opinions from customers. By conducting surveys, organizations gain valuable insights into customer satisfaction levels, identify areas for improvement, and gauge customer preferences. Survey software helps in measuring customer sentiment and fine-tuning support strategies. - Knowledge base
Knowledge base software serves as a centralized repository of customer-facing information, including FAQs, guides, tutorials, and troubleshooting resources. It allows customers to access self-service support to find answers to common queries independently. Knowledge base software empowers customers and reduces the need for agent intervention. - Live chat software
Live chat software facilitates real-time conversations between customers and support agents using online messaging software. Live chat offers instant assistance, enables file sharing and screen sharing, and helps agents address customer queries promptly. This enhances customer engagement, fosters quick issue resolution, and provides a personalized support experience, even when customers may not want to speak with an agent directly. - Social media software
Social media software assists in managing customer support on various social media platforms. This software allows businesses to monitor social media mentions, respond to customer comments and messages, and address issues publicly. Social media software makes it possible to provide timely and proactive support while managing your brand's online presence.
By adhering to a handful of best practices, most organizations can build a customer-support strategy capable of addressing almost any issue that may come its way.
Defining your level of support
- At the core of your customer support strategy, you will need to determine exactly how extensive your support offering is going to be. Will you make your support team available 24/7, or will they only be available during regular office hours? Will you offer worldwide support across multiple time zones and languages, or will you restrict support options to your local area? How will you define service levels, either formally or informally, and how will you track adherence to them? Will you provide asynchronous support by blending human agent interactions with self-service and automation?
- The level of support you choose to offer should be based upon the needs of your customers and the capabilities of your business. Also, be aware that those two factors may change; you might not need a French-language support option today, but you might tomorrow if your business expands to include other parts of the world.
- Go beyond CRM
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools are effective for tracking and recording interactions, but are primarily designed to give marketers and sales professionals an up-to-date, holistic view of their leads and customers. And although many businesses try to use their CRM in a customer-support role, it is not a complete customer service platform. Instead, as you define what kind of support you wish to offer, consider CSM solutions to bring together every relevant team and department, providing a consistent single source of truth for coordinating customer interactions across the entire business.
At its heart, customer support is all about promoting a positive customer experience. How you do that will depend on who your customers are, what products or services you offer, and the expectations within your industry. That said, we have compiled several tips to help ensure that your customer support strategy is an effective one at every stage.
- Determine how extensive your support offering is going to be
Will you make your support team available 24/7, or will they only be available during regular office hours? Will you offer worldwide support across multiple time zones and languages, or will you restrict support options to your local area? How will you define service levels, either formally or informally, and how will you track adherence to them? Will you provide asynchronous support by blending human agent interactions with self-service and automation? Answering these questions will give you clearer direction as you move forward. - Base support levels on customer needs
The level of support you choose to offer should be in direct response to the needs of your customers and the capabilities of your business. Also, be aware that those two factors may change; you might not need a French-language support option today, but you might tomorrow if your business expands to include other parts of the world.
- Outline customer contact paths
Before you can provide effective customer support, your customers need to know how to contact you. Make sure that support options are clearly defined throughout your website, and that all contact information is up to date.
- Identify your starting benchmarks
To effectively measure your success, you need to know where you are starting. Establishing starting benchmarks also includes taking a meaningful look at leading competitors in your industry.
- Document guidelines and policies
Make sure that your support teams know what is expected of them and how to go about meeting those expectations. Identify processes, goals, values, etc. - Establish performance measurements that reward customer centricity
In all likelihood, not everyone in your organization works directly with customers. But everyone needs to understand that customers are the most principal factor in business success. Recognize and reward customer-centricity through every department, and internal behavior will become more customer focused overall. - Hire the right people
Ideal support teams are made up of patient, attentive individuals with clear communication skills. Hire for these soft skills wherever possible. Additionally, keep your best hires interested by offering competitive pay rates and clear advancement opportunities. Hiring for the correct customer support qualities helps ensure that the people you place on your front lines are not only knowledgeable and can provide accurate guidance to help customers resolve their issues, but also represent the important soft skills they will need to empathetically listen to customers, acknowledge their feelings, and work towards a satisfying resolution.
- Give your support team the right tools
Depending on the size of your business, the size of your customer base, and specifics of the products or services you offer, your support team may need quite a bit of support itself. Customer service software and customer service management platforms provide invaluable resources. Additionally, tools that promote effective inter-departmental coordination, such as digital workflows, connect your agents with other teams outside of customer support. - Empower teams to act with authority
If you hire the right people and have reliable guidelines in place, there is no reason you should force your support teams to double check everything with management. Giving your teams the authority to make decisions will help expedite solutions and improve the overall customer experience. - Motivate your employees
Working in a call center or answering email support requests can feel repetitive and thankless—but it does not have to. Recognize and reward exceptional work among your support team, and they will be more attentive to the needs of your customers.
- Provide consistency across all channels
The use of customer support software can allow for a centralized database of customer information and interaction history, which can help ensure that customers receive the same high-quality service every time they contact your company. - Respond to inquiries quickly and professionally
Customers expect support to be timely and effective. Automation can be utilized to promptly respond to tasks, so you can be sure that resolutions are being pushed forward even when a human agent is not directly overseeing every aspect. - Don’t rush when providing solutions
Support teams should be sure to respond quickly to support requests, but that does not always mean having an answer up front. Give your teams enough time to effectively research issues and produce working solutions, and make sure the customers understand the time frames involved. - Keep customers in the loop
Occasionally, businesses will put so much focus on support, that they neglect the customer. Communicate with your customers and keep them up to speed on what’s happening, and what you are doing to resolve their issues. If something is not working properly, let them hear it from you first, and give them estimates on when they can expect solutions. - Don’t neglect personalization
Automation can help your support team provide a better, faster, more accurate service, but it should not replace personalized support. When problems are too complex for chatbots and self-service portals to solve, make sure that customers have access to real, thinking human beings. Personalization supports automation in other ways, allowing businesses to tailor automated responses and suggestions to the customer's specific needs. - Report on business wins as well as customer wins
Raw data and customer-focused metrics do not always clearly demonstrate the big-picture impact. Be sure to look at the overall impact of your customer support strategy and share those wins with the rest of your organization. - Always be improving
With every interaction, your support team collects valuable data related to your customer base, your products, and the issues relevant to both. Use this data to inform your support offerings and improve your products. Be proactive; anticipate customer needs and offer solutions even before they ask. As you identify the most common problems, you will be able to address those issues companywide. - Be willing to make big changes
It may be natural to experience pushback as you realign company focus onto customer support. But sometimes big changes are necessary if you want to experience big improvements. Help your people commit to improving customer support; difficult changes now can mean significant improvements and gains down the road. - Be open to feedback
Encourage customers to provide feedback on their experiences and encounters, then use this feedback to improve your process and service. Feedback can be solicited through surveys, social media, and other channels.
Customers will always be the most central element of business. Unfortunately, many companies struggle to bridge the gap between customer expectations and the support they deliver. ServiceNow, the leader in IT management solutions, is changing how businesses approach this fundamental problem.
ServiceNow Customer Service management introduces a comprehensive model that expands upon and transcends traditional CRM systems. Use self-service capabilities and machine-learning enhanced case management tools to streamline issue resolution. Apply automation for rapid categorization and assignment of issues as they arise. Empower cross-departmental collaboration by connecting service departments to field service, engineering, operations, finance, and more. Leverage IoT technology to analyze trends and take preemptive actions without waiting for customers to make the first move. CSM makes it all possible.
Make customer support a major competitive differentiator in your business; contact ServiceNow today to learn how!