Chapter 2: Adopting a customer-centric approach
A good customer support framework needs clear objectives, well-structured roles and responsibilities, tools, and practices—all of which we'll discuss in this chapter. Keep in mind that a framework isn't static; it evolves with new technologies, user expectations, and business objectives. Organizations must continuously adapt to trends to maintain a framework that not only resolves issues but also contributes to a relationship with customers.
Roles and responsibilities
The roles and responsibilities may vary across organization sizes, industries, and what they offer. Even within different product support teams at ManageEngine, there are minor differences in practices. However, support leads and senior management ensure that team operations align with the company's overall vision. The following table is a generalized version of a customer support team that can be modified as per business requirements.
Teams |
Responsibilities |
|---|---|
Customer support |
|
Technical support |
|
Customer success |
|
Regional language specialist |
|
Training and development |
|
Customer retention |
|
Support quality analyst |
|
ManageEngine's customer support framework
A customer-first approach is essential for fostering customer loyalty and retention. By demonstrating genuine commitment to comprehending and addressing needs, preferences, and pain points, enterprises can earn the trust of their customer base and deliver solutions that resonate with users. Our framework is a reflection of this philosophy and is centered around the customers' priorities.
Understand
Comprehending a customer's needs and issues thoroughly from the initial contact is crucial for providing impactful assistance. When a customer reaches out for help, they deserve a representative's uninterrupted attention and commitment to active listening to truly understand the customer's emotions that relate to the interaction.
What's the best way to obtain information from a customer? Technicians can start with open-ended questions to gather more information, followed by clarifying questions to nail down the specifics. This helps display genuine interest in the customer's situation and ensures that the technician has all the necessary details for the resolution.
Educate
A great way to reduce the dependency on support teams is by creating a single source of relevant information, commonly called a knowledge base. Educational resources help customers derive the most value from their products or services. Resources can be created in different formats like user manuals, articles, and how-to guides.
In addition to readable resources, ManageEngine's product specialists conduct workshops, webinars, and interactive demos on product usage, best practices, and industry trends that allow customers to stay updated, make informed decisions, and overcome challenges independently.
Personalize
Tailoring support interactions to the individual needs and preferences of customers can enhance their experience. Here are a few ways that customer support teams can provide personalized support:
- Pre-interaction reviews: Many things a business needs to know about their customer is readily available through tools like the CRM and help desk. This includes details like demographics, user history, product usage, prior interactions and incidents, and preferences. Taking a few moments to review this information enables support agents to provide customized responses and more easily recall additional details if needed.
- Personalized greetings: Initiating conversations by addressing customers by name and acknowledging any relevant information helps establish rapport with customers from the outset. Seems simple enough, doesn't it?
- Individualized recommendations: Customer support teams can proactively recommend solutions to address potential issues that customers might encounter based on usage patterns or past interactions. Let's say a customer complains about the slow performance of software running on their computer. The support agent can proactively suggest adjusting the settings and recommend hardware upgrades if necessary to enhance performance.
- AI and automation: Chatbots and AI-powered systems can analyze customer inquiries, predict customer needs, and provide personalized responses. In the next chapter, we'll dive into the benefits of AI in customer support. Meanwhile, here's a glimpse of what Zia, Zoho Corp's chatbot, can accomplish:
Prompt: Apologize to our customer, Mr. John Doe, for the delay in response and offer a free one-month extension on his standard subscription plan.
Zia's response:
Subject: Apology for Delay in Response and Offer of Free One-Month Extension
Dear Mr. John Doe,
I am writing to sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to your inquiry. We understand how frustrating it can be not to receive a timely response, and we deeply regret any inconvenience this may have caused you. Please know that our team has been working tirelessly to address your concerns and we are committed to providing you with the best possible customer service. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to respond to your inquiry within our usual timeframe.
To make up for the inconvenience caused, we would like to offer you a free one-month extension on your standard subscription plan. This will automaticallybe applied to your account and you will not be charged for the upcoming month. We value you as a loyal customer and your satisfaction is our top priority. We hope that this gesture will show you how much we appreciate your business.
Again, please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. If you have any further concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are always here to assist you.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
Best regards,
Providing a personalized experience helps improve satisfaction levels, increases engagement, reduces churn, and improves overall brand perception. Combined with periodic follow-up and feedback, a personalized engagement also creates long-term value by fostering stronger relationships and improving customer loyalty.
Empower
Nothing gives us satisfaction more than being able to resolve our problems by ourselves with the resources available to us. Most customers expect businesses to have a self-service option. A study by Microsoft revealed 66% of users globally attempt to resolve issues through self-service before they reach out to a representative. Chatbots are a great way to help users take control of their problems. The self-service option allows users to find relevant information or troubleshoot independently. This also reduces dependency on human assistance, reducing the number of incoming tickets and freeing up agents to focus on complex issues.
Chatbots also guide customers on using products or services. This educational aspect empowers users to become more proficient in the domain and utilizing the resources made available to them. Zia, our AI-powered conversational agent assists users 24/7 with their queries using information from the knowledge base. In our e-book, Zia for Enterprises, we talk about the role the chatbot plays in our business and IT operations.
Communicate
Clear communication channels are a must-have to establish availability and improve the relationship between customers and businesses. Provide omnichannel support through calls, email, live chat, and self-service portals. Social media DMs and comments are also a popular way younger generations reach out for assistance. Ensure these channels are easily accessible.
Support agents can follow guidelines to standardize communication across the organization. Simple practices like active listening, timely response, and clear and concise language facilitate clarity and effective communication. It's also important to be candid about ongoing resolution efforts. Instead of stalling or providing vague answers, which can increase customer frustration, communicate transparently about any delays, challenges, or changes in the resolution timeline to manage expectations.
To further develop communication skillsets, an English language program for ManageEngine and Zoho employees is available to support agents who want to refine their English-speaking capabilities. Training begins with the fundamentals like pronunciations and moves on to help support representatives structure their flow of thought and rely less on templates. Staff practice phonetics, voice modulation, and the influence of sounds on word meanings.
Assist
Helping customers resolve their issues requires two components:
- Promptness: Many users prefer quick and effective resolutions with limited interaction. One way to achieve this is by implementing a tiered support structure. Common and simple issues, like password reset, are handled by first level (L1) technicians. Complex problems are escalated to higher levels (L2, L3, etc.), depending on the degree of technical expertise required. This structure ensures that customer issues are directed to the right resource and resolved efficiently.
- Accountability: Ownership within a team ensures that each query is taken seriously and followed through to resolution, especially since things might not work out as originally planned. Follow-ups after issue resolution to confirm that the overall experience and results were satisfactory for the customer further reinforce accountability.
Anticipate
In the earlier sections, we talked about the dissolution of separate responsibilities in customer support and customer service. Being proactive, once considered the customer service team's role, is now a mandate in support as well. Instead of constantly putting out small fires, anticipating customer needs and addressing potential issues can help prevent problems before they escalate.
Customer success programs are rapidly gaining popularity amongst SMBs and most enterprises already have a team dedicated to monitor customer health metrics like renewal rates and advocate for customers within the organization. ManageEngine has domain-wise customer success programs, such as the ITSM customer success program for customers that uses ITSM solutions like ServiceDesk Plus.
A few other ways to encourage proactive measures include:
- Using predictive analytics to monitor ticket queues in real-time and identify emerging issues.
- Collecting feedback to understand customer needs, preferences, and pain points.
- Implementing standby alerts for upcoming licensing renewals, sales, or disruptions.
- Communicating new product tips, feature updates, and use cases.
As organizations expand their customer base and offer more products and services, maintaining high-quality support becomes increasingly challenging. A solid customer support framework, particularly one designed for global enterprises, is crucial for sustainable growth. When implemented correctly, the enhanced quality of support also acts as a key differentiator in a competitive market.
Establishing a global support team
1. Build a multilingual team
Hire staff based on the languages spoken across the organization's customer base. Customers find it easier to express themselves and voice their concerns in their native language. Hiring a linguistically diverse team enables them to provide users with a positive support experience. ManageEngine's customers are distributed across 190 countries, and in most, we either have a local support team or partner team to assist users in their native language. This includes languages like Spanish, Japanese, Portugese, and Hindi.
2. Plan for round-the-clock coverage
Some organizations opt for a "follow the sun" approach, where they set up support teams in different countries to ensure 24/7 coverage without requiring employees to work overnight shifts. Others prefer setting up teams that work shifts around the clock at a centralized location to unify customer support. In that case, organizations must focus on a seamless hand-off between representatives and ensure customers remain unaffected by internal changes. The majority of ManageEngine's support team is based at the Indian headquarters in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A smaller percentage of support staff is present at hub offices worldwide.
3. Invest in expertise
Don't forget about internal customer support. We can't solve a customer's issues if the support team isn't prepared. This means going beyond documentation. Organizations must conduct training programs for support agents to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and product knowledge to deliver quality support to customers. They can go one step further and provide opportunities to upskill and stay up to date on industry trends and best practices in customer support.
Another popular program, conducted by the organization's internal training and development team for ManageEngine and Zoho employees, prepares support representatives for customer interactions. INCU, an incubation style workshop, is designed for new hires or veterans looking for a refresher. This one-day program is divided into three phases and focuses on the quality of interaction during chat, call, and email.
Some of the topics covered in the program include:
- Understanding the importance of support in the big picture.
- Responding to customers as one unit.
- Bringing the human touch to our interactions.
- Emphasizing respect and empathy towards customers.
- Integrating constant learning and consistent improvements.
- Handling challenging interactions.
- Documentation and best practices.
4. IT-driven support
It wouldn't be a ManageEngine e-book without IT, would it? IT in customer support should focus on infrastructure and technology, workforce management, and performance monitoring and analytics. There are many ways to incorporate IT processes in support, like a knowledge management system and omnichannel support. Here, we'll review a few more key practices.
- Centralized ticketing system: With omnichannel assistance, support teams face an influx of tickets with varying levels of criticality. Deploying a centralized IT help desk to manage customer inquiries and track tickets can streamline communication within the team while ensuring seamless services for the customer. Collaboration tools can also encourage knowledge sharing, especially with teams working from different locations.
- Remote support capabilities: Remote support capabilities like remote desktop and video conferencing tools facilitate troubleshooting and resolution of technical issues without the need for on-site visits. ManageEngine provides a web-based customer support software that enables support teams to deliver virtual assistance efficiently and cost-effectively while providing a superior customer experience.
- Monitoring and analytics tools: Support teams must track key performance metrics such as response times, resolution rates, customer satisfaction scores, and ticket volumes. For an enterprise, a global dashboard providing region-wise data plays a role in decision-making. Data-driven insights help leaders identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement in support operations.
- Data security and compliance measures: Implement robust security measures to protect customer data and ensure compliance with data privacy regulations like the GDPR and HIPAA. Encrypt sensitive information, follow privilege-based access, and audit security protocols regularly.
5. Metrics and KPIs
Metrics provide invaluable insights into the overall efficiency of a customer support team. Are organizations meeting customers' needs and their own goals? What are the areas of improvement in the framework? These questions can only be answered through tangible data like metrics and KPIs. They also allow organizations to benchmark their performance against industry standards, best practices, and competitors. Metrics are often of two types: quality-based and operational.
Quality-based or organizational customer support metrics are more focused on customer satisfaction. Some examples include customer satisfaction (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), and customer effort score (CES). Like most organizations, ManageEngine's customer support teams send out surveys for satisfaction ratings. If a customer marks the survey as dissatisfied or assigns a low score, regional managers or team leads get in touch with them through email or call to get their feedback on how the support team can improve the process. This is accomplished via our in-house business help desk.
Operational metrics or KPIs are quantifiable measurements that help organizations monitor day-to-day progress. They play a crucial role in decision-making for resource allocation, product development, and continuous process improvement. Examples include:
- Average first response time
- Preferred communication channels
- Ticket resolution rate
- First contact resolution
- Number of interactions per request
- Threshold of support count per technician
Let's assume a team of five handles incoming support tickets for a region. Ideally, each technician can handle 40 tickets at a time split as 10-15 open tickets, with 25-30 tickets waiting on customer response. Five members with 40 tickets each can be marked as the maximum threshold. If the ticket count is exceeded for a prolonged period, it should require reevaluation by a support manager. Additionally, a support manager can monitor monthly metrics like the number of cases closed based on the level of complexity.
6. Create an integrated feedback system
Fostering a culture of continuous improvement is vital for an organization's growth. Businesses should actively seek feedback from customers to optimize their solutions and services. This could be in the form of surveys, follow-up calls, emails, or even focus groups. Feedback should cover all bases for complete understanding, including pre-sales, sales, and post-sales support.
Moreover, it doesn't end with just collecting feedback. To continue receiving input, constructive or otherwise, customers must know their opinion has value and can influence the organization's operations. One way to emphasize the importance of receiving the customer's viewpoints is by providing periodic updates on how this feedback is utilized in customer support policies and product features. Incentivizing feedback helps too. Incentivizing feedback through reward points and vouchers, for instance, can also bring in more valuable data.
The customer support team plays a key role in the feedback loop. They must collect and forward feedback to relevant teams for analysis. Being customer advocates, engaging with internal stakeholders helps them bridge the gap between end users and product or service providers. This also ensures feedback is taken seriously and implemented. When the feedback is acted upon, they must communicate that to customers. Here's a sample of what an integrated feedback loop looks like at ManageEngine.
Vital skills for championing customer needs
These aren't just keywords on a resume. Aside from the obvious understanding of the products or services offered, so-called "soft skills" play a crucial role in the quality of customer support. Here are some key skills a customer support team must have:
- Communication: Regardless of the mode of communication, it is imperative that a support agent does not come across as judgmental, rude, or disinterested. They must be able to express themselves in clear, concise, and more importantly, positive language. For instance, instead of just apologizing for a delay, thank the user for their patience.
- Active listening: When a customer reaches out to support over a call, chances are they've exhausted other available options like self-service portals, chat, and email. Calls are often considered a last resort. At this point, they want to be heard. It is the support agent's responsibility to understand their concerns, pay attention to details, and identify their needs.
- Problem-solving: Often, customers know they're facing an issue but don't necessarily know what the problem is. That's where the agent's problem-solving abilities take over. Asking the right questions is not as easy as it seems, and it takes an in-depth understanding of the product or service to identify the most suitable solution for the situation within a reasonable time frame.
- Empathy: A little kindness goes a long way. A support agent must put themselves in the customer's shoes and mirror their emotions. Respond in a way that helps them understand that it's an us vs. problem and not a company vs. customer problem. Emotional intelligence is a must-have in any customer-facing role.
- Conflict resolution: Support agents must be able to work under pressure and remain calm during a crisis. Customers are also employees facing challenges at work, and they may channel their stress towards the support agent when they feel their concerns have not been addressed. It is the agent's duty to remain neutral and stabilize the situation, even when emotions run high on the other end.
- Multitasking: Managing wait times, following-up with customers, working with cross-functional teams, and documenting each of these scenarios is demanding. Support agents need to manage their time and organize their tasks effectively, especially because delegating work isn't always an option.
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