In the days before everything became digital, customer service was a more face-to-face experience, with brands and businesses engaging with their customers at stores and other physical locations.

But as the world becomes more and more digital, so does the process of ensuring that customers receive the best service possible. The demand for customer service software has grown exponentially because of this, resulting in huge returns for companies that specialize in customer service software and customer relationship management software, as reported by ETF Trends.

However, getting customer service software isn’t going to magically solve all your problems for you. There have to be strategies in place that work with your software so you get the most out of them and improve the standing of your business at the same time.

Strategies to keep in mind

If you’re planning on adding customer software to your business and are planning to go about it with the correct strategies in place, take a look at this list so that your implementation process proceeds without a hitch.

1. Have a chatbot in place for low-level problems

Not every problem is going to require a telephone conversation or a customer service agent doing a deep dive. Simple problems can be solved easily through messaging and you don’t even have to worry about customers adjusting to this new technology. A recent report on customer service automation shows twice as many customers will willingly talk with chatbots to get the answers that they want. 

Aside from being a convenient way for customers to send their questions and get answers, these chatbots can also be used to provide a more personalized experience to customers since they can remember and build user profiles.

2. Make sure customers can reach you through multiple channels

In today’s world, phone calls and letters aren’t the only ways customers reach out to businesses. Social media has emerged as a dominant force, with a recent study by the Pew Research Center showing that 69 percent of adults use Facebook and 67 percent of young adults use Instagram. All these new channels can be used by both businesses and customers to communicate with each other. 

Of the different types of customer service systems available, you need to have one that can handle an omni-channel approach. An omni-channel approach ensures that a business’ messaging remains consistent, whatever method of communication is being used. Clear and consistent messaging makes it easier for businesses and customers to understand each other, resulting in a better experience for everyone and improved conversion rates for businesses.

3. Assemble a skilled team of customer service specialists

Eventually, there are going to be problems that a chatbot will be unable to handle. This is where a team of skilled customer service agents can come in. Properly trained customer service agents can make all the difference when it comes to customer retention. When assembling your team, make sure that they have good customer service skills, such as empathy, listening, communication and language skills, as well as company expertise.

4. Have a customer service knowledge base in place

Good customer service agents may know a lot about the business they’re representing, but they can’t be expected to know all things all the time. This is why a knowledge base is important to have, and consulting it should be part of every agent’s customer service management process. But more than just having a knowledge base on hand, you should also make sure that agents won’t have a difficult time finding out where it is. Having one that can be easily accessed by agents helps them to quickly resolve customer queries, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and increased trust and loyalty.

5. Make sure to have a system in place when it comes to customer incentives

You can’t always hand out a discount or a coupon or a voucher for every customer complaint that comes your way. You may think you’re making the customer feel better, but what it ends up doing is making the customer feel as if they’re being paid off to stop complaining rather than being provided with a solution.

Before implementing your customer service software, make sure to have a process and a system ready when it comes to handing out customer incentives. That way, incentives truly feel like incentives since they are only given out in situations that warrant them. In the long run, it will also help your business save money as you can set a budget when it comes to incentives.

Good Strategies Complement Good Software

There’s no doubt that there is plenty of good customer service software out there. For instance, CommBox can provide you with a chatbot that can automatically answer customer queries, as well as a knowledge base that has minimal administration requirements and is easy to navigate for both customers and customer service agents. But what really takes them to the next level are the strategies in place when you implement them. Having them in place will only improve your experience.