5 best customer service strategies from top tech brands

Building an effective customer service strategy is not easy for tech companies. Whether they’re dealing with power outages, security breaches, product downtimes, or shipment delays, tech customer service teams need to be on their A-game to mitigate any unexpected customer situation.

One way technology enterprises can futureproof customer communication is by combining the forces of AI, human and digital customer service across channels. Marking the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, unified, contactless resolutions have even led to a 90% boost in the resolution rates for a leading wireless network.

Progressive customer-led tech companies understand the modern user psyche. They focus on delighting digital-first users with context-rich service experiences woven across channels. As it happens, eight in 10 customers are more likely to buy again from a business that goes beyond customer service to offer value-driven experiences. At the same time, there’s almost a 100% possibility that they will speak positively about the brand in their social circles.

Creating a sound customer service strategy may sound like a tough nut to crack. However, some of the biggest tech brands today are doing it right.

Keep reading to know how to build a strong customer service strategy. We will also explore the benefits of having one, with examples from top tech companies.

What is a customer service management strategy?

A customer service strategy is a structured plan of action that helps businesses handle customer interactions. It’s a defined approach that consists of the methodology, contingent plans and technologies used to engage with customers and resolve their concerns. A successful digital customer service strategy helps you drive user happiness across all touchpoints in the buyer journey.

Today, users truly value convenience and relevance. They want the context of their questions to flow between channels seamlessly – with customer service staying consistent no matter where they go. The best customer service strategies factor in the need for an omnichannel approach. The one that amalgamates information across all your digital channels into one manageable space.

Importance of creating a customer service strategy for your tech brand

Nearly nine in 10 customers aren’t afraid to talk about the experiences they have with brands. In the case of a poor customer service experience, they will talk about it with 15 people on average. Negative word-of-mouth spreads fast enough to damage a brand image.

On the other hand, a well-thought-out customer service strategy will only help you brew happy anecdotes among your customers. Here are some more benefits of a customer service strategy.

1. Standardized customer service

An outlined framework for dealing with different levels of customer interactions provides clarity to your customer service teams. And so they can maintain consistent service quality with users, regardless of the channel or query.

2. More satisfied customers

With a handy customer service toolkit, your agents are more equipped to deliver timely and relevant service experiences every time a user raises a ticket. Such experiences harbor a positive brand perception within your target cohorts.

3. Higher customer retention

Over seven in 10 consumers find their experiences with brands influencing their buying decisions. An effective customer service strategy helps turn around or mitigate unhappy experiences to ensure more of your customers stay loyal to your business.

Examples of stellar customer service strategy by tech brands

To stay ahead of the curve, consider these five stellar customer service strategies you can steal from tech companies.

1. Create a separate account

Save your main social accounts for important updates, product announcements and industry news. Create separate accounts just for answering customer service questions, giving customers a place to go when they have questions and helping agents stay organized.

Adobe, for instance, has a central Twitter account (@Adobe) and a dedicated account for customer support (@AdobeCare). Under the bio for @AdobeCare, the brand makes it clear that representatives are available 24/7 through this channel.

Here’s an example of a recent tweet:

(Source)

Brands can also sync these accounts with new Twitter tools for customer service. They can create welcome messages that greet customers when they start a Direct Message conversation. And they can enable quick replies, which let customers choose from a few different actions, such as checking the status of their order, talking to an agent and asking about payments.

Just remember to tell your audience where to find your customer service handle. For instance, Adobe includes it in the bio of its main account. “Need help?” it reads. “Visit us at https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html or reach out to @AdobeCare.”

2. Exceed customer expectations by leveraging behavioral insights

A 2021 Statista survey showed that live chat support from tech companies has the longest waiting time - 82 seconds.

Try to reduce wait times for your customers. They probably reached out to you on social media because they thought it would be quicker than calling or sending an email. Now you can prove them right.

Just look at Vi, the partnership between Vodafone and Aditya Birla Group in India.

The pandemic throttled the brand to rethink its customer service strategy. Staying seamlessly current on social channels epitomized human connection in the past two years. As a telecom company, Vi realized that.

As the number of tickets knocked the door down, Vi worked on strengthening its customer service strategy. This began with analyzing consumer behavior from daily traffic of 500K tags on various channels. Vi was able to effectively identify top user concerns, address urgent tickets and proactively detect user concerns to avoid future escalation. Timely interventions helped the brand even boost its Net Promoter Scores by a whopping 500% within just six months of implementing the strategy. Read the full story here.

3. Build a dedicated team for social platforms

Some agents are skilled at resolving issues over the phone; others understand the nuances of social networks. It’s helpful to separate the two and build your own team for customer service on social media.

The Xbox Twitter team, called the “Elite Tweet Fleet” is one of the most responsive Twitter feeds today.

That hard work pays off. The @XboxSupport Twitter account has almost 2 million followers, with responses firing almost every minute. They don’t just answer direct tweets, either. They scour the platform for people who mention Xbox and swoop in to help.

With a dedicated team for your social media audiences, you can ensure that your agents have the time and know-how to answer questions and deal with the ever-changing social landscape.

How Uber achieves industry-leading SLA and response times

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4. Handle complicated issues away from the spotlight

Customer service on social media is fast and efficient. It’s not, however, always private. Unless someone messages a brand one-on-one, their question is out there for all to see. That’s why, when you need to discuss personal information with a customer, your customer service strategy must transition to a private channel.

Just look at how Spotify uses Twitter’s DM prompt feature. The brand can invite people to join a Direct Message with the click of a button, like this:

(Source)

You don’t have to jump on the phone to have a private conversation. Just be prepared to help the customer meet you in a secure social thread — otherwise, they could get frustrated and give up on your conversation.

5. Build a knowledge base for your customers

Almost 81% of customers today expect brands to offer them more self-service options. They want to be able to find answers themselves before reaching out to an agent for help. After all, speed and convenience are the top priorities for users living in the digital age.

Hulu, the American streaming platform, is an example of a customer service strategy done right. The brand has worked meticulously on a knowledge base for customers to get answers from before they even need to connect with anyone.

(Source)

The interface of the Hulu Help Centre is quite simple. The search bar helps users to type in their query to filter out existing help articles. For more personalized and directed help, Hulu encourages the user to log in to their account.

The help page lays out the top three sections most user concerns fall under - Billing and Plans, Using Hulu and What’s On Hulu. Each section then dives deeper into specific help articles.

What’s more interesting is that Hulu also encourages users to get involved and seek help through the Hulu Community – a collaborative pool of users to discuss, share tips, and help others along the way. And if the user is still not able to find answers, the option to reach out to Hulu directly is always available.

Check out how to build a comprehensive self-help repository for your business with Sprinklr Knowledge Base.

Frequently-asked questions on customer service strategy

Building customer service improvement strategies needs us to answer some fundamental questions before diving into execution. Here are a few answered for you.

What are the main elements of customer service strategy?

An effective customer service strategy ensures unhindered interactions and resolutions between a business and its users. Strategies for successful customer service management call for a company-wide shift in their approach to user relationships. Here are the top elements of a successful customer strategy.

• Hiring the right customer service talent

• Building happy employee experiences

• Offering robust self-service options

• Going omnichannel

• Measuring the right KPIs

• Ensuring an intact feedback loop

How do you measure the success of your customer service strategy?

Measuring the results of your customer service strategy helps you identify points of improvement in your existing processes. You can measure the success of your customer service strategy by tracking and quantifying top metrics like:

• Average resolution time

• First contact resolution

• Customer satisfaction

• Customer effort

• Retention rate

User-first customer service strategies propel outperforming tech brands

Tech brands have it tough. They must stay current with what their customers want, to foresee problems before they pop up. The future of tech customer service is proactive, not reactive. And so, robust tech support teams need to realign their support approach to best mitigate issues beforehand.

With AI-led proactive listening, you can devise reliable early warning systems and fix time-sensitive problems before they escalate. Being proactive not only helps you build credibility among your customers but also helps you outperform the competition.

You just have to be prepared, because prevention is simply better than cure. Create a separate account for service inquiries, so people know where to find you. Build a responsive team to follow up with quick and informative responses. And empower users to resolve their problems before coming to you. These tactics will put you on par with customer service all-stars and help you handle any request that comes your way.

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