The tech world is always on the move. With the pandemic, we are seeing technology adoption gathering steam across industries. Digitization has become the need of the hour for businesses. Customer needs and demands are also evolving.
It has become essential that organizations take a look at the way they offer technical support. It would help if you had access to specialized technical talent to provide support, communication can no longer be limited to email or phone, and customers want a better experience.
These changes have led to a revamping of the service desk industry. Trends like automation, AI, and virtual representatives are becoming commonplace.
Let us look at ideas to help your service team perform well and improve the quality of tech support offered.
1. Automating Processes
Automation involves using technology to replace the manual effort required for repetitive tasks. Using automation, you can streamline processes, improve collaboration, efficiency, productivity, and accuracy and save costs.
For example, tasks like sending emails, acknowledging tickets, sending status updates, and answering frequently asked questions might be repetitive. You can automate such tasks to provide a quick resolution to customers. This also helps employees focus on core business deliverables.
If the issue needs further escalation, again, you can utilize automation to send alerts and get the right people involved.
2. Using the Right Technology
There are several tools and software available today that can make your life easier. But you should be careful when choosing technology for your service team.
Before introducing new software, you must check if it is compatible with your existing system. Then you need to have the right talent or resources to train employees. In the absence of these checks, technology can become a bottleneck.
To ensure technology is an enabler, explore tools that will be easier to integrate, learn and use. If recruiting talent is an issue, consider outsourcing your IT needs to an MSP.
3. Offering Personalized Experiences
Owing to digitalization and easy accessibility to devices and the internet, customers are aware and more demanding. They do not want to be treated like a mere number on your profit scale. They want their issues to be heard. They want to be seen and treated with respect.
Customers may buy a product or service from you, but quality tech support is an essential retention factor.
Thus you need to make customer service a part of your organization’s culture. Your service representatives should be equally trained in soft and technical skills. These skills help them offer a reliable after-hour service, which plays a key role in improving customer satisfaction and retention. Incorporating practices like referring to customers by their first name can go a long way.
4. Multi-Channel Support
Gone are the days when a customer would call or email the service team, lodge a ticket, and wait for a response in the next 3 to 5 days.
Today’s customers can reach out to organizations through calls, emails, chats, messages, and social media. They want quick support and resolution.
To build a better relationship, consider offering support over multiple channels. Complex technical issues may take time to resolve, but do not leave the customer in the dark. Use these channels to keep them updated.
5. Support for Mobile Apps
According to Statista, the number of smartphone subscriptions at a global level is over six billion. Furthermore, the number is expected to grow to over seven and a half billion by 2027.
People today increasingly use their phones to attend business calls, organize calendars, respond to emails, and complete small business tasks.
So, it is natural for them to reach out to service teams using their mobile phone. Focus on creating mobile-friendly apps that are lightweight and easy to use. Your team should be equipped to handle issues and resolve them over mobile channels.
6. Easy to Follow Self-Service Portal
What is the first thing you do when you are faced with a technical issue? First, you try to see if Google has a solution for you.
Customers do not want to call and wait in queues to be transferred to a customer care executive. However, if there are troubleshooting steps they can follow or settings they can change on their own, they will happily do so.
You need to recognize this changing behavior and empower the customer with self-service portals. In case of common queries and issues, document resolution steps in an easy-to-follow manner. This saves time for both customers and employees.
7. AI Chat Bots
Chatbots are becoming a common feature across all websites. The moment you open a website, the chatbot will chime up, asking ‘how can I help you today?’
They are a faster medium of getting a response than waiting for an actual employee to get in touch with the customer. When optimized correctly, chatbots can improve resolution times and also the quality of customer service offered.
In 2021, the global chatbot market was valued at $525.7 million. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.7% up until 2023.
As the technology is here to stay, see how you can incorporate it with your existing service infrastructure.
8. Face-to-Face Video Support
Platforms that make face-to-face communication possible are becoming commonplace. One such example is the success of the Zoom app during the pandemic. Now the app has become an everyday part of employees across industries.
If you want to level up the quality of service support offered, video support would be the next big thing. You can resolve the issue quicker and better with face-to-face communication.
You can utilize the medium to unveil new products and features. It can also be used to document steps for common technical issues.
9. Proactive Monitoring
Do not wait for the customer to report a technical issue. Instead, proactively monitor the system and network, identify improvement areas and work on them. The mindset of the IT service team should be, ‘how can we serve customers better?’
This way, you can resolve issues before the customer experiences any glitches or send out communications about possible issues.
Such proactive resolution and communication can help build a relationship of trust with customers.
10. Technical Specialization
You need access to the right talent to efficiently run your tech support team. This may not be an innovative idea, but a factor that often gets overlooked.
IT infrastructures are complex. You can surely train employees, but they should be technologically adept at handling such issues.
Consider working with an MSP and leveraging their outsourcing service desk services offering. This way, you can get immediate access to technical expertise and scale quickly when an opportunity arises.
Summary
Your technical support team needs to evolve with changing technology, trends, and customer behavior.
Automation, AI chatbots, and self-service portals are solutions that can offer quick resolution and let employees focus on core business. In addition, trends like multi-channel support, personalized experiences, video support, and proactive monitoring can improve support quality.
If you have limited resources at your disposal, consider outsourcing your IT service needs.
