The Evolution Of Technical Support
Many customer service departments are still running behind the times in their failure to embrace modern uses of technology. While companies now have the ability to utilize software apps that can make customer service as streamlined as texting with a friend, frequent lack of funding in the customer service departments of many companies is still delaying consumers’ much awaited upgrades. Instead of having to make a telephone call where the customer must navigate through a digital switchboard with no sign of human life at the other end, as customer service evolves, businesses that don’t step up to the plate and meet customers’ needs are more and more likely to fail.
Customer Service is Evolving By The Minute
Gone are the days when businesses could hide behind a popular brand name; social media and other forms of technology have given consumers the ability to communicate instantly with one another; once they hear that a particular company has poor customer service, they are likely to take their business elsewhere.
A New Era Of Customer Service
The evolution of customer service is bound to usher in a number of changes to the standard model that dates back decades, including:
1. 24/7 customer service. With our global economy and never ending list of tasks to complete, it may seem obvious that old school 9-5 customer service hours are no longer functional; consumers are living in times zones from around the world and maintain lifestyles that vary from the traditional daytime work schedule.
2. Customers will be able to access customer service from anywhere with internet access.
Once companies begin providing customers the option of communicating with a customer service representative via an application that allows instant messaging around the clock, the consumer will then be fully in control of when and where they contact the company for any assistance that is needed.
3. Repetitive entering of personal information will become a thing of the past. Regardless of the location from where a customer is attempting to contact customer service, technology can stay ahead of the game and retrieve each customer’s personal data simply by recognizing their device or a login to another application.
4. Mobile messaging will become the preferred method to contact a live customer service rep. Since the average person spends more than three hours per day utilizing their smart phone for non-verbal purposes (including instant messaging with friends and family), companies that utilize messaging services to encourage exemplary customer relations are seeing increased profits as consumers share their positive experiences with each other.
5. Responsive software will bring needed information directly to the consumer. Instead of the customer having to complete an independent internet search when trying to solve a problem with a product, software will begin to deliver whatever content is needed at precisely the right time. In many cases, the software will be contained within the product or product container itself and will respond to the consumer’s spoken needs.
6. Customer service departments will finally be granted the healthy budget they need to produce happy customers. In the old school paradigm, marketing and sales receive the lion’s share of funding while customer service is left with financial scraps. As consumers become more technologically savvy and demand better customer service, businesses that wish to thrive will begin directing a much healthier share of the budget to keeping consumers satisfied.
Consumers Are Demanding Better Technical Service & Support
Social media and instant messenger channels have helped facilitate the greatest amount of instant, global communication ever known to man. As consumers share their customer service experiences with one another and learn which businesses are keeping up with the times, the need for improved customer service becomes more and more critical to the success of any modern business. Keeping up with the evolution of customer service is one of the best decisions you can make to help your business thrive.
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