How to Improve Customer Support Metrics

Is your team playing catch-up or leading the charge? Are you being proactive or reactive? You should strive for your team to be proactive with customers. How do you do that? Here is how I do this with clients: 1. Assessment 📊 Evaluating your current practices Analyze past interactions Identify patterns 2. Customer Journey Mapping 🗺️ Map out your customer journey Pinpoint touchpoints for proactive engagement Anticipate potential pain points and strategize solutions in advance 3. Data-Driven Insights 📈 Leverage data analytics to predict customer behavior Allow your team to address concerns before they become problems. 4. Training and Skill Development 🎓 Have a playbook for your team. Teach them how to think proactively. Problem-solving exercises 5. Automation Tools 🛠️ Invest in customer success platforms. Set up triggers and alerts. Intervene before customers even realize there's a problem. 6. Regular Customer Feedback 🗣️ Don't be afraid to ask for feedback. Use feedback to refine processes. Identify where proactive measures can be added to the customer experience. 7. Cross-Functional Collaboration 🤝 Foster collaboration A united front allows the company to be proactive in customer needs Address challenges that may extend beyond their immediate scope 8. Customer Education 📚 Empower your customers with educational resources. Proactively share tips, tricks, and updates. 9. Continuous Improvement 🔄 Establish a culture of continuous improvement. Encourage your team to regularly review and refine strategies Test and test again 10. Recognition and Incentives 🏆 Acknowledge and reward proactive behavior. Creating a culture of being proactive, not reactive, is celebrated. Transitioning from a reactive to a proactive customer success approach is a journey, not a destination. #CustomerSuccess #ProactiveCX #CustomerEngagement 🚀

I’ve been asked a lot in the last few weeks about how we started to use AI for support…. We aren’t perfect and we definitely haven’t arrived, but for all the support leaders out there, here are a few things to consider as you transition to using more AI to support your customers. 1️⃣ Assessment of Support Processes: Start by assessing your current support workflows. Identify pain points, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement. Highlight the top 2-3 areas where AI could speed up the resolution for your customers. 2️⃣ Invest in AI Technologies: Embrace AI tools tailored to your support needs. From natural language processing to chatbots 🤖, explore solutions that align with your support goals and customer expectations. No two businesses are exactly the same, so do your homework. 3️⃣ Assess the numbers: Should you build it or buy it (more posts to come on this topic). Regardless of if you choose to build it or buy it, outlining a clear business case for the investment to share with other stakeholders is an important part of the adoption of any AI tools. 4️⃣ Build a Knowledge Hub: Lay the foundation for AI success by developing a comprehensive knowledge base. This foundation of information serves as the backbone for AI-driven responses, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. LLM’s thrive when the knowledge they are fed is extensive, accurate and detailed. 5️⃣ Prioritize Continuous Improvement: Monitor key performance metrics and gather feedback from both customers and agents. Use insights to refine AI algorithms, optimize processes, and deliver exceptional support experiences. You wouldn’t cut a brand new agent loose without QA and the same can be said for your “AI agent” Transitioning to AI does not have to lead to a degradation of service or even be scary for your team. Coupled with the right strategy it can enhance the experience for your customers and your agents and allow your team the time to focus on other areas of customer support. #CustomerSupport #AIInnovation #SupportLeadership #ContinuousImprovement #FutureReadySupport

One thing I've noticed when working with clients and doing discovery calls is that a lot of companies are not using customer signals to be proactive instead of reactive. Being proactive rather than reactive is the key to ensuring customer satisfaction and retention. One effective strategy to stay ahead of potential issues is by documenting and understanding "customer signals" – subtle behaviors and indicators that can serve as red flags. Recognizing these signals across the organization allows businesses to engage with customers at the right moment, preventing issues from escalating and ultimately fostering a more positive customer experience. Teams should not just try to save the account once there is a request to cancel or an escalation. You need to pay attention to the signs before you hit this point. Ensuring the entire team knows what to look for means that everyone is empowered to care and improve the customer experience. Here's a list of customer behaviors that could be potential red flags, gradually increasing as they check out or consider leaving: 🔷 Reduced Engagement: Decreased interactions with your product or service. Limited participation in surveys, webinars, or other engagement opportunities. 🔷 Decreased Usage Patterns: A decline in frequency or duration of product usage. Reduced utilization of features or services. 🔷 Unresolved Support Tickets: Multiple open support tickets that remain unresolved. Frequent escalations or dissatisfaction with support responses. 🔷 Negative Feedback or Reviews: Public expression of dissatisfaction on review platforms or social media. Consistently low scores in customer feedback surveys. 🔷 Inactive Account Behavior: Extended periods of inactivity in their account. No logins or interactions over an extended timeframe. 🔷 Communication Breakdown: Ignoring or not responding to communication attempts. Lack of response to personalized outreach or engagement efforts. 🔷 Changes in Buying Patterns: Drastic reduction in purchase frequency or order size. Shifting to lower-tier plans or downgrading services. 🔷 Exploration of Alternatives: Visiting competitor websites or exploring alternative solutions. Engaging in product comparisons and evaluations. 🔷 Billing and Payment Issues: Frequent delays or issues with payments. Unusual changes in billing patterns.