Customer service is highly important when it comes to measuring the success factors of any organization. It helps to orient customers towards the brand while ensuring that they remain content with the services offered by the company.
Within this context, companies adopt several customer service methods that allow them to facilitate customers. It’s essential since a single method isn’t feasible for all situations. That is why by focusing on these methods, companies need to know how good or bad they impact the performance.
So, let’s check out what various methods of customer service are and what kind of perks and downsides do they carry with themselves:
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Phone Support Services
Perhaps the fastest mode of interaction and offering customer care is phone support services. Phone support makes it easier for clients to reach out to the support team for solutions. Many reputed internet companies make it easier for customers to get quick solutions by contacting support on their number.
For instance, Windstream is one of the most reputed internet organizations in the US. Offering 24/7 support services, customers can contact the company using the Windstream phone number and get assistance without any hassle.
Here are some of the perks that phone support offers:
- Easier communication
- Real-time assessment and issue addressing
- Human touch ensured
- A personalized experience for the customers
- Almost everyone can access phone support
Even though phone support has some exciting benefits, it still has some issues that must be addressed. These are as follows:
- Hold times can be high due to a lack of representatives
- Real-time information processing can be difficult
- Need to assess, optimize and provide solutions without any delay
- Chances of missing information
Considering the positives and negatives of phone support, companies should ensure to use this method in modes where it’s feasible.
Email Support
Another type of customer support that is quite widely used is email support. Email support services are considered to be optimal since emails are considered to be a professional way of communication.
Almost everyone with email addresses views their inbox regularly, which is why it’s considered a good way of interaction between individuals and customers alike. Let’s check out some of the amazing perks that email support brings:
- The convenience of communication – there’s no time limit for sending or receiving emails. Customers can even send support an email for an issue and wait for them to respond on their time.
- Emails allow companies to promote their signatures that can be customized as needed
- Record keeping – emails allow storing information that can be used later whenever needed
- Chatbots integration – automatic responses can be integrated within the approach so that customers can get notified regarding complaint/ query acknowledgment.
- Complete with details – customers and representatives can take their time to compose emails so that all the details are shared without missing anything.
Email support makes it easier for customer care to produce effective communication and collaborate with others. It also is optimal for those companies/ support teams that reside in different zones.
However, even with all these perks, email support does carry some downsides that should be considered. These are as follows:
- Going through every email for information can be time consuming
- With every message/ email, the record keeps piling up, making it difficult to source exact information
- No personalized or human interaction element
- Isn’t optimal for issues requiring immediate response
Noting these pros and cons, companies should evaluate where email support can be beneficial and where it should be avoided.
Live Chat
Apart from email support services, companies also adopt live chats for support solutions, especially for those that are visiting the website of the brand. Live chats are a great way of interacting with customers since they provide real-time information regarding products and services whilst customers navigate their way through different pages of the brand.
Here are some of the perks that are offered gained by embedding live chat as a way of customer support:
- Helps engage customers in multiple conversations
- Minimizes time for responses as multiple customers can be engaged simultaneously
- Automation is easily implemented i.e. generic bots can be used to help customers opt for self-service options
- Chats are stored for future references that can be used by both the support team and the customer
Live chats make it easier for customer support to minimize the interaction of customers with phone support. Moreover, since it’s acquiring replies from multiple customers at a time, it minimizes wait hours and makes it easier to entertain multiple clients simultaneously.
However, certain downsides to living chats make it somewhat a hassle for companies implementing it. Here are those:
- The conversation is quicker than email support; however, it still needs customers to visit the website or a specific page
- Indirect communication/ text communication doesn’t help with understanding emotions
- Not as quick as phone support and can intermix information since multiple clients are being handled during the process
Using live chats, customer services can enrich the experience for acquiring solid information that will take time on email support. In addition, it minimizes the risk of making customers wait just as happens in phone support services, which is a big deal.
Closing Notes
Well, these are the most commonly used customer service modes. Each mode has its own benefits and downside that should be considered before implementing it on full-scale. Moreover, it should be done to facilitate customers, providing them with an optimal support experience. Doing this will surely boost clientele loyalty and encourage market productivity.