Best Practices You Can Choose to Improve Customer Support
Everything that is performed for the first time is certainly not perfect. Although software projects are continually evolving, and there are ready-made templates for many parts of the job, the final project is probably not perfect and can always be improved. This is why many applications are released in the beta version.
Competition is everywhere, whether it is programming jobs or grocery sales. So if you want to keep your customers for life, you must support your software well and fix its bugs.
In this article, we will offer you ideas to better support your software:
Do not keep the customer waiting:
Nobody likes waiting, especially if the goods or services they receive have problems.
If you do not have 24-hour support, be sure to tell the customers in advance what hours you are available. Answer them in the most immediate time during those hours.
Do not get angry; try to be polite:
However, I can’t entirely agree with the stereotype that the customer is always right. But try to put yourself in your client’s shoes and understand his/her feelings. His/Her business may be disrupted due to the software problem. Keep calm and respond politely. This allows the other party to regain his composure and speak logically.
Only hire qualified staff:
While it may be tempting to hire inexpensive staff, keep in mind that you will have to spend a lot of time teaching them. It is like enrolling in a private class for the novice employee, with the difference that instead of paying a fee, he/she also receives a salary!! Usually, these employees leave you after a few months to start a new job, and you will return to the starting point.
Hiring an experienced employee, although more expensive, is an investment that will both satisfy your customer and relieve you of repeated training.
Use more automated emails:
Many of the repeated questions a software support staff receives have fixed answers. Thus using and developing an automated email system may help you save time. It also prevents the customer from waiting and getting angry!
Use different communication channels:
Do not limit your support to email and call. You have to be where the customers are. Make it easy for customers to communicate with you. Ask your employees to respond to the customer through all social networks in addition to phone calls and even face-to-face visits.
Improve self-service options:
As the work progresses, prepare a collection of common customer questions with answers and regularly post these FAQs on your site. This reduces customer calls for simple issues and decreases the workload. You can also ask your employees to complete this list based on the frequently asked questions they receive.
Do not limit the self-service to the FAQ page. Educational videos, forums, and video tutorials will get more customers to your site.
Store customer data and Issues:
In recent years, numerous software programs have been produced for customer support. These apps help you know how many times a customer has called, what their problem was, which of your staff has answered to him, and so on. These programs help you not to start all over again.
Try to refer the customer to a specific employee with the facilities that this software provide to you. By doing this, the customer feels valued and knows that he is talking to someone aware of his previous problems.
Use screen sharing software and tools:
Sometimes the customer can not precisely describe the issue over the phone. Using screen sharing software allows you to see the customer’s screen and identify the problem quickly. This solution is especially useful for customers who do not know much about computer science.
Periodic meetings with employees:
Periodic staff meetings are significant help to monitor performance and plan for the future. In these meetings, the staff’s common problems are discussed, and people can offer solutions. Common issues are the ones you need to solve faster.
Also, by holding these meetings, employees become more familiar with each other, and cooperation increases. You can hold these meetings informally. For example, a dinner party that is held after that meeting.
Make sure your team is not overload.
If your team has a lot of pending work, it indicates that you need to hire more employees. This is worth the investment because it improves customer satisfaction and saves you money in the long run.
After responding, ask for customer feedback.
You may be satisfied with your work, but not the customer, or vice versa. Customer feedback helps you distinguish truth from illusions. You can utilize a questionnaire to do this. You need to make sure the customer is satisfied.
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