7 Important Things People Want from Customer Support

How to be sure each call is an opportunity to give your customers consistent quality service by knowing exactly what it is they want and delivering it every time.

For a customer to pick up the phone and call your contact centre, there has to be a pressing issue of some kind. Unfortunately, they don’t take time out of their busy lives to give you a ring to let you know you’re doing a bang-up job. If the phone’s ringing, there’s likely an issue that requires immediate resolution to satisfy the caller’s needs.

In order to please your customers, you and your agents need to be giving them exactly what they want from a customer support centre. Fortunately, there are a few very specific things callers are looking for when they deal with your agents. Here are seven important factors people want from telephone support.

1. First Call Resolution

There’s no way around it: people want their issues managed effectively the first time they call. If your first call resolution (FCR) numbers aren’t what they should be, you need to refocus agent training on getting the callers the answers they need and resolving their inquiries at the first point of contact. Nothing will do more to improve overall efficiency and customer service than to focus on FCR.

2. A Clear Answer

It sounds simple, but sometimes agents struggle to clearly communicate. Be sure that your reps are armed with the information they need from a smart telephone software program and CRM so they can quickly access important account information and deliver it clearly and completely to confused callers. Clarity is key, so focus on training your agents in clear communication skills and empowering them with the tools they need to handle caller questions and complaints.

3. Quick Service

Being speedy with service shouldn’t come at a cost; increased service levels don’t mean you get a pass on accuracy. However, customers do not want to wait on hold for a call pickup or for agents to search through confusing interfaces to find account information. Be sure your efforts at increasing service levels don’t come with a corresponding dip in agent accuracy.

4. Courtesy

It isn’t only customers who want courtesy; everyone wants to be treated politely. If you aren’t sure your agents are delivering courteous customer service, take advantage of your telephone software’s call recording options to monitor their performance. Delivering consistent quality of customer service is an excellent way to drive customer loyalty. After all, a 2014 survey from market research firms BIA/Kelsey and Manta found that a repeat client spends nearly 70 percent more than a new customer.

5. Personalized Customer Care

VIPs want to be treated as such, otherwise how do they know they’re valued customers? Be sure your agents are tailoring their support efforts to the specific callers with whom they’re interacting by equipping them with smart telephone software that routes calls to the appropriate agents. Your reps should be able to access customer identifying information instantly so they can greet and serve callers with a personal touch. Give your agents quick access to account information for every call with smart CRMs and other contact centre software.

6. A Paper Trail

Along with a personalized experience, customers don’t want to have to repeat the same information or explain previous issues again and again. Be sure agents have access to customer records so they can see information about account history and previous orders to provide top-notch service for every caller.

7. To Be Understood

Especially in a country with two official languages, customers want to be served in their native tongues. Be sure you can provide full support in both official languages as well as any other commonly spoken tongues in order to provide consistently excellent service for all of your customers. If you can’t meet this need in-house, you may need to consider a third party contact centre support service that can help you greet and serve your callers no matter what language they speak.

To keep customers happy, you must shift your contact centre’s focus from just handling issues to truly providing your customers with what they want from quality support. To find out more about how your contact centre can meet all your callers’ needs 24/7/365, download our free white paper.