Guest Post: Top 5 Ways to Support Your Customers in 2021

This week we feature an article from Veronika Filipkova, a professional content editor and Chief Customer Officer at SupportYourApp. She shares different channels and strategies for creating the most convenient customer support experience for your customers.

According to Deloitte’s 2019 Global Call Center Survey, customer service topped the agenda for most firms. 85% of respondents believed that the customer experience was vital to success. 78% of participants believed that improving customer service came a close second.

The pandemic made these elements even more crucial in 2020 and will continue to do so into 2021. Firms today should focus on providing top-notch service. More importantly, however, they must provide it in a manner convenient for their clients.

In this article, we’ll look at ways to support your customers through the customer support channels most important to them.

Customer Support Channels to Develop in 2021

One Central Support Hub 24/7

The key going into 2021 is to take a lesson from effective project management – provide one point of contact for your clients. By doing so, you simplify matters for the client. You’ll also reduce the chances of the client experiencing two of their biggest pet peeves:

• Having to explain the situation all over again to a new consultant
• Not getting through to someone who can answer their query

47% of companies outsource their call center operations to solve capacity issues. Whether run in-house or through a third-party provider, firms benefit from one point of contact by:

• Clients receiving a consistent experience no matter which channel they use
• Being seen as a helpful and professional organization
• Streamlining their internal operations and improving productivity
• Allowing their sales and creative teams to focus on generating more business

Instant Messaging

With over 2 billion active users, WhatsApp dominates as the most popular messaging app. Facebook and We Chat come in close behind with 1,300 and 1,206 billion users respectively.

Instant messaging is popular because it’s immediate and inexpensive. Consequently, it rises as one of the top ways to support your customers going into 2021.

Social Media

For the purposes of this article, we’ll count messaging apps as separate from social media. While clients often reach out using the apps on sites like Facebook and Instagram, where we’re more focused on comments and reviews that they leave.

Going into 2021, consumers want to simplify their lives. Over the last few years, we’ve seen social media platforms evolve into more than simply a tool for communication. Clients now use the platforms as a more rounded search and buying tool as well.

Social media 2.0 is fast becoming one of the best ways to support your customers. It provides consumers with a useful service tool that resides where they spend much of their time online. Instead of having to look up phone numbers or fill in contact forms, they may simply make a comment on the company’s page.

It’s a frightening prospect for companies. Do you allow comments that might not show your company in the best possible light? Scary as it might be, it’s best to allow clients to have their say. How you deal with their comments says much about your company and its attitude toward customer service.

You might not be able to save the relationship with a particularly negative poster. You can, however, demonstrate what your company is truly about to others reading your response. If you’re getting service delivery right most of the time, you’ll no doubt have some fans that’ll stand up for you.

Video Chat

Consider incorporating video chat if you have not already done so. According to an IPSOS survey in May 2020, 57% of Americans regularly used video chat. 38% of respondents had never used this channel before the outbreak, but 85% could see themselves using video chat going forward.

With people becoming increasingly aware of cybersecurity, being able to see a consultant at the other end of the line is reassuring. The company benefits as well as agents are better able to pick up on the non-verbal cues that account for 55% of communication effectiveness.

Self-Help Channels

The final trend for 2021 is the rise of the self-help channel. Firms should provide robust support for clients who want to find the answers without calling the contact hub. This starts with providing clear and clean instructions and a well-organized, up-to-date knowledge-base.

It extends to providing simple automated chat options to answer easy, much-repeated questions. Provide those that want to find the answers themselves the tools to so. Back this service up with flawless in-person support as well and you’ll maximize customer satisfaction.

Final Notes

2021 won’t bring huge surprises in the customer service arena. 2020 was a rocky road, and people want to return to something akin to normal. Firms must, however, increase their support of customers via the channels convenient to the client.

A mix of a conventional call center, instant messaging, social media, self-help, and video chat contains all the ingredients for client support success in the new year.

Veronika Filipkova is a professional content editor and CCO at SupportYourApp. While working at SupportYourApp, she got to know everything about customer support and likes to share her knowledge with everyone else. Veronika is passionate about business, customers and has published many articles in this area.

For more articles from Shep Hyken and his guest contributors go to customerserviceblog.com.

Read Shep’s latest Forbes article: Losing Customers? Here’s Why–And What To Do About It