World Class Customer Service: Learn From Your Least Experienced Customers

Reevaluating the Information You Share With Customers

Everyone understands that customer support is a crucial aspect to any business. Nevertheless, we are sometimes lulled into a false sense of security and think that our customer service efforts are good enough for the time being.

In actuality, a customer may be struggling at this very moment with installation instructions or billing information. If only customer support resources were more accessible this customer could have used your product successfully at the time they needed it. Instead, the customer is growing more frustrated and ever closer to initiating a refund request.

As important as preventing refunds is, you also find yourself in the position of having failed a paying customer, and your brand’s reputation takes a hit because you did not offer clear guidance.

To improve your customer support offering, review and optimize how you help your customers immediately after the transaction occurs. It is best to start by looking at the order confirmation page/email and reevaluating the information you share with customers. This is the best way to learn from your least experienced customers.

Consider Your Customers’ Needs

Asking questions is a great way to make sure you are offering superior support to your customers. Consider the following questions and how their answers can improve your communication to customers:

Are you sharing information that can help to avoid situations that might result in a refund?
Are you avoiding the resulting dissatisfaction that can lead to negative brand perception?
As your products evolve, are your instructions and support resources keeping pace?
Are you looking at the information in your confirmation pages from the point of view of the least experienced user or the most experienced user?

Remember, what seems obvious to the seasoned user (how to purchase, install and activate your software) may not be so clear to the inexperienced user who reaches out to you for support. Providing clear instructions right in the confirmation page helps retain revenue that may otherwise be refunded because the customer got frustrated with challenges that are easily resolved.
Review the information your confirmation page currently offers in these areas:

What was purchased
Installation and activation details
Download links
Payment/transaction information
Support options
Links to additional help resources

As you review this information, make sure you are considering your customers’ needs. Also, keep in mind the insights you have acquired from tracking your refund data (the reasons stated for cancelling the purchase). This is a crucial step in thinking proactively about scenarios that influence a customer to contact a support department, and help your company think of ways to eliminate these challenges.

Screen and email real estate is valuable and your goal should be to find the right balance of information to present without losing customers. Keep in mind that your communication efforts don’t have to contain everything and the kitchen sink. This is where clearly noted links to additional self-service options can come in handy.

Phone Support Supplemented by Self-Service Resources

Quite a few customers will seek phone support options and may need more “hand holding” through the support process. A benefit of providing coordinated and easy-to-access resources is that these options not only provide self-help opportunities but also can serve as great tools for those customers that reach out to customer service representatives (CSRs) by phone.

Consider that a primary objective of most call centers is to cut down average handle time (AHT) without sacrificing service. For a CSR to be able to direct customers to an easy to use and well-organized support resource is a dream come true for both parties. It also serves as a great framework for the CSR to follow when guiding a customer through solutions to their needs when remote access is not an option.

Self-service resources translate into email support perfectly as links can easily be copied into responses to customers. Having these resources for social media exchanges or live chat sessions can improve a CSRs ability to solve challenges successfully and provide a more fulfilling experience for the customer.

Keystone

Strive to better leverage your communication opportunities to provide superior support to a customer after their purchase. Begin by adopting a strategy of observing what you share with your customers and thinking about the least experienced purchaser to make sure your resources are as helpful and clearly aligned as possible with anticipated needs.

Bernie Aguirre is Customer Service Quality Assurance Analyst at cleverbridge.