Slipups occur no matter how fast and carefully business owners try to fulfill customer support orders. And when they do customers come back seeking for help.
Well, 100% perfect retail service all year round is not possible even in long-established companies.
The only difference between industry veterans and newbies is the ability of the former to notice errors and respond swiftly to client problems –with a well-trained customer support team. And not just that; big companies are also quick to evolve with the changes.
Customer support techniques, for instance, are evolving. What was commonplace yesterday may be outdated today so it is wise to always ensure you’re up-to-date.
Why Your Customer Service Must Evolve with the Times
Offering customer service with old techniques—some of which your shoppers no longer even like— is a long shot. And in a cut-throat ecommerce market, it will be like bringing a knife to a modern gunfight. Your tech-savvy competitors will obviously outstrip you!
But you can’t always rush to “change with the times.” You need to make an informed decision based on customer expectations. So the big question is; how do you know what to change, what customers want, what not to change etc.
And the answer is DATA! Market Statistics. Don’t operate in a silo. Strive to know what everyone else in your industry—both customers and competitors— are talking about.
Take time to look into customer support statistics that matter. For instance, if you’ve been thinking about live chat because it is the big talk everywhere, then don’t just dive in without a clue.
Look for detailed market studies from reliable sources, check reviews, compare competitor progress. All these can help you make a better decision on whether a new piece of technology is mere talk or something worth your time, money and immediate attention.
5 Must-do Transformations in Customer Service
Here are some of the transformations disrupting ecommerce customer support.
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Brand-centric to Customer-focused Approach.
Business that focus on customer queries, experiences, and ways of doing things gain invaluable insighs they need to better the quality of their product or service.
This study predicts that by the year 2022, customer-focused brands will rake in half (50 %) of their revenue through contextual discovery— a technique that focuses on customers to see the challenges the face with a brand’s products for improvement purposes.
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Single-platform to Omni-platform Customer Support.
Business owners are speeding the transformation to multiple support channels. Being available all round makes you accessible to your customers—who also have different perefences when it comes contact channels.
Omni-platform support allows your sclients to reach you customer support team via live chat, telephone, social sites and email.
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Human-only to Agent-&-Chatbot Support.
Chatbots are taking a major role in customer support because apart from standindg in when you are away, they ease the access of specific resources a customer wants. Human agents will soon take on more complet matters that chatbots can’t solve.
4. 9 am – 5pm to Round-the-clock Support.
Customers are a busy lot. Almost everyone is running other errands between 9 to 5 hoping they will find time in the evening or late at night to inquire about an order they placed with an ecommerce store.
That explains why 9 to 5 was never enough time for customer service. New technologies like the chatbots in live chat solutions enable business to engage their customers round the clock.
Users don’t face problems only during working hours. When they have an issue, they want to contact the brand’s support without delays.
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Isolated Support to Online Talks.
Gone are the days when a problem between you and your customer would remain between you. These days customer want a brand with a social media support page where they can ask queries and leave reviews.
5. Business-controlled Support to Customer-controlled Support.
Today, the shopper chooses when to inquire and the channel to use. Thanks to multiple contact points, customers can now reach you in many ways.
Omnichannel support is okay as long as you remain active on all support channels you promise to engage your customers through.
Final Words
If you haven’t made any of these transformations then your customer support needs an upgrade. “Out with the old, and in with the new” should be your customer care department’s slogan this year.
