Running a business online can be a complicated process. You need to build a website, promote it, and then manage all of the customers that come to your site. Customers have complex needs and they have many questions that they need answered throughout the process of getting to know your site.
As the site owner, you need to be sure to answer all of your customer’s questions in a timely manner, and as accurately as possible. Generally, it is recommended to find a help desk software to help you run your business.
A software is an easy way to manage your customers and make sure that you are tending to their needs. In fact, help desk software’s are becoming more and more popular and you can even see companies like the website builder Wix.com branching off into B2B products with their new help desk software – Wix Answers.
Choosing a software is only the first part of the equation. You also need to know how to use that software to ensure that your customers are feeling satisfied with your site and any questions that they may have regarding what you offer.
We created a list of some of the most important things to consider when you are offering support to your customers – so that you can feel confident with the quality of service that you are providing.
Anticipate your customers’ needs
Your customers don’t want to reach out to you every time that they have a question. Rather, the best customer service you can offer is to figure out what you think your customer will need before they ask. Make a FAQ page that features the most important answers that you customers may need. You can also place internal links there for blog posts or video tutorials that may go into further detail about a subject.
You won’t be able to cover every major question on your FAQ, and so your customers will still need to send in a support ticket for other problems that they have. Your job is to collect those support tickets and find out if there are any trends or themes for the questions and make sure that you update your FAQ to include the questions that you didn’t think of!
Make a solid knowledge base
Generally speaking, people want to learn more about products and services that they are investing in. They will want to watch videos, and read blog posts and find out information on their own. Make sure that you have a great selection on your knowledge base to help aid your customers in self learning. Every time you launch a new feature on your page, create a quick blog post or video tutorial that helps explain it!
Usually, people prefer to have a bit of context before they get started with a new feature or tool. So you want to make sure that you are there to provide them with all of the context that they will need to start using what you introduced. If you want to go the extra mile, you can even do a webinar. Webinars can be an amazing tool for products that are a bit more technical and require a deeper knowledge of how they work.
Train your support staff
I know, it might seem obvious to train your staff, but you need to evaluate the type of service that you want to provide and make sure that your vision is shared by your team. Your staff needs to work like a hive, providing similar answers but in a friendly and informative way. It’s important to be personal, but not to go off the trail. It can be very confusing for customers when they have a question and they receive two different answers from the support team.
Create a guideline for you staff, and then give them the tools to enrich the customer experience. Train them on how to be empathetic, on patience and calmness – and then encourage them to make a few jokes to make the customers at ease. A great support staff will make your customer service so much stronger.
Treat others how you would like to be treated
No one likes to sit on the phone and listen to a horrible song for more than an hour while they wait for a reply. Time is precious for everyone, and nobody wants to feel like their time isn’t being respected. If you have a multi-tiered support structure, you will be more equipped to deal with questions from customers. You need to have live chat, FAQ, a call center and a knowledge base so that you can make sure to provide as many answers as possible to your visitors.
If you only offer a call center, you will be quickly overloaded and you will have many angry customers posting negatively about you on social media. Get creative. Use Facebook, use Twitter, use Instagram – social media can be a great way to engage and to respond to questions in real time.
Just remember, your customers are your most important focus. You want them to feel like they have a place to engage with you and that their questions are answered as they arise. If you provide a great base with a help desk software that can help you reach out to your customers in an organized manner, you are far more likely to succeed with your business.
Our tips will help you to prepare and be ready to take on customer support needs before they become a problem!
