Every year, customer support technology seems to grow by leaps and bounds. This makes sense given that consumers now demand faster service, more channels for support, and a higher level of quality from service agents. In addition, self-service is now becoming commonplace in the customer support industry. Companies are giving their clients ways to resolve issues and find product information on their own.
B2B organizations have a responsibility to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in support technology and methodology. Why? The complex nature of most B2B products requires more intricate customer service. In order to compete in this competitive marketplace, you need to provide seamless client support. Let’s have a look at the trends you can expect in 2019.
Next Level Chat Features
Basic live chat simply isn’t good enough anymore. People now expect much more functionality. In 2019, expect to see chat features like screen sharing, text, and video becoming more common. Clients don’t want to have to change applications to receive additional data. They want an all-in-one chat experience. Fortunately, by implementing B2B customer support software, your reps will be able to provide a more dynamic chat experience. They’ll easily be able to create tickets from chat transcripts and also send clients information from a knowledge base directly from the chat interface.
The Evolution of Personalized Service
A personalized customer service approach is nothing new. However, it typically involves specific contracts and not the client as a whole. In 2019, you’ll see support teams creating a personalized experience applied at the company level. With the right software, this isn’t as hard as it seems. You can easily create customized accounts for each client. Then, populate these accounts with details such as preferred support methods, company size, SLA info, and more. This way every agent that works with a client will have access to all pertinent details in real-time.
Interactive Service
With content across the Internet becoming more interactive, it makes sense that people would want this same feature in their support experience. Businesses are following suit by providing interactive guides, videos, and texts as part of their support service. This trend is changing the customer service playing field. Many businesses are now opting to provide an ever-evolving knowledge base where clients can find and digest product information, instructions, and troubleshooting techniques. This empowers people to seek out their own solutions rather than relying on a service rep to help them.
The Growth of Proactive Support
For customer support teams, it’s no longer about waiting for the client to reach out to you. Businesses are now starting to inform their customers about upcoming issues before they occur. By tracking issues and looking at support metrics, businesses can predict when new clients will be likely to encounter an issue and can reach out ahead of time. In time, this type of service will be expected.
Stay Up to Date with B2B Software
In 2019, don’t let your B2B organization fall behind the curve. Update your current environment with the right software and have access to all the tools clients will soon come to expect.
PhaseWare can help by implementing high-quality B2B customer support software for your operation. Contact us today to learn more.