Customer Service & Tech Support Services
The customer service is to identify all those customer assistance practices in the various moments that characterize the purchasing process is fundamentally linked to the approach that companies decide to give to their relationship with the customer. It is assumed that over the years the purchasing process has radically changed , the focus has shifted from the product to the customer and the latter is more informed and demanding. The customer is therefore the protagonist, indeed the relationship with the customer is the key to a lasting relationship between the brand and the people. The term “customer support” is used indiscriminately also in the case of “technical support “or” customer service “and places the emphasis on the support that is given to the customer.
Our customer service is the set of all those processes aimed at customer satisfaction, it embodies the concepts of customer support and customer service and is aimed at a form of long-term assistance. Our customer support is the set of all those services related technical assistance to be provided to a customer who purchased a product or service.
The Tools of Customer Care
In the evolution of customer care, four main phases can be identified which correspond to the introduction of new tools to mediate the relationship between brand and customers. The passage to a subsequent phase does not imply the disappearance of the instrument that characterized the previous phase, but its integration or improvement.
Telephone Support
Second only to vis-a-vis assistance, the telephone channel is the oldest customer care tool. It is considered the indispensable solution when looking for a quick answer to a problem, but speed is at the same time a strength and a weakness of this tool. “In the world of customer service the quality of the service is measured through the customer experience perceived by the consumer, by the final customer and can be determined by the speed with which an operator finds the solution to the problem exposed “. As a demonstration of how much the time factor is fundamental in customer care, the ” The State of Customer Service ” survey , carried out by Xerox Institute of Work, shows that one in two customers is willing to pay to receive a better, customization service and safer privacy management. Specifically, it is in the technology, telecommunications and media sectors that 54% of users would pay in exchange for better efficiency, in order to achieve greater speed , limit problems and increase the level of privacy protection.
Web Support
The introduction of the web channel among the possible forms of customer assistance involves both the use of the email tool or assistance ticket and self-service solutions starting from the FAQ. If we can humanize this type of relationship between automatic systems and users regardless of age, the advantages such as being able to use services 24-hour every day of the week they are there for everyone. Online customer support can be seen in some ways as a kind of filter to the numerous requests received every day and which can often be disposed of through guided procedures on the website. In the case of sending a request for assistance by e-mail, the company that has chosen this tool must always reply to the customer of the receipt with a transnational email that also informs him of the times in which his request will be processed.
Social Customer Care
Social customer care is an evolution of the customer assistance service which, through dedicated social channels, provides quick answers and allows customers to get in direct contact with the brand. The use of social media as a tool when discussing products and assistance to other users probably has replaced the community and forum enabling companies to monitor and access additional information about your brand. The dynamics of the relationship between customer and brand on social networks are not moderate and in this regard, a greater effort is required from companies in monitoring sentiment through specific tools generated.
Live Caring and Chat-bot
Instant messaging is now an activity that involves the vast majority of smartphone owners and which the customer prefers it because using the telephone to text has become a more natural experience than calling. The live caring understood as assistance via chat is confirmed as a new way to provide the customer with a rapid response, and next to it, the ultimate in customer care area relates to the use of the chat-bot , or those software that they simulate conversation with a human being and interact by providing automatic responses.
Duties of the Customer Service Officer
The goal of customer service is to ensure full customer satisfaction before, during and after the purchase of products or services, promoting their loyalty . The main responsibilities and duties of the customer service staff are therefore:
- Provide customer support over the phone and / or in person at the counter
- Listening and understanding customer needs
- Provide detailed information on products and services, answer questions and concerns
- Take charge of the tickets for technical issues
- Handle complaints
- Collect feedback and complaints
- Carry out front-office and back-office activities
- Keep a history of problems and reports handled.
Skills of our Customer Service Representative
The main skills and personal characteristics that a customer service representative must possess are:
- Competence in managing customer relations and requests for information
- Strong customer orientation
- Attitude to communication and interpersonal relationships
- Excellent listening and problem solving skills
- Mediation skills
- Stress management skills
- Accuracy and reliability
- Courtesy, patience, calm
- Mastery of the main computer programs
- Knowledge of foreign languages
- Flexibility, willingness to work shifts and on weekends
