Helping customers remotely. For some companies it has been the most normal thing in the world for years, for others something they are forced to do by the coronavirus. Online support is possible in many industries and has advantages for you and for your customers.
24/7 digital self-support
Online support can be provided through a support site, a customer portal or an app. In all cases, it comes down to offering customers the ability to self-support digitally at any time. Therein immediately lie the three major advantages of online support:
- Open 24/7: customers do not depend on your opening hours, but solve their problems whenever they want and ask their questions at any time.
- Digital: no traveling to the office or store or being endlessly transferred, but easy access to the support environment by phone, tablet or PC.
- Self-support: Customers are able to find answers to questions on their own, consult documentation or read instructions. They don't need you.
"To deliver top-quality support, you have to see online support as an additional option for customers."
What should you look for in a support site?
A few things to get right when offering online support:
- Security: the website should be secure and visitors should not be at any risk of their login information being misused.
- Manage access: make sure you properly manage who has access to the site, how you provide login credentials, how they set their password, etc.
- User-friendly: provide a support environment with a good look and feel that is user-friendly and intuitive.
- Relevant features and content: the most important of course; what you offer on the support site in terms of features and what content you share is all-important to the success of the support site.
- User's Guide: clearly explain how the support site works in a user manual.
Maintain personal attention
To provide top-quality support, you need to view online support as an additional option for customers. You should still be available via phone and e-mail, for example, and (when that's allowed again) help face-to-face customers. But by providing online support, you expand the options available to customers. Customers experience better support, while your support costs go down. Win-win, in other words. But online support is impersonal and therefore should not replace other forms of support. You shouldn't hide behind ticket numbers and response times, but should continue to strive to help people as much as possible.
