People will give up on products based on their technical support and aftercare service. In fact, if you want customer loyalty in a crowded marketplace, you need to go above and beyond what was traditionally expected of customer support.
If you are considering setting up tech support online for a business or product, the choices can be daunting. Below, we give you 10 ways to offer the best tech support possible.
1. Avoid Technical Jargon
Confusion leads to irritability and anger, and that is not how you want your customers to respond. The chances are that they are already frustrated and upset if they have a problem, so the last thing they want is to be bombarded with the language they do not understand.
Even if your explanation takes a long time, it will put the customer at ease and show that you are an expert in your field.
Do this by avoiding any technical jargon, or at least explain what it means if you do have to use it. Keep it simple and get straight to the point.
2. Make Follow-Ups Easy
It can be that sometimes a problem does not stay fixed, or throws up another issue. It can be extremely frustrating to go through a process once more, then have to explain everything you had been through to a new staff member.
To negate the impact of this, make it easy for the customer to remain with one staff member for any follow-ups.
This can be done by providing a personal email or customer number. The customer then needs to contact the person they dealt with in the first instance.
3. Identify the Cause
Good tech support comes from understanding the problem, and working out what has happened at the customer’s end. If not, you could end up providing complex fixes for easy to manage problems.
Once you understand the problem, then find the cause. Making sure you have applied the correct fix can save a lot of time later. Customers will be frustrated to have to contact you again, and it will take up more resources from the business side.
4. Understand the Customers Experience Level
The level of technology experience your customer has will not always be obvious at first. However, as the relationship develops, you should be willing to tailor your language to their level.
As an example, a customer who has no experience with technology may find even the most simple of terms and tasks hard to understand. You must guide them through the process. In contrast, with experienced knowledgeable customers, you may be able to move through the process quickly, using technical terms and solutions.
5. Don’t Leave Them Waiting
If you offer a technical support option, then make sure you have the staff to back it up. Instant online support that tells a customer all operatives are busy or unavailable is not instant. In fact, it can break the bond of trust between you and your customers if this occurs.
If you promise to call someone back or message them, then do it quickly. Even if the problem is taking longer than you anticipated, give them updates so they know you are dealing with the situation. Finally, don’t leave people waiting on phone lines for hours on end.
6. Calm the Customer
The person on the other end of the line has a problem. It is one they can not fix alone, and they will be frustrated. They may be losing money because of the product, or valuable time, so it is important that you keep them calm and motivated.
Use positive, motivational language, even if you are struggling with the problem yourself. ‘We can’ is a great one, as is ‘Let’s try’. Always try to offer options and solutions to the customer so they stay motivated.
7. Have a Range of Self Help Service Tech Support Online
You can alleviate the workload of staff by having a range of self-help tech support questions available so that customers can attempt to troubleshoot on their own.
Create a bank of frequently asked questions or troubleshooting fixes online, so that customers can take the initiative and attempt to solve their own problems.
One trick many companies have is to hide their actual support among layers of self-help service so that when a question is not answered, customers are simply redirected back to the self-help library.
This can be extremely frustrating, and you must make the option for direct contact just as clearly available as any FAO section or troubleshooting forum.
8. Go Beyond Your Own Systems
Very often, when a problem occurs, customers may go elsewhere to get answers before they come to you. These may be on forums, blogs, or social media. This has an adverse effect on your brand awareness, as it essentially makes your product or service look like it has errors.
The best way to address this is to spend time answering questions and providing support, wherever it may be. It will solve the customer’s problem, and show that you care about your product, brand, and customers.
You could designate a member of your team to do this, or assign it as a task to be done when the tech support team has low workloads. While it may not bring sales, it will certainly increase the perception of your company.
9. Get the Right Tools
To do tech support well, you need the right tools. While email is a great way to communicate, it will seem a little old fashioned. People expect much more, such as live chat, support tickets, and regular updates on their progress.
If you don’t have the cash or staff to do this, then consider outsourcing. Find the best IT support you can by looking at online reviews, then contact them for a quote.
10. Listen to Your Customers
Setting up a good tech support system will take a while to get going. At this time, your best source of information on how to improve will be the customers themselves. They can also give valuable information about what works with your product, what they like, and what they don’t.
Go Above and Beyond
Instigating all of these systems will take time, but should you do it, you will be providing the best tech support online that is available. You will have the trust of customers that keep returning to your product.
If you enjoyed this piece, then check out our other posts. We have a host of articles about current tech and business matters to help you make the most up to date, informed choices.