Customer experience
Anna Gorina
27 March 2024
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“Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime,” the old adage goes. For customer service, this logic also applies.
Answer a customer’s query, and you’ve solved their problem for a day. Give them the tools to solve it themselves, and you’ve solved their problems for the lifetime of the product (or service.)
Beyond merely saving your company on customer service personnel, customer self-service empowers your customers to find their own solutions. With younger generations increasingly averse to phone calls, many also prefer self-service. Omnichannel service channels are the future of customer service because they enable customers to choose the appropriate channel for their needs. That can include self-service, text chat, or video chat. A key component of omnichannel support is self-service, which lets the customer find the information they need independently.
Customer self-service is a customer-facing system that allows them to find answers on their own. A very basic version of this is the classic frequently asked questions page on a website. A company will include a list of common questions about its product or service. Answering the most common customer queries preempts many service calls. Self-service portals expand on this concept by encompassing all of the issues a customer could face with a product or all of the questions they may have.
Nowadays, these customer-facing knowledge bases empower customers to find information for their specific situations on their own. Many of these service tools include live chat to assist the customer to find precise answers. They may also provide the option to connect to a video chat when necessary. This non-invasive assistance is ideal since many customers prefer to find information on their own. In a similar vein, co-browsing is a new solution that allows a customer service agent to follow along with the customer’s browsing before purchase and answer any of their questions.
Most of the myriad of different self-service portals share some common features. First of all, the knowledge base articles are usually organized according to the most frequently occurring issues. Secondly, a support team works behind the scenes to constantly update information and respond to any chat conversations. Finally, self-service does not fully replace conventional customer support. Having options is still essential when a customer is unable to resolve their issue on their own. Ultimately, web self-service and omnichannel support work best as a combination. Self-service reduces support call volume, but video or text chat service options give frustrated customers a helping hand.
Self-servicing CRM applications like Zendesk, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics allow companies to manage customer relationships better. Most of these solutions also include knowledge bases that will enable customers to access text, images, or video relevant to their query. This software ensures that customers are not forgotten and that their concerns are followed up. Ticketing solutions help make this possible by assigning a ticket to each customer.
When live chat is not enough, it is simple to send customers a web link to connect to a ViiBE call. The benefits of using video chat for customer service interactions are that the service representative can see the customer’s emotions and better communicate empathy. The customer feels listened to, which improves customer satisfaction. ViiBE is designed to facilitate customer relationships by making it easier to keep track of past interactions. Customers are now placing more importance on customer experience. Half of those surveyed by Zendesk said they would switch to a competitor after just one bad experience. The array of solutions included in ViiBE’s software are designed to optimize the customer experience to give your business the edge.
ViiBE is a download-free web app that allows customer service representatives to connect to customers via video. You can implement it as a standalone virtual call center or as a complement to CRM applications and co-browsing software. ViiBE’s flexibility and ease of use make it ideal for customer service uses.
ViiBE is more than just video conferencing software. ViiBE allows users to communicate via text chat, share their screen, and share photos and documents. ViiBE’s web app includes an integrated ticketing system and a (non-customer facing) knowledge base. This capability ensures that customer service representatives are as well-informed as possible in as little time as possible. ViiBE also integrates into the ticketing systems of standard CRM software.
ViiBE makes follow-up easy by tracking metrics like first call resolution and by storing multiple calls to the same customer under a single ticket. It uses tags to track ongoing issues, making it easy to flag them and update self-service knowledge bases.
Major sports retailer Decathlon has an online self-service portal to guide customers through the maintenance and repair of their equipment. When a customer cannot resolve an issue on their own, they call a hotline to speak with a repair technician over the phone. When this is still insufficient to resolve the issue, they connect to a ViiBE call where the technician can see the customer and the equipment they are trying to repair. Retailers like Decathlon can easily use the data from ViiBE’s archives to update their self-service portal with the information that is most pertinent for customers. ViiBE’s built-in convenience visibly enhances the customer experience. Decathlon increased their Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 25% by using ViiBE for after-sales service. Decathlon’s use case shows how ViiBE can improve customer service by seamlessly escalating the issue to a video call when necessary.
Customer self-service is one among many technologies that are taking customer service to the next level. Co-browsing, omnichannel support, and effortless video chat are other revolutionary solutions. These all will make it easier to keep up with customer’s growing expectations from customer service. ViiBE simplifies customer service interactions and improves the service experience, allowing customers to connect anywhere in the world with a simple web link.
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