6 Ways to Deliver High-touch Customer Service

Recall the last time you encountered exemplary customer service – the kind that left you feeling valued, understood and genuinely impressed.  

For me, it was a recent online purchase where a simple technical glitch was met with immediate, personalized attention and a swift solution. It was a stark reminder that in a world of bots and algorithms, authentic human connection remains a potent differentiator. Just for the record, I’m reordering from them for sure. 

With AI reigning in customer service, the pursuit of high-touch interactions has never been more crucial. But how do you consistently deliver "high-touch" customer service in a digital age rife with automation and impersonal interactions? 

This post has the answers. Explore the definition and benefits of high-touch customer service, distinguish it from its low-touch counterpart and unveil six strategies to embed it within your organization.   

What is high-touch customer service? 

High-touch customer service is a customer-centric approach that prioritizes personalized human interactions to create meaningful and tailored experiences for everyone.  

It goes beyond routine transactions, emphasizing genuine connections, proactive anticipation of customer needs and a commitment to surpassing expectations. High-touch service aims to make customers feel valued, understood and appreciated, fostering loyalty and advocacy. 

For example, in B2B customer service, a customer service rep might observe a client frequently asking about advanced data analytics features. Rather than simply responding to each request, they could proactively offer the customer a personalized demo. The customer service rep can also supplement this with a detailed guide on data interpretation strategies. 

In this way, a high-touch customer service experience improves customer satisfaction and builds customer loyalty. But to deliver it, businesses need to build an in-depth understanding of customer behaviors and preferences and tailor their services and communications accordingly. 

Companies that fail to deliver high-touch customer service risk losing touch with their customers' evolving needs. This disconnect can lead to decreased customer satisfaction, eroding loyalty and ultimately, loss of business.  

Considering today's lofty customer expectations, the absence of high-touch customer service can significantly affect your customer retention initiatives. 

The following elements characterize high-touch customer service: 

• Customer onboarding sessions 
  These introductory sessions, including both in-person and virtual product or service demonstrations, are crucial to establishing a successful client relationship. They provide customers with a solid foundation for the product or service, ensuring they can leverage its full potential.  

• One-on-one priority support 
  Dedicated support on a one-on-one basis lets each customer know how important they are to you. This element of high-touch customer service ensures that clients receive prompt, personalized assistance for their queries or issues, often through various contact center channels. 

• One-on-one education sessions 
  These sessions cater to individual customer needs, providing tailored guidance and training. This approach demonstrates a deep commitment to customer success, which helps create a stronger relationship with the product or service. 

• Regular feedback loops 
  Regularly soliciting and acting on customer feedback is a vital part of high-touch customer service. These feedback loops help businesses understand customer needs and expectations, allowing for continuous improvement in service delivery. 

• Proactive check-ins and account management 
  Proactive communication and effective account management are key customer service techniques for maintaining and nurturing B2B relationships. Regular check-ins demonstrate a business's commitment to its customers, ensuring that they meet and exceed evolving needs.

Benefits of high-touch customer service on business 

High-touch customer service can have a significant influence on your company. Here are some important benefits: 

• Customer loyalty: Providing personalized customer service cultivates strong emotional connections with customers, leading to enhanced customer loyalty and bolstering your brand reputation management efforts.

• Higher lifetime value: The customer lifetime value can be considerably increased by offering high-touch customer service. Customers are more likely to stay with your business for the long term when they have great interactions and feel appreciated. 

• Positive word of mouth: When customers have outstanding, high-touch experiences, they are more likely to tell their friends and family about them. This promotes organic growth through word of mouth. 

• Reduced customer turnover: High-touch customer service reduces customer churn and increases loyalty, as customers appreciate personalized attention.  

• Competitive edge: In a market saturated with similar products, exceptional customer service may be the decisive factor that sways a customer's purchase decision. Delivering high-touch experiences gives you a competitive edge that enhances your market share and fuels sustained growth. 

High-touch vs. low-touch customer service 

Here is a comparison between high-touch and low-touch customer service: 

How to deliver high-touch customer service 

Now that we know what a high-touch customer strategy is (and what it isn't), let's run through effective strategies to achieve it.  

1. Know your customers inside out 

Gather comprehensive data on the customers you serve, such as their preferences, purchase history and pain areas. Agents must then use this information to tailor communications and anticipate customer requirements. Doing so lets your customers know that you empathize with them and understand what they need. 

2. Empower agents 

Equip your agents with more than just extensive product knowledge and problem-solving skills. Give them an in-depth understanding of the core principles of high-touch service. Encourage them to develop their unique approach to customer engagement model so that they develop an intuitive sense of what resonates with customers and when to go the extra mile.  Continuous learning and updates on the latest advancements in your business empower agents to confidently handle customer queries and challenges, leading to a more effective and delight-inducing customer experience.

Virtual Workshop: The AI Game-changer: How to Turn Your Agents into Super Agents 

3. Make good use of technology 

While personal interaction is key, technology is crucial in streamlining high-touch customer service. Advanced technology, like contact center CRM systems, accurately anticipates customer needs, shortening the sales cycle and accelerating conversion rates. 

It's essential to use technology wisely, not as a barrier preventing customers from reaching live agents, but as a tool for enabling customer self-service and quick resolutions.  

4. Enhance customer service with complementary AI and human touch 

Use AI-powered chatbots and self-service tools to provide immediate assistance and guidance. However, always maintain a fallback plan where customers can effortlessly connect with live agents for more complex issues. This blend of the latest call center technologies with the assurance of human interaction ensures that customers receive efficient yet personalized service.

Learn more: How to Preserve The Human Touch in Customer Service 

5. Offer omnichannel support

Offer support using a range of customer service channels, including live chat, phone, email, social media and in-person contacts. Ensure your customers can quickly and seamlessly switch between channels without repeating themselves.   

No matter how customers choose to interact with your company, maintaining constant high-touch service across multiple channels indicates your dedication to providing high-caliber, omnichannel customer service. 
 

Do you know: Today, you can precisely identify the required skills for an incoming query and seamlessly route it to the most qualified agent. Modern omnichannel routing software establishes comprehensive logic, considering factors such as skills, capacity, historical utilization and more. Know how omnichannel routing works. 

6. Feedback loop 

Create a feedback loop that invites customers to express their opinions freely—both favorable and unfavorable. Ask for their ideas directly or through surveys, reviews or other active means. Then, study this feedback to look for areas of improvement in your high-touch service.  

Positive feedback strengthens your dedication to providing first-rate customer service, while negative criticism may be quickly and efficiently addressed to convert unsatisfied customers into loyal brand advocates. 

Challenges of delivering high-touch customer service 

Although high-touch customer service has many advantages, it's important to understand its limitations: 

⏳Resource-intensive 

You need to make substantial investments in human talent to deliver high-touch customer services. To maintain a high standard of quality, businesses must hire and train qualified contact center agents. This could get expensive, especially for smaller businesses trying to address the needs of a growing customer base.

🕤Response time 

Longer response times are often the result of tailored assistance. When interactions take longer than expected, the customer next in line may grow frustrated and abandon the call.  

Good to know: AI-powered agent-assist software has transformed the way today's agents handle live calls. It recommends similar past cases, relevant knowledge base articles and guided workflows based on the conversation context. The result? 50% faster resolution, translating to quicker responses for the next customer in line.

📈Inconsistent experiences 

High-touch service can vary depending on the competence and personality of each service representative, which can lead to inconsistent experiences for customers. 

🚫Limited operating hours 

Firms operating globally may struggle to provide high-touch customer support across time zones. Limited business hours may lead to missed opportunities and dissatisfied customers. 

🔓Data privacy concerns 

Personalized service requires access to customer data, which raises privacy concerns. Since data breaches have serious repercussions for both customers and organizations, it's critical to secure the sensitive data in your care.

Deliver high-touch customer service consistently with Sprinklr Service 

High-touch customer service is a genuine solution for crafting strong, positive and lasting customer experiences. However, without the right technology, it can become overwhelming for your customer service teams.  

That's where Sprinklr Service steps in – the AI-powered customer service solution that helps you deliver high-touch service seamlessly and consistently. Sprinklr Service empowers you with: 

• Omnichannel routing: Connect customers seamlessly to the most suitable agents, enhancing efficiency and enabling faster issue resolution. 

• Unified agent console: Gain a comprehensive 360-degree view of each customer, facilitating highly personalized assistance and an elevated customer experience. 

• Sentiment analysis: Accurately gauge user intentions and emotions, allowing you to tailor your approach to situations that demand a higher level of customer service. 

For more information, book a demo today or take a 30-day Free Trial of Sprinklr Service and explore the platform at your own pace. 

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