How to Reduce Customer Support Costs
Written by Toonimo
First, let's talk about the importance of customer service. Investing in customer support is a no-brainer, as it has a direct impact on the integrity of the brand. It’s also critical to customer retention and brand loyalty. Customer support is not solely reserved for existing customers, but should also be available to new customers interested in buying your product or service.
Here are the facts:
- 45% of US consumers will abandon an online transaction if their questions or concerns are not addressed quickly. (Forrester)
- 89% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company after experiencing poor customer service (RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report).
- 33% of consumers would recommend a brand that provides a quick but effective response. 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated. (Nielsen McKinsey)
The problem is that support is not cheap. It requires personnel available at all times via chat, phone, and email in order to provide high-quality service that will benefit your brand. Even with a large and costly support team, you cannot always guarantee that your customers will get the service they require in a timely manner. In fact, according to Forrester, 42% of service agents are unable to efficiently resolve customer issues due to various challenges, such as disconnected systems, archaic interfaces, and multiple applications.
Companies are faced with a cold fact - customers require service on a regular basis, traffic is being sent to their support pages every day, and service at the highest level is required without compromise.
How can it be done at reduced costs?
Start optimizing the entire support process by making improvements before the tickets even reach your support team. When new and existing customers visit your support pages – this is where you can take steps to reduce the number of users who actually end up needing chat or phone support.
At Toonimo, we offer a personalized digital walkthrough with a human voice that guides your users with personalized direction. Not only do you enhance the user experience, but also take full advantage of the "support traffic" you're getting and reduce support costs.
According to CRM Magazine, 45% of companies offering web or mobile self-service reported an increase in site traffic and reduced phone inquiries.
Personalizing customer experience supports all of your business endeavors - it increases brand loyalty, customer retention, and ROI.