Helping customers before, during, and after purchase is a hallmark of any business that wants to grow its customer base. Your customers want a great customer service experience, and often consider it when deciding what products and services they will purchase. Business technology is changing and so is customer service. In this article, you will learn 5 ways to improve customer service using technology.
Customer service includes the support you offer your customers before, during, and after they purchase something. The aim is to help them have an easy (and maybe even fun) experience with your business.
In the past, people patronized businesses based on the products they offered and prices. Now, customer experience is frequently the driver of purchasing decisions.
Let’s dive into 5 ways to improve customer service using technology
1. Integrate Live Chat
Live chat is an upgrade from the traditional method of sending emails and dialing phone numbers. When you integrate a live chat function into your website, your customers can immediately connect with the next available member of your support team and get help. It creates a good user experience and saves customers the frustration of waiting for hours to get a response via email or phone call.
2. Create Demo Videos
Inevitably, some customers who purchase your product or service may get frustrated trying to use it. When that happens, it can be a reason not to continue using it, costing you sales if it is a subscription-based service that a customer needs to renew monthly. In this case, you might want to create demo videos to show the customer how the product works and how to set it up initially. Tools like Vmaker allow you to record your screen while demonstrating how a customer can use a product or service.
3. Leverage CRM (Customer Relationships Management) Tools
CRM Tools are popular among small businesses. Apart from managing your customers, they have features that help you improve on the type of support you provide. For example, you can trigger your CRM to remind you to follow up with customers who complained of a challenge they faced using your product. That way you can ensure complaints are resolved and those customers enjoy the product they bought from you.
4. Try Chatbots
Chatbots are computer programs that use artificial intelligence (AI) to initiate a conversation like humans do. The idea is to engage potential customers exploring your website by starting a conversation via text. An example could be: “Hi, I’m here to help you. Can I help you find something?” They guide customers and answer common questions about your business, product, or service. With a set of instructions, they can transfer potential customers to a live chat with the support team where they can get more specific help.
5. Use Autoresponders
Autoresponders automatically answer emails sent to it. Email marketing tools like GetResponse and ActiveCampaign have it as a feature. It is best for answering common questions customers ask about your products and services. Instead of answering these questions via email one after another, you can trigger an autoresponder with a question that matches it. Instantly, your customers will get responses to the most common questions.
Conclusion
Your customers want a great experience when they do business with you. The decision to be loyal and return again to patronize your business depends on how you treat them from the first interaction. That’s why you need to leverage some of the technologies in this piece to improve customer service.
Remember that more customers equals more sales, but unsatisfied customers will turn to your competitors.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
