What comes to mind when you hear the term “streamline”?  I see visions of muscle cars racing in my head with deep red paint jobs, black leather interiors, smooth lines, gentle curves, and V-12 engines that scream, “I am speed! Hear me roar!”

Such powerful vehicles wouldn’t have such speed without smooth lines and gentle curves. Streamlining in this case is improving aerodynamics, reducing drag, and increasing speed capabilities.

Well, within the last few years, the business world has been adopting the term to refer to creating faster processes. If a customer service center is streamlined, operations within that department run smoothly and quickly with few issues. So how do you go about streamlining your customer support center?

Here are two tools that can help: an Online Self-Help Center and Web Chat.

Self-help centers are wonderful inventions for both the customer and the business. The customer doesn’t have to waste precious time waiting in line for eternity. At their own leisure they can look through the knowledge base, FAQ section, and forums at any time day or night. They can even do research in their PJs. On the business end, self-help centers help decrease the number of service calls a company receives, which gives agents the time to troubleshoot more complex problems.

Web chat, or Live Chat, is also a very good tool for reducing phone traffic and saving customers’ time. Live Chat allows an agent to work with more customers per hour with shorter interactions and occasional multiple simultaneous chats. Live Chat allows for a fast resolution when the customer needs a little more than a self-help center.

A Self-Service Center and Live Chat are only two ways of streamlining your business. If you want more ways to make your customer service and support run as smooth as possible, check out PhaseWare’s customer service solutions for small to medium businesses.