Choosing Customer Support Service Vs Choosing Customer Support Team

When considering the concept of customer support service, your initial thoughts might gravitate toward call centers and dedicated service representatives who diligently respond to phone calls, emails, and chat messages. Essentially, every agent is providing assistance online but how they do it matters. We are about to discuss their work methods only.

Although these aspects undoubtedly form a significant portion of the customer service industry, it is important to recognize that customer service teams encompass more than just these conventional roles within an organization. For example, there is something called help desk outsourcing services that help in lighter communication support for companies.

Apart from customer support teams, there exist specialized teams within professional services that cater to esteemed customers with more complex needs. In the following discourse, we shall delve into various other categories of customer service teams and elucidate their respective responsibilities and functions.

Customer Support Teams - Work Methods

Customer support teams in different organizations have different working methods and it depends on the specificities such as the type of industry, company size, and customer service model. Let us discuss some common approaches and practices followed by different customer support teams:

Call Center Services

Various types of customer-centric organizations usually assign dedicated call centers employed with customer service representatives. These agents are responsible for handling incoming phone calls from customers.

These are trained professionals capable of addressing inquiries, providing product or service information, and troubleshooting issues. Basically, they are there for all handling all product-based customer complaints.

Customer support service agents generally use scripts, knowledge bases, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems for providing assistance. All of these tools and resources help these agents to efficiently manage customer interactions.

Email and Ticketing Systems

Now, some companies emphasize providing email support for their clients and customers usually because that’s how their client base feels most convenient. These professionals primarily handle customer inquiries and issues through email or ticketing systems.

Customers can send emails or create support tickets detailing their concerns, which are then assigned to these email support agents. Then these agents analyze these tickets, respond to customers, provide solutions, and ensure timely resolutions.

Live Chat Support

Many large-scale companies generally provide customer support on their websites or mobile apps. They have experts in live chat who engage with customers in real-time and provide them with instant assistance. They answer questions and guide them through various processes. Live chat is good for quick responses and improves customer satisfaction. Live chat is often integrated with knowledge bases and automated chatbots for efficiency.

Self-Service Portals

Customers can nowadays, avail themselves of self-service portals or knowledge bases. Anyone can get access to answers to common questions or troubleshoot issues on their own. Using these portals one can access articles, FAQs, tutorials, and troubleshooting guides. Customer support services play a central role in creating and maintaining these resources, ascertaining that they are abreast of all trends and comprehensive.

Social Media Support

With the advent of social media, it has become very easy to get connections. So, many organizations provide customer support services for observing and responding to customer inquiries, complaints, and feedback on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Social media support teams communicate with customers publicly, resolving issues, providing information, and managing the organization's online reputation.

Specialized Teams

Things don’t just end with these general customer support services, companies also have specialized teams catering to specific customer needs. These teams are assigned to specific support systems that would require extensive expertise in a particular sphere.

These support requirements could be anything such as technical support, billing inquiries, account management, or VIP customer support. They possess advanced knowledge and expertise in their respective areas to provide specialized assistance.

Therefore, customer support service teams delve into providing extensive support and it ensures customer satisfaction, resolves issues promptly, and provides a positive experience. The team comprises skills that are a combination of effective communication skills, product knowledge, problem-solving abilities, and efficient use of technology to meet customer needs and build long-term relationships.

Types of Customer Support Teams

Community Support Teams

Within numerous organizations, it is common for the community support team to be situated within the customer service department rather than the social media team. You may find yourself questioning the rationale behind this arrangement. The primary explanation lies in the fact that customers often utilize social media platforms as a means to connect with customer support.

Community support managers are the dedicated support representatives entrusted with addressing inquiries specifically received through social media. Depending on the volume of queries your company receives on social media, this may constitute an entire team or a single individual. The community team assumes the responsibility of responding to customer support messages, comments, and mentions.

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Support Specialists

When envisioning customer service, it is the support team that typically comes to mind. These are the frontline support specialists who handle direct customer interactions. Within your service organization, this team is likely to be the largest. It usually comprises multiple teams, led by team leads and staffed with support specialists.

These specialists bear the responsibility of addressing customer inquiries through various channels, including phone calls, emails, live chat messages, and occasionally social media messages (if a dedicated community team is not present). These agents are one step above normal customer support agents as they are more skilled and knowledgeable.

Knowledge Base Team

A significant number of customers opt to independently resolve their issues, often turning to your company's website as their initial resource. In fact, research indicates that 69% of customers aim to address as many problems as possible on their own, while 63% of customers consistently or nearly always commence issue resolution by conducting searches within a company's online materials.

Consequently, it is crucial to have a customer service team comprising technical writers and product experts who create and curate the content found within the knowledge base. This team assumes the responsibility of maintaining the knowledge base's accuracy and relevancy, collaborating closely with the product team to promptly report any updates or modifications. They need to keep themselves updated at all times.

Developer Support

The existence of a developer support team within your organization may vary depending on the nature of your product or service. Such teams are predominantly found in SaaS companies, where developers require assistance in designing solutions.

To illustrate, if a developer is utilizing your product and encounters challenges related to development, app management, or the submission of bug reports, these inquiries will be directed to the developer support team.

Product Expert

In line with the presence of a developer support team, organizations offering software as a product commonly maintain a product expert team. This dedicated team is entrusted with addressing escalated inquiries that necessitate extensive knowledge of the product.

Whenever a customer support representative encounters questions that require deeper insights into product functionality, the product expert team steps in to provide comprehensive answers and guidance.

Their role revolves around offering in-depth product knowledge and ensuring customers receive accurate and detailed assistance when standard support resources fall short.

Self-Service Support Team

A self-service support team functions in a similar manner to the knowledge team, as it comprises technical writers and managers who generate content for individuals seeking self-service support. In the absence of a dedicated knowledge team, this self-service support team may also be responsible for crafting knowledge base articles.

However, their scope extends beyond that, as they also create FAQ content and potentially even user blog posts, all designed to assist customers in navigating and resolving specific issues. Their objective is to empower customers with valuable resources and information to enable them to independently address their concerns.

Customer Onboarding

Assisting customers with onboarding is a key aspect of delivering exceptional customer service, especially when your product or service requires such guidance. The customer onboarding team is composed of specialists dedicated to helping customers optimize their utilization of your product or service.

Their primary role involves aiding customers in setting up their accounts and providing training on how to effectively navigate and leverage your offering. It's important to note that not all organizations will require a customer onboarding team, and in some cases, this service may be exclusive to customers who have purchased a specific plan.

Partner Services

Companies also provide the opportunity for others to become partners, offering a distinct product or service. This often entails marketing agencies selling your software to their own clients, effectively becoming partners themselves. It is crucial to establish dedicated customer support for these valued partners.

In essence, partner services are responsible for addressing inquiries from your specific customer base consisting of partners. For instance, you can find multiple partner programs in which customers within these programs can reach out to our partner services team whenever they have questions or require assistance.

Customer Success Teams

Just like with customer onboarding, it is likely that this team will only be accessible to customers who have acquired a specific plan. These customers will be assigned dedicated customer success managers who will serve as their primary point of contact for any inquiries they may have.

As a result, these customers may not need to reach out to the frontline support team, as they can directly engage with their designated contact. By offering this tailored approach, you can enhance customer support for higher-paying customers and concurrently reduce the influx of incoming calls handled by your frontline support representatives.

Professional Services

Within a professional services team, there exists a cadre of consultants and trainers who specialize in imparting essential knowledge to customers. Their primary objective is to educate customers on the necessary skills and insights relevant to their needs.

Some professional services teams provide a comprehensive range of services, including training, consulting, and technical support. These offerings empower customers to optimize their outcomes and achieve maximum results by harnessing the full potential of our product.

Read More: Customer Support Services - What is It and How It is Essential?

Conclusion:

Choosing the right customer support service is paramount for any business as it directly impacts customer satisfaction, retention, and overall success. A well-equipped and efficient support team can address customer needs, build trust, and foster positive relationships, leading to enhanced brand reputation and long-term business growth.