In an ever-evolving and service-centric consumer market, customer satisfaction is the key determiner for business growth with a dynamic customer support network being central to its manifestation. Over the last two decades, the customer support function has diluted into multiple interaction touchpoints that not only provide customers the convenience to choose their preferred medium of communication but also ensure seamless customer experience throughout the customer journey. At its core, the multi-channel strategy promotes customer convenience, provides faster resolution time, and improves the scalability of the support network. This is the core reason why 51% of businesses today use at least 8 channels to engage, communicate, and interact with end-users.
Benefits of Multi-Platform Customer Support
A dynamic customer support approach comes with multiple value-added benefits, including enhanced accessibility, timely support, consistent experience, tailored solutions, and wider engagement.
Proactive Approach
Traditionally, the post-sales customer support function has been a reactive process where the customer has to initiate contact. However, in recent years the proactive approach is seen as the preferable tactic to maximize customer satisfaction as 89 percent of consumers find proactive customer service to be a more pleasant experience.
Consistent Support Experience
Having an integrated support network provides a unified and holistic view of customer histories, enabling businesses to build quality, relevant, and accurate responses to related concerns and queries. This helps establish a reliable and trustworthy brand image with higher retention rates and stronger customer relationships.
Self-Service
A multi-pronged customer support experience not only allows users to choose their preferred mode of communication but also provides numerous self-service resources. These range from knowledgebase articles, FAQ sections, support forums, and troubleshooting guides. Self-service options provide simplified solutions to address minor concerns with zero operational support and at the same time offer enhanced user engagement.
Personalized Interactions & Targeted Solutions
In a crowded market with diverse user needs, personalized exchanges engage meaningful conversations and shape lasting customer relationships. This is the reason why 91% of consumers prefer websites with personalized recommendations and 80% of repeat shoppers come through personalized experiences.
Popular Mediums
Nowadays, the customer service landscape is no longer limited to call centers. It is rapidly moving towards an omnichannel approach comprising multiple touchpoints. These include:
Phone
Call centers may be an old-fashioned medium for customer support but they still serve as one of the most preferable and widely used platforms across demographics. Recent research by CFI Group highlights that 76% of consumers still favored phone calls to reach customer support representatives as it provides a human, real-time, and personalized support experience.
SMS Messaging
Text messaging is another traditional yet convenient method that is primarily deployed to resolve minor customer concerns. It reserves one of the highest open rates of 98% across platforms and can be rapidly deployed across large-scale audiences with no internet connection. It is one of the most cost-effective and reliable platforms for a sizeable audience.
Email Support
One of the most widely used traditional platforms with 4 billion global users, email is the go-to medium for customers to share their queries and concerns. It is an asynchronous method with a hint of human touch that can address a wide range of support requirements.
Live Chat
Live chat is a great way to provide real-time, immediate, and customized support to consumers. It is also a great way to convert potential consumers, build lasting brand loyalty, and boost customer lifetime value. It serves as an integrated repository for customer interactions, which can be later utilized in making informed product and service-related decisions.
Social Media
Almost 4.7 billion people use various social media platforms globally with popular mediums including, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Social media is a great platform for direct customer engagement with public problem resolution. It also provides social listening opportunities that can stimulate positive business awareness toward overlooked customer issues.
Self-Service/Knowledgebase
As previously discussed, self-service options empower customers to personally resolve or troubleshoot minor concerns via in-house company resources/blogs. These resources require no human interaction and provide room for agents to tackle more personalized and complex issues.
Online Forums
Online communities can serve as another great self-service method where customers can find possible solutions to their queries in user threads. These forums promote meaningful community discussions that help foster a sense of community around the brand. Reddit and Quora are the most widely used online platforms for interactive community dialogue.
Conclusion
It’s not necessary to utilize every available channel as every business has its own set of user-specific needs and requirements. For a comprehensive customer service strategy, it is important to understand customer needs and at the same time integrate customer feedback for optimal results and maximum customer satisfaction. Herein, the Xfinity customer service team stands above its competitors as it deploys a first-rate strategy that incorporates several industry-best customer support mediums and value-added support services that go above and beyond to deliver superior service at every stage of the customer journey.
