Hone Your Customer Support Desk Tool
3 Keys to Optimizing the Customer Support Process
Introduction
The business world is waking up to the fact that their relationship with the customer does not end once the customer has purchased a product. Customers will still be judging the company that produced their new purchase by the quality of customer support they receive. In other words, customer support has become part of the purchase, a part that may be a more powerful predictor of a successful customer experience than the product itself.
Conventional wisdom says that it only takes one bad experience to make a valuable customer walk away and never come back. Statistics to back up that claim are hard to find, but most people have had a customer support ordeal that makes them agree with that statement.
Poor customer support, it appears, is just as damaging to the customer relationship as poor product quality. Thus, the business world is in the midst of trying to create the best customer support anyone has ever had. Unfortunately, most businesses do not stop to identify the precise problems of their customer support operation, nor do they entertain any plans to provide better quality customer support by getting appropriate tools for the customer support staff. And while a tool is only as good as its operator, the tool is an essential component of the customer support process and its importance cannot be ignored.
Software
The most valuable tool for helping deliver the best customer support is software that has the ability to record information, track tasks, and classify incidents. Without this tool the chances for creating a blockbuster customer experience will be extremely small. And if the software is not configured for the specific support processes used by the company the new tool will not meet even that most basic of requirements: expediting the incident resolution process.
Using software for incident submission, resolution, and status checks on open incidents that does not meet requirements will cause customer experience to suffer inexcusable delays. So, before evaluating and choosing any software, map the support desk processes and determine:
• user requirements
• how the proposed new system will meet those requirements, and • user feedback about the proposed system
It is natural for people to resist change. But this resistance can be countered by having end users participate in the selection and implementation process. Once the software has been selected and integrated the users should be allowed to give more feedback to make certain the system is configured into the most efficient form for their workflow. Ease of use, stability, and features that can be fully customized to support activities have the best chance of user adoption.
Evaluate the existing software that will be integrated with the customer support application to determine if any upgrades or optimizations are needed to run most efficiently and free of errors. The best customer support software in the world cannot operate at peak efficiency if the system it runs on is not in top shape. All supporting software and hardware must be operating at its highest potential in order to capitalize on the software investment made for the support desk.
System performance optimization can pinpoint problems with data management, the need for upgrades, and predict future performance issues. Resolve the predicted problem prior to software integration and implementation. If the legacy software has been optimized and the new software is easily integrated into the existing framework much of the work is complete.
To paraphrase a real estate maxim: these activities require three things: planning, planning, planning. Plan before adding the new software. Once the new system is in place, take advantage of the momentum created by the promise of a better way to record customer support information to help the staff through any training and implementation issues that occur.
Data Use
What will the data be used for now that it is now so easily collected and analyzed? Ask the appropriate people the following questions:
• What are the service goals of the help desk?
• What metrics must be measured to help customer support meet those service goals?
To create a clear picture of customer needs and to shape the strategy for service improvement, gather data from both external and internal sources, such as surveys and call records. Gather metrics in real time and make them visible to support personnel. This provides timely feedback and incentive to reach service goals. No longer will support staff management be forced to wait until a weekly or monthly report is issued to check operational activities.
Data gathering, storage, and retrieval strategies are also important for answering regulatory requirements. With new regulations, requirements, and best practices being created and enforced in various industries the ability to quickly and accurately retrieve specific information and use it to correctly meet those new rules will be of increasing importance in the years to come.
Reports
Not only must data be gathered and analyzed correctly, it must be formatted into a report that is easy to read and that contains actionable data. There are several common reports that show the performance of various parts of the support process. Here are some examples.
System Performance reports:
• evaluation of hardware activity
• security events i.e. attempts at unauthorized access • diagnostics of system problems
Customer service and support performance reports:
• average speed-to-answer • average handle-time
• call volume with peak and valley • first call resolution rates • service level requirements
• metrics on types of calls handled and number of calls abandoned
Customer asset reports:
• version and configuration data • system status
• network configuration • service level agreements
These reports must help answer how well goals are being met and where the process needs improvement.
Reports show where and when bottle necks occur, where staffing needs adjustment, how many calls for routine items and requests that could have been answered by a self service application. Identify all the issues that are preventing customer support from achieving peak performance and eliminate them.
Take all of steps and an excellent support agent experience is nearly guaranteed. Create great support agent experiences with training, easy information retrieval, and a self service application for routine issues.
