B2B Customer Support | 4 min read | Published January 20, 2021

Part 2: B2B Customer Support Transformation Imperatives

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Most customer support interactions today are reactive, but proactive support is on the rise.

In Part 1 of this three-part series we introduced the new report by ServiceXRG and TeamSupport. The 2021 Customer Support Transformation report examines current trends in Support delivery and offers tangible guidance for Support and Service professionals to meet growing expectations of both customers and company executives.

 

Part 1 explored the transition of support from a reactive transactional model to a more proactive and preventive approach. Now, Part 2 highlights why proactive customer support is on the rise and how it helps reduce churn and drive recurring revenues.

 

From Reactive Support to Proactive Success

Overall support demand grew by 10.6% in 2020. The largest drivers were new customers, higher user adoption of product features, and more proactive outreach by Support.

Most customer support interactions today are reactive, but proactive support is on the rise. Proactive customer engagement accounts for more than a quarter (28%) of Support interactions and grew by 14% from 2019 to 2020.

 

Proactive support engagement includes automated and “tech-touch” events including monitoring, alerting, and automated delivery of content, as well as “high-touch” outreach including onboarding, technical account management, skills development, and adoption-related activities.

 

One example comes from the customer support manager at TeamSupport customer, OmniFund. “It’s important to us at OmniFund that our customers feel heard and that we are proactive in setting expectations for time to resolving issues. The notifications from TeamSupport help us manage the support teams and track SLA warnings and response rates. It really helps us provide exceptional customer service.”

 

Going Beyond Simply Meeting DemandiStock-1170194279

As noted previously in this post, proactive customer engagement is on the rise. And two-thirds of support demand is related to the adoption and application of products. Yet only 28% of companies have proactive engagement efforts in place. Why?

 

Support is making the transition from a reactive transactional model to a more proactive and preventive posture. It is imperative that Support must go beyond simply meeting demand and go further to deliver enhanced customer value.

The practice of capturing customer feedback is widespread yet only 57% of companies report having formal procedures to act on reported dissatisfaction. Technology tools such as TeamSupport’s proprietary Customer Distress Index® (CDI) make it easy.

Customer image-1For example, Vince Gajewski, senior manager, client success and training tells us, "The CDI, or Customer Distress Index, is a great feature that allows client support contacts to see how the client is in terms of satisfaction. As a company you are able to weigh different criteria to gauge how at risk your clients are."

 

We’ll conclude this series in Part 3 where we examine the report findings about why the time, effort, and costs required to provide assisted support make it imperative for companies to find ways to expedite issue resolution and bolster efforts to prevent issues with an omnichannel approach.

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Since 2004, ServiceXRG has guided the world’s leading technology companies in their strategic efforts to retain customers, grow recurring revenue, and achieve cost efficiencies through the delivery of high-quality Technical Support and Customer Success services. Download the full report, Customer Support Transformation: The Guide to Essential Practices and Metrics.

Learn how TeamSupport helps companies create champion relationships.

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