Imagine that you have just received a much anticipated order you placed for a new dining room table. You bring the box in, rip open the packaging, get your toolbox out, and eagerly work on assembling your beautiful new piece of furniture. After a short time, you find that a leg piece is missing from the box. You double check the packaging, holding your breath and hoping that somehow it is hidden in the bubble wrap, and your heart sinks as you come to the realization that the table you had been excitedly awaiting will not be completed today. Instead, you will have to make a dreaded customer support call to the company you purchased from.
You pick up the phone and dial the support number provided on the website, and are greeted by a call service representative. You explain the issue to them, and wait for them to rummage through their script as they try to evaluate how to proceed. The rep then recites a response to you, asks you a couple questions, and eventually provides you with the only possible solution they can offer; the one written in their script. You have no choice but to thank them (after all, they’re just doing their job), hang up, and move on. You probably won’t buy from the business again, and might even casually relay your missing-leg experience to a friend.
As a business, putting yourself into your customers shoes can help you comprehend the importance of quality service; nobody wants to leave a mediocre impression on their customers if they can help it. The reality is, outsourcing customer service through call centers like SupportNinja is admittedly efficient, but no call service rep or standard customer service chat will be able to represent your brand to the extent it deserves to be represented. Communication between customers and reps lacks fluency and context, and often leaves customers with a solution to their issue but an overall sense of indifference or even dissatisfaction towards the entity they trusted to buy from.
The answer is simple; offering in-house customer service experts on your website that have a full and comprehensive understanding of your brand and what it serves to accomplish. Cutting out the disconnected middleman will help create trust between the brand and the customer, and in-house experts can aim to please those seeking assistance in a way that will leave them satisfied with the interaction of talking directly to the brand they had the confidence to buy from. These experts can take trust a step further by actually making a human connection with a face-to-face conversation. Consider using video live chat customer service options like Uptok. With a platform like Uptok, businesses can ensure that their experts can be reached directly on their site for live video customer service. Build your brand by having great customer stories, and make your customers feel like a priority instead of a nuisance.
Although call service centers win points for the element of efficiency they bring to the table, there are so many ways to combine in-house customer service experts and live video chat so that they can also bring about efficiency. You can easily reduce call volume faster by managing it internally, and develop self help content for those who seek assistance that can be easily addressed. If you're in an industry that needs constant support, outsourcing customer service might be necessary, but should not be your only solution! Don’t be afraid to engage in the journey of hiding from your customers to facing your customers. Offering in-house experts, especially live on your site, is the next step your business can take towards breaking the tired old norm of online customer service.
