5 Ways for Giving Customer Support a Human Touch
While today’s modern world is centered around technology, our society will always crave human interaction, especially when it comes to customer support.
Quality conversations and interactions never go unnoticed by customers. In fact, 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.
And what’s correlated to exceptional CX? Adding a human touch to every conversation.
Whether your customer support team is in-house or you’re a company that provides outsourced customer experience solutions, take note of how your team can give a human touch to a customer’s experience through the tips below.
Do you have an idea on whether your customer support should be in-house or if it’s more beneficial to work with an outsourced partner? This post goes over the pros and cons of both to help you make that decision!
Provide Omni Channel Experiences
With 67% of customers preferring self-service over speaking to a company representative, your company needs to make sure that they’re providing a wide range of channels for customers to have their questions answered.
Essentially, having an omni-channel sales approach allows your customers’ experience to be flawless regardless of the device they’re using or the form of communication they prefer.
It may have been more common to answer customer’s questions over the phone ten years ago, but customers are leaning towards chat options now.
Exceptional CX is centered around pleasurable experiences, so make sure your customers have every opportunity to contact you in the way they prefer.
Utilize Customer Data
A memorable customer experience revolves around the personable touch that agents provide. In fact, 49% of buyers have made impulse purchases after receiving a more personalized experience.
So, how can you add a human touch with a conversation that’s over chat or over the phone? The answer is simple: customer data.
Your customer support team can enhance a customer’s experience by pulling past data that is relevant to the conversation. Not only does this help the interaction to run smoother, but it also shows the customer that your brand truly values them.
Make sure everyone on your customer support team has access to the same data. This way, agents always have relevant information in front of them, ready to serve customers and answer questions.
Related Post: Customer Engagement Trends You Need to Pay Attention to
Connect with Your Customers
Whether a customer is angry, confused or impatient, always have your agents communicate in an empathic way. Show your customers that you are human and that you understand what they are feeling and going through.
No matter the reason for the interaction, every conversation should feel welcoming and personal.
The first steps to providing a great customer experience is letting your customers know that you understand their situation and that you’re going to find a solution to their problem no matter what.
Adding a human touch to the conversation sends a positive message to the customer.
Related Post: 11 Customer Service Skills Every Inbound Agent Needs
Post Solutions on Social Media
First and foremost, make sure your company is actively posting informative and helpful articles, videos, etc. on social media. Platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn are outlets that customers use to seek answers and find information.
Once you know where your customers spend their time online, upload helpful videos or images that answer commonly asked questions. Providing customer support without the customer having to reach out to you creates an exceptional customer experience.
Even though customers aren’t directly interacting with agents, you can still add a human touch to the videos and images.
Speak to your customers and let them know that their questions are valid and can be easily answered and explained.
Ask for Feedback
After every interaction, whether that be online or over the phone, ask your customers for feedback about their experience. Sending them a quick survey shows them that you care about making every customer interaction as supportive and personable as possible.
Take the feedback seriously and share it with your entire customer support team. Discuss how conversations can be more productive and genuine – train your agents to respond as they would to a friend. Adding a human touch to a conversation will never go unnoticed.
By offering customer support that is both personalized and convenient, your company will be known for fantastic CX, and, ultimately, keeping customers happy.
Customer experience is more than just making sure customers are getting their questions answered. It’s allowing customers to reach you by any means they wish to, connecting with them on a personal level and, of course, finding a proactive solution to their problem.
Don’t know whether in-house or outsourced customer support is for you?
Download our guide to learn about the pros and cons of both. We’ve also included a case study on how cultural alignment in your customer support center improves customer experience.