Two of the biggest customer support technology trends for 2019 are bots and omnichannel support. Bots are picking up traction as more companies are using them to help customers find information, to route queries to the right department, and to carry out transactions that don’t require a human agent.
In the past, support was just answering phone calls coming into a call bank. The customer didn’t expect anything other than getting the answer to their question, and as long as they did, they were satisfied. However, as support has grown more prolific, the bar for customer loyalty has become higher as well. Being able to measure and understand the quality of your support responses has also become more important.
Welcome to our monthly round-up, where we share with you some of the latest additions to the Freshdesk Marketplace. This month, we’re happy to announce that we now have 700+ apps on the Freshworks Marketplace across three products – Freshdesk, Freshservice, and Freshsales. There are more exciting updates coming your way, but let us start off by looking at the new apps that have entered the marketplace!
Your new gadget didn’t arrive this morning from that big online retailer as promised, and you need to contact them. Where do you go first: a phone call? your laptop? Maybe less likely, text them? Ping them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram?
Customers shouldn’t need to know how your customer support channels work to get help. They don’t need to know that Twitter feeds into your help desk and that your chat channel offers self-service solutions using a friendly chatbot. Customers, in other words, aren’t interested in your omnichannel solutions. What customers need is to be able to get help easily, when they want it.
Consider all the different ways humans have come to rely on machines to expand their abilities. From calculators to cell phones, industrialization to robotics, humans have been able to achieve more than they ever have before, due to adopting machines. Machine learning is the next frontier in using machines to work more efficiently. And it’s particularly helpful in optimizing customer support. What is machine learning?
Social media is growing in popularity as a support channel. Customers love it because it allows them to get help right where they’re already spending time, and all companies should love it because it’s an excellent way to gain insights about your customers and cultivate brand loyalty. Paying attention to your customers on social media, also known as “social listening”, allows you to do a few key things that can help build lasting relationships with your customers.
What if there was one customer support channel that helped cut down the number of support tickets and delivered faster customer service, without relying on customer support staff? It exists — and it’s entirely powered by a network of users who volunteer their time and knowledge to help other users, building what’s known as a customer community.
For most companies, the largest segment of users are those who are on a trial or using the free version. In fact, as your company grows, your free user count will likely grow even faster than your paying customers do. But, every support interaction costs a company something, so as your customer base grows, how can you handle support for a group that doesn’t pay you anything for your product?
