It’s not a secret that stellar customer service is critical to running a successful business.
Providing great customer service that not only supports your customers but delights them is the key to repeat purchases, loyal customers who are potential evangelists, and increased possibilities in upsell and cross-sell opportunities.
But of the many tools a high-performing customer service team uses to deliver stellar customer service, perhaps one of the most critical in the mix is a dedicated customer service software.
So what is dedicated customer service software?
Simply put, dedicated customer service software is a specialized software solution designed to assist businesses in digitalizing, managing, and improving their customer service operations.
Some core functionalities of the software can include anything along the lines of:
- Ticketing management
- Self-service management
- Knowledge base maintenance
- Inbox management
...and most importantly – a unified view for your customer service team on all customer inquiries.
Why having dedicated customer service software is a good idea
Customer service software is a game-changer for businesses, especially when compared to handling things manually. Working manually can lead to slow responses, inefficiency, communication issues, and difficulty in keeping track of customer interactions.
Like a productivity tool for organizing personal tasks, a dedicated customer service software empowers your team to focus on problem-solving, not wasting time on manual email searches.
In this article we will share the 8 signs that indicate it might be time for you to invest in dedicated customer service software for your business.
Sign #1: Customer requests are falling through the cracks and it’s getting difficult to keep track of requests
Nothing annoys a paying customer more than a request going unanswered.
When customers do not receive answers to their requests, they may be led to believe that your business simply does not value them enough as customers. Big yikes.
At the same time, your customer service team may be stressed and frustrated as they are not intentionally trying to leave customers hanging, but are struggling themselves to keep track of the massive pile of incoming requests in just one shared inbox.
This lose-lose situation may be a tell-tale sign that your organization may need a dedicated customer service software to help organize incoming requests into logical, organized ticket queues that you can easily divvy up between your customer service teams.
Sign #2: You rely on a spreadsheet to track customer issues manually
If your customer service department relies on an outdated spreadsheet to track customer issues and responses, it can become challenging to provide accurate statistics when colleagues ask about your team's performance.
This is where dedicated customer service software becomes invaluable, as it centralizes all customer issues, queries, and suggestions in one place. With automated organization and categorization, the software ensures efficient management of customer interactions.
What’s more – generating visual reports showcasing your team's performance and trends becomes effortless with just one click. You can easily spot improvement areas and track your team's progress with the help of the software's comprehensive reporting capabilities.
Sign #3: Your customers aren’t sure if you’ve even received their requests
Let's face it – you can't always solve every customer problem immediately, and that's understandable. However, customers do expect acknowledgment and reassurance that their requests have been received and are being addressed.
This is where dedicated customer service software proves invaluable. With automated responses, you can set up personalized acknowledgments for every customer request you receive. Surprisingly, only 10% of companies use automated responses, as revealed by our Customer Service Benchmark Report.
An automated response can include a unique reference number, customer support opening times, and a link to your FAQs or knowledge base. It not only reassures the customer that their issue is being looked into but may also guide them toward a solution on their own.
By implementing automated responses, you can increase customer satisfaction and make sure no request goes unnoticed.
Sign #4: You waste time deciding where to route specific requests
When you receive a difficult specialist request, you may end up wasting a lot of time deciding who or where to direct this request.
Whether you consider asking the customer to contact a different department or transferring them to another agent, this process can lead to extra time and frustration for both you and the customer. As a result, the customer may have to repeat the same information multiple times to different people – not a good look for your customer experience.
With dedicated customer service software, you can put an end to this time-consuming ordeal. Many customer service software types help you route requests to the right person or team. You can easily configure the software to automatically allocate requests to the team members best equipped to solve them immediately.
For example, you can set up an inbox with the email address accounting@support.com and instruct the software to send all emails containing words like "account", "billing", or "payment" directly to your accounting staff.
Some customer service software offer the convenience of re-assigning a request to your colleagues. They receive notifications with a full view of the customer's profile and past issues they've experienced. This way, the customer can reach out only once and receive the best solution from your team without any unnecessary forwarding, saving everyone's time and effort.
Sign #5: You spend too much time on customer responses
If you find yourself investing significant time in crafting individual email responses to customers, it might be a sign that you need dedicated customer service software.
Many customer service software help you leverage pre-written email templates to save time and respond quicker. Instead of repeatedly typing terms, conditions, or explanations, you can choose from a selection of pre-written responses.
Response templates are a great way to make sure you have a consistent and professional tone for all customer-facing communication. This not only enables you to provide higher-quality interactions with your valued customers, but also speedier interactions, too!
Sign #6: Customers experience long hold times while you scramble for their case details
Customers hate being kept on hold, and you want to avoid that frustration at all costs. One reason for long wait times is for support agents to track down information for customer details like profiles, past communications, and complaints.
This is where dedicated customer service software can be very helpful.
Customer service software can typically keep track of all interactions with customers, providing you with a comprehensive view of their profile when they call or email. With just an email address or phone number from the customer, you'll have everything you need at your fingertips.
Integrating the customer service software with your CRM system takes it to the next level. Your entire company gains access to complete customer profiles and interaction histories, including sales, marketing, and service information.
Now, if a support agent is on vacation, another can seamlessly take over without making the customer wait.
Sign #7: You’re unable to offer round-the-clock support
Being available to customers 24/7 can be extremely resource-intensive. While your agents may have to log off, you can still provide a helping hand to your customers by offering a self-service option.
With customer service software, you can easily build a customer help center where customers can log in, access their request history, ask questions, and explore the knowledge base or FAQ library anytime they need.
This customer center usually sits on portal with its own unique website URL, and includes the ability to customize your customer center with your own branding and content.
The possibility to find answers on their own truly empowers customers. Not only do they feel supported around the clock but can also resolve their issues independently. Why wait for answers if you can find them yourself? 😉
Sign #8: You’re struggling to prioritize customer requests
In business, task prioritization is crucial. Certain customers and request types should take precedence, whether this be due to the urgency of request or a customer’s past profile.
For example, a customer who has already placed several complaints on an issue may need to be prioritized over a simple feedback request. Certain types of requests may also need to meet an SLA (Service-level Agreement), where requests need to be solved in a certain amount of time (e.g., 48 hours).
The biggest benefit of customer service software is the ability to prioritize customer requests based on your criteria. You can create notifications and alerts to ensure timely responses. For example, if an email remains unanswered for too long, it can jump the queue and go directly to the next available agent.
It’s as easy as setting up an alert whenever you receive a specific message type. Once you receive a notification, you can then easily prioritize the request based on your team’s goals and priorities.
In fact, many of today’s customer service tools can help your team automatically prioritize tickets with AI, saving you even more time with prioritization.
Digitalizing customer service = happier business and happier customers
Having a dedicated customer service software can help relieve many of your customer service team’s challenges, and:
- Help automate processes, ensuring quick handling of customer inquiries – meaning happier customers with peace of mind.
- Centralize your customer data, making customer interactions more personal and insightful.
- Provide valuable reports and data, helping businesses make better decisions. As your business grows, the software can also easily adapt and work well with other existing tools used in your business, saving time and improving efficiency.
Identifying with more than one of the signs? Then it’s time to look into dedicated customer service software for your business.
Discover how your business can benefit from using customer service software.
Book a demo, and see how SuperOffice Service can help you.
