In the extremely competitive business environment of today, user experience holds the key to the success of an enterprise. Remember, if the users are satisfied with your product or service, that is only one part of the battle won. The real challenge appears when the product or service develops a snag and the customer gets back to you for redress. During that time, if the customer service is prompt and responsive then there is no looking back for you as the customer is satisfied. However, should there be a slack in attending to the customer then the resultant experience can turn sour for the customer leading to an avoidable bad word of mouth publicity. As per industry estimates (Source: a survey by American Express bank,) about 78% of customers are not likely to continue with a company should they experience a below par customer service.
The slackness need not always be related to the manpower, for systems too can play their role in prolonging the user’s agony. For example, an efficient employee dealing with customer service can do little if the system does not provide the requisite information promptly and in an easy to understand format. Besides, the malfunctioning of IT support services at crucial times can be a cause for concern. The complex nature of customer services means people manning them should be adept with the best practices and technologies.
How to Enhance the Functioning of an IT help Desk?
Multi Channel Support: It is no longer about customers reaching out to your IT consulting services (read help desk) through telephone or email alone, for there are other avenues as well. In fact, customers are increasingly using the company app or its social media site to register complaints. Hence, the help desk should be robust enough to offer a seamless support across channels.
Increased Automation: Customers are increasingly looking at a quicker resolution of their queries. This calls for the automation of workflows so that the personnel manning the help desk can attend to queries and solve them quickly and in a better way. The automation can be ideally done to the repetitive tasks like retrieval of records etc.
Centralized Database: Many a time, the disconnect between the customers and people handling the helpdesk arises due to the presence of information in different channels, databases, files, and records. Collating the information in a centralized database can result in the prompt retrieval of information. This can help in ensuring the integrity of data as well.
Self service: If the human interface is replaced with a ‘bot’ then the quality of customer service can be even more effective. This can be a blessing in disguise for the small and medium business firms for they can deploy skilled human resources to processes that need human intervention. The best part of using a bot is in getting a prompt and round the clock service.
Conclusion
The optimized use of IT infrastructure consulting services can not only help enterprises to connect their remote offices seamlessly but offer prompt customer support as and when sought for by the customers as well.
