Customer service has undergone a significant transformation in the past few years, and the trend is only expected to continue. With the advent of e-commerce, customer service has become an even more critical part of the customer journey.
Now, customers can always be sure they’re getting the help they need, no matter where they are in the world. Today, we provide an overview of the evolution of customer service and discuss its importance in today’s marketplace.
Customer Service in The Past
In the past, customer service was generally run through a single channel – telephone calls. This system worked well for companies that had a large number of employees. The employees who were available during standard working hours to take phone calls.
Yet, this system has several problems. For one, it’s difficult for customers to get through to anyone in customer service. This is because there’s usually only one person handling all the calls at any given time, and they may be unable to answer all your questions.
This can lead to frustration and anger on the part of customers, who may become upset if they don’t get an answer quickly.
Another problem with this system is that it’s business-centric. Customer service focuses almost only on solving the company’s issues rather than taking care of the customer’s needs. This often results in customers feeling like their concerns are not necessary or that their concerns are being ignored.
There are also some ethical issues with this system. For example, it’s hard for customer service staff to maintain personal and business conversations. This can lead to serious privacy breaches and embarrassment for the company involved.
Another problem with traditional customer service is that it is often conducted unprofessionally. People who work in customer service have little training and are often given low salaries and poor working conditions.
As a result, they were not always equipped to deal with demanding customers or solve complex problems. That’s not the situation anymore.
The Evolution of Customer Service
Customer service has transformed from being servile to being courteous and informative. This shift is expected in part to the development of new technologies. It has allowed customer service staff to provide more efficient and personalized services.
Here are some of the critical points of the evolution:
From Face to Face Communication to Call Center
Face-to-face communication remains an essential part of customer service. It is often the first step in solving a customer’s problem. But, there is a growing trend of digitalization and mobile usage. So, call centers are becoming increasingly popular as customer service options.
Call centers have several advantages over face-to-face communication:
- They’re faster and more efficient.
- They’re better equipped to handle phone calls in a noisy environment, and
- They can provide better customer care by monitoring many channels at once.
They’re also able to provide 24/7 support, which is especially valuable for customers who need help with urgent issues. Many companies choose various call center software. It helps executives to organize their customer service activities faster.
Call center software can help to streamline business operations. It’s also helpful in making managing customer interactions easier. An inbound call center software can allow businesses to:
- Screen calls by role.
- Routing them appropriately, and
- Provide feedback on the status of each conversation.
Besides, call center software applications include features that enable a business to manage wait times or check chat transcripts for retrieval.
Customer Support Has Evolved From One Channel to Many
Back in the day, businesses relied on a single support channel – either you showed up in a store or called the employees by phone. Most companies have adopted an omnichannel support model.
This means they offer customers access to many communication channels. These communication channels include email, chat, and social media. They help businesses provide them with the best possible customer experience.
There are many advantages to executing an omnichannel support model. For one, it makes it easy for customers to get in touch with the business whenever needed. This is especially necessary for companies that operate in a global marketplace.
Here customers can be anywhere in the world and still need help. Additionally, it reduces the essential customer service interactions, cutting costs and improving efficiency.
An omnichannel support model is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses. It gives consumers more choices and better value for their money.
From a Business-Centered to a Customer-Focused Strategy
Over the past few years, there has been a significant change in the customer service approach. Client service has gone from being a business-centric approach to a customer-centric approach.
This change is mainly due to the rise of contextual discovery. Or it can be the practice of interviewing users to see how they use the products/services and what issues they face in the context of their work.
Contextual discovery is based on two fundamental principles. First, customers use products differently based on their contexts, such as location, time, and mood. And second, that understanding this context is essential to providing effective customer service.
Customer service agents should properly understand these contextual factors. So, they can provide better service by tailoring their interactions to match the precise needs of their customers.
They can also identify problems early on and help solve them quickly and efficiently. Contextual discovery helps improve customer experience by considering the user’s unique experience.
This strategy helps solve customers’ issues more effectively. It builds trust and loyalty among customers – two vital elements of success for any brand.
Humans to Chatbots: A Shift
Businesses have long been aware of the importance of customer service, but it has always been a costly affair. That’s because customer service is traditionally a human-led process. It involves hiring and training many employees to handle queries and complaints.
This can be pricey and time-consuming, not to mention frustrating for customers. These customers are frequently left waiting on hold or getting responses that don’t address their concerns.
With chatbots, businesses can cut out the middleman and save money. Chatbots are programs that can interact with humans via a chat interface to provide quick and easy answers to questions. They can learn quickly from their interactions with customers.
They are also better at providing relevant information as time goes on. This means that businesses won’t need as many customer service agents, who will be able to focus on more complex issues instead.
In short, chatbots significantly change how businesses deal with customer service. They’re efficient, cost-effective, and better equipped to help customers solve their problems.
From 9-5 to 24/7
Customer service has experienced a decisive change in the past few years, from 9-to-5 to 24/7 support. This is because users now don’t just face problems during working hours – they have them anytime or night.
This change has been driven by two main factors: the rise of digitalization and the growth of social media. Digitalization has led to a spike in smartphone usage, making users more equipped to deal with customer issues.
So many people use social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They are connected to other people, and customer service issues are always brought to light quickly.
This isn’t just good for customers – it’s also suitable for the brand itself. Being available whenever someone needs it minimizes the time the customer is waiting on hold.
Sometimes dealing with a situation that doesn’t belong to them is frustrating. It also reduces the number of people who are unhappy with the brand and will likely speak out about it.
As an effect, brands have had to adjust their services quickly to keep up with this trend. They must ensure that their customer support is available 24/7 and can handle any issue.
Besides, they need to develop efficient systems for tracking and monitoring complaints. It helps them to identify trends early on and adjust their strategy accordingly.
Takeaways
Customer service has evolved over the years with different methods and techniques. The way you treat your customers can be a deciding factor for their loyalty to your brand.
If you aren’t doing well in customer service, revamp it by implementing newer techniques. It can be such as automation systems and digital channels. Besides, start listening carefully to feedback about your services from regular customers.
