6 Tips to Help Reimagine the Customer Support Experience for Your Audience

A couple weeks ago we mentioned the ongoing trend multiple companies are following of 'reimagining' products and services. While the product is an important component to the customer experience, it is not the only component that needs attention. Think about brand names such as Disney, Apple, Sony, and Amazon. When you hear these names you don't just think about their products...you typically associate them with exceptional customer service. To achieve global success, your customer service and customer support need to match this product evolution. 

Here are 6 tips to help 'reimagine' the customer support experience:     

Photo Source: wearesocial.sg

• Embrace Social Media - Social media is not a new concept, but the necessity for companies to connect with their audience through these channels (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc.) is now a must. In a survey, "42% of consumers complaining in social media expect 60 minute response times," and "24% expect a reply within 30 minutes, regardless of when the contact was made." (Convince & Convert) Support vendors are making this transition easier with interactive technology that can be deployed directly on their social channels. 

• Leverage the Internet of Everything (IoE) - As we've heard previously, the number of connected devices is expected to reach 50 billion by the year 2020. Thanks to the IoE "companies are starting to use support automation to preemptively diagnose and fix issues with minimal human intervention." (Forrester) "The real value in IoT [IoE] is not just connecting devices to their users, but to deliver an integrated management platform, driven by big data to centralize customer service." (CSMWire)
• Clear Website Design - People typically visit a company website first when looking for support. It is crucial to have a clear, flowing website layout for customers to easily find the information they need.  
• Understand Customer Wants/Needs - The Voice of the Customer (VOC) is powerful data to incorporate into the development of any company. Leading brands have implemented self-service marketing tools that collect metrics/qualitative insight directly from the customers themselves. In one particular case, using an empty Virtual Agent (EZIntel), a leader in computer hardware manufacturing was able to use the knowledge they gained from their customers to make adjustments to their web design to better fit their audience. Learn more about collecting actionable customer intelligence here: http://www.nohold.com/assets/ezintel_brochure-(1).pdf

Photo Credit: ideastogo.com

• Improve Self-Service Technology - "In a survey Forrester recently found that web self service was the most widely used communication channel for customer service, surpassing use of the voice channel for the first time." (Forbes) It is not just enough to have sub par self-service options though. Customers are demanding a more interactive, personalized way for self-service interactions to flow.  
• Single Point of Search - Providing customers with the convenience of having one place to search and find answers to their problems. For example, users can ask a question in the text field, and solutions will come up from multiple knowledge sources. (i.e. internal knowledge base, Google, CRM systems, etc.) Click the infographic below for an enlarged visual representation of this concept.                                            

Please share in the comments below some of the ways your company is 'reimagining' the support ecosystem. For more information on any of the tips mentioned above, please contact noHold.

Throwback Thursday: The Future of Search is...a Virtual Agent?

With the recent announcements of Google's Hummingbird as well as Facebook's Graph Search, it seems fitting to discuss the new role of Search. According to an article,  Amit Singhal, Google's VP of Search said, "Remember what it was like to search in 1998? You'd sit down and boot up your bulky computer, dial up on your squawky modem, type in some keywords, and get 10 blue links to websites that had those words, the world has changed so much since then: billions of people have come online, the Web has grown exponentially, and now you can ask any question on the powerful little device in your pocket."

Wikipedia states, "To celebrate their 15th birthday, Google launched a new 'Hummingbird' algorithm, claiming that Google search can be a more human way to interact with users and provide a more direct answer."

Since the role of a Virtual Agent is to create a more 'human way of interacting with users,' let's discuss Virtual Agents that have the added benefit of searching across clouds. For this weeks Throwback Thursday I want to re-introduce Search ++, code named 'Smart Search.' This series of algorithms was introduced to the world only a year ago in 2012, making it still fairly new. Search ++ is an enhancement to search engines and works collaboratively with Virtual Agents to provide more accurate rank results. 

One interesting component of Search ++ is the Federated Search ++ feature. This component allows results from multiple data sources to be pulled into the Virtual Agent and delivered to the end users. The latest version of Federated Search ++ not only pulls results from various data sources, but it can rank all results as a whole instead of separately ranking from each data source. 

Another advantage to Search ++ is its ability to preempt end users to find solutions before submitting a support case to any given business. Sometimes consumers have a hard time finding the solution to their problem and submitting an email or case to the vendor seems like the easiest way to get answers. This is not true though. Submitting cases can be time consuming, you might have to wait hours before getting in contact with a support agent. With Search ++ preemption forms, before you submit your question, Search ++ technology will analyze what you have written in the case form and supply you with relevant articles that could lead you to immediate solutions. This decreases the amount of emails or cases submitted to your company's contact center and in turn, increases ROI and customer satisfaction. 

As search engines aim to be more 'human-like', and our Smartphones come prepackaged with Virtual Assistants (equipped with personalities and names), what do you think about the future of search? Will we use Virtual Assistants for virtually everything? Do the lines between search and Virtual Assistants continue to blur?

Happy #TBT

Throwback Thursday: The Future of Tech Support

Happy Throwback Thursday everyone!

This week I stumbled across a previous commentary article from ZDNet News written by our very own CEO, Diego Ventura. This article was published back in August of 2001, almost exactly 12 years ago from today! 

"The Future of Tech Support: No Waiting," was written when InstantSupport(TM) was launched, and no companies were offering real self-service alternatives to traditional technical support. Diego mentioned three pieces of intelligent support that had recently emerged in 2001: glorified search engines, chat bots, and menu driven systems. noHold was able to provide a solution that combined all three of those pieces to make one advanced, human-like, virtual technical support representative. In 2001, this was the future of tech support, being able to deliver answers in real time without waiting an hour just to find out you were waiting to speak with the wrong representative. Not only was this beneficial from a customer service stand point, but also companies acquired financial gains almost immediately after implementation. 

Fast forward 12 years and Virtual Agents are still providing companies with great web support and much, much more. Recently, noHold has launched a new Knowledge Management Platform. You can find out more about our new Platform by reading this Press Release. 

Times have changed and technology has advanced. We have adapted to the times once again, and we can't wait to see what the future of tech support has in store for us and for self-service solutions! 

Have a great week!