Walt Disney once said: “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends”. This brings us to the question - is your customer experience at the same level as Disney’s? Customer loyalty must be earned, and keeping your customers satisfied should be a top priority.
What’s the best way to ensure your customers are satisfied? Be there for them when they need you most! Not every person doing business with you is going to need help solely during business hours, which is why it’s essential to offer 24/7 customer support. If customers don’t have the support they want and need, it can lead to a loss of business, unfulfilled promises, and leaves complaints unresolved. You want to be a brand your customers can trust - by not being there when your customers need you, you’re risking their business and their loyalty.
There are many different types of customer support your team can incorporate. Unsure which type your CX team needs? Check out the below blog:
How to Determine the Type of CX Support You Need
Why you should incorporate 24/7 support
While having artificial intelligence as a support option is nice, AI is more of an enhancement than a replacement for real-time customer service teams. Your company should still focus on providing a human touchpoint outside of the standard work hours.
Customer Expectations:
Over 50% of customers expect a business to be available 24/7. When people have questions, they want their answers here and now. They don’t want to wait 24-48 hours for an email response.
59% of customers are more likely to buy when brands answer their queries in under one minute
Specific Industry Needs:
Travel/Hospitality - This industry has customers flowing at all hours of the day and night, the last thing you want is to be on the road and not have the option to get a hold of a hotel or change your flight on the fly!
Healthcare - This industry’s wants and needs aren’t only going to hit during your 9-5 work hours! It’s important for this industry to ensure their customers can get the answers they need ASAP.
Finance - Have you ever had that false charge on your card come up at midnight and thought to yourself “that’s okay, this can wait until the morning?” No? Us either! Some things just can’t wait, this is why it’s essential for this industry to have some sort of support set up for round-the-clock hours!
Having a Global Customer Base:
This industry’s customers won’t all necessarily be in their time zone, and they want to be sure their customers don’t have to get on the phone at 4 am in their timezone just to get an answer to their question!
We get it, not everyone has the capacity to staff their support center during the late hours of the night (we can help!), but it’s still important to have some sort of support available during all hours of the day. Not every person is going to interact with your brand during their office hours. You don’t want to miss out on a potential customer because they couldn’t get the help they needed in a timely fashion! Setting up a chat flow in the later hours of the night is a great solution to ensuring your consumers can get the information they’re seeking. Did you know that 60% of people have engaged with a chatbot in the last 12 months?
Do you feel like 24-hour support isn’t necessary for your brand? It might not be! Not every industry is going to necessarily benefit from this. The top industries that should really focus on this type of customer support are retail, banking, e-commerce, transportation, and travel/hospitality. It all depends on your brand and what will create the most positive interactions for an exceptional customer experience. You don’t want to leave them hanging in their time of need!
Along with ensuring you have support available when you need it, read the blog below about why it’s essential to offer customer support with a human instead of solely AI.
Why It’s Essential to Offer Customer Support With a Human
Other Options Than Live Human Support During Off Hours
AI/Chatbot - This is a great quick option to solve simple questions that can be answered in a chat flow. No, this program won’t necessarily be able to answer everything and provide empathetic support, but it’s a start!
FAQ pages - Incorporating a frequently asked questions page is key to giving your customers quick support. If they have a spot they can jump to for all of their basic needs, it may end up solving a bulk of the problems for you!
Outsourcing - We get it, not every company has the staff to hold the fort down during off-hours, this is where outsourcing your CX support comes in handy - let them do the work for you! For more on the importance of outsourcing and how it can save you money, read the attached blog: 10 Reasons That Only Having an Internal Contact Center May Be Costing You Money
Conclusion
You want to be available for your customers when they need you most! It’s important to make sure you have all of your bases covered and can provide the optimal customer experience. Human-AI collaboration is part of the future of customer service but isn’t the only thing you should focus on to support your customers. Humans working with the support of bots enables your customers to have the best experience with your brand, one that is fast and efficient, but also empathetic and kind. Incorporate both of these methods to ensure full-time customer support coverage and EARN your customers’ loyalty!
Not sure if in-house support or outsourcing customer experience is right for you?
Download our free guide to help with the decision!
So you know you need a call center for your business' customer support, but do you know what type will be most beneficial to you? In this ultimate guide, we'll teach you:
Where in-house and outsourced customer support partners differ and what each can do.
Pros and cons of both in-house and outsourced customer support centers.
Detailed case study on how an aligned business and customer support center culture greatly improve business.