As people feel more at ease about shopping online, their expectations on the whole customer journey increased significantly. Businesses had to find their way to top those customers’ expectations and, somehow, ‘predict’ what they are looking for. Going from reactive to proactive customer support might feel like a spontaneous, organic movement at a first glance, but we know that it can be slightly more challenging in reality.
It can even feel scary to think of how unusual or heightened customers’ needs and questions might be. Support teams struggle with multiple demands spiking in volume and may eventually consider that they won’t be capable of handling the situation.
But there is no need to panic. A proactive support strategy is manageable and can be the answer! Furthermore, it comes in handy for both customers and your support team. Want to know how? Then stick with us and check the four best practices to go from reactive to proactive customer support.
Strengthening the Relationship Between Your Teams!
No support team can thrive if there is no collaboration with the other departments. It is indispensable to put your teams to work well together in the first place. By establishing transparent communication between every department, you can avoid many issues and develop a proactive outreach strategy.
We are aware that it is impossible to share every piece of information about ongoing projects from each department, particularly when it comes to confidential projects. However, finding a way of communicating the essential activities from each department from time to time is feasible.
As well as improving internal communication, it allows people to be ready to deal with some issues. Let’s say that after getting feedback from customers, the IT department decides to implement a new feature that enables visitors to make a wishlist of the products they would like to purchase. The feature will go live in about three months.
Suppose the customer support department has this information. In that case, if they get a customer’s query about the possibility of implementing this feature, they will be able to prepare more suitable responses. And they do not have to mention when exactly the feature will be available.
Being aware of what is going on gives us more confidence and grist to approach customers promptly.
Get Precious Insights From Customers
Every business does its research beforehand to define its customers’ profile and better understand their needs. However, once the brand (or product) is launched, your business is subjected to different feedback.
Those feedbacks make room for improvement. It is a way to evolve your plan from the start and boost your strategy. The feedback comes in multiple forms. It can be by analyzing conversations with customers or by sending them a survey from time to time.
Whether you offer a chatbot service or live chat (or both!), they have an option to include a small survey shown once the conversation is over, but there is also the option to send the survey by email.
The same goes for the tags that are available for live chat and chatbots. Using tags is one of the easiest ways to organize everything. It helps to filter the information and also with further statistical analysis. Keep in mind that measuring is an essential part of building your way up for a successful strategy.
Proactive Customer Support Is Also About Owning up to Your Mistakes
All mistakes come with a negative weight on them. It has such a harmful impact on us that we tend to ignore how much we can learn from them. Don’t let mistakes restrain you from going forward and delivering value to customers.
We are all humans, after all. Although it is hard to assume that we did something wrong, it stirs up people’s empathy. Customers surely appreciate when a brand takes action by assuming a mistake.
Be clear over your message. Explain what happened and how you are working to fix the issue. Transparent communication is everything! If that applies to the situation, consider compensating customers properly with a refund or a discount code.
Onboard and Educate Your Customers
Is your webshop ready to provide the best onboarding experience to a new visitor? Be prepared to welcome them by making information accessible. Prepare a good FAQ and make it easy for customers to find it.
A report by Buffalo Business First indicated that up to 87% of online shoppers said that they rather abandon a purchase if they aren’t able to find an answer to their question fast.
Why not take proactive action by providing a live chat service in those cases? It is possible to set up an alert to pop-up the chat window after the visitor browses the page after 30 seconds (or less, or more, you can choose the time frame!).
In this way, you can engage a conversation with the customer and help them provide an immediate response.
Here at Conversation24, we are the best at delivering the best live chat services. If you want to learn more about how your business can benefit from live chat, check this article.
Use Different Channels to Reach Your Customers
Besides having a detailed FAQ, as we mentioned previously, a chatbot might help, too, offering personalized support independently from the time customers reach you. So when your live chat agents are off, they can rely on a chatbot to guide them through the purchase process!
WhatsApp Business is a good option in those cases. When customers send their first message, you have 24 hours to reply to them without any limitations. You can text them as much as you want.
However, WhatsApp wants to prevent customers from getting spammed. In response to that, they created the template messaging. Those apply for messages sent after the 24-hour window ends. You can learn more about the advantages of Whatsapp Business here.
Another advantage of WhatsApp Business is that the agent gets the chance to reach the customer back for a follow-up. Once the conversation is over, it is automatically archived.
After 12 hours, if the agent is still logged in the system, they can access the archived chat and talk again to the customer. In this way, you can keep the conversation going. Moreover, you provide a fresh update to your customer before they even write you back about it.
People live in a constant rush. They don’t expect to waste time trying to find a solution for their inquiries. For this reason, both chatbots and live service software are the perfect solutions when it comes to offering a fast and proactive service.
When customers have fewer worries, agents gain space and time to work on more challenging issues. Moreover, investing in this aspect allows you to boost customers’ satisfaction and retention.
Increase Your Conversions Through Proactive Customer Support
What is better than receiving optimistic and cheerful feedback from customers? By adopting a proactive approach, you are sure to increase customer satisfaction. And we know that a happy customer feels comfortable enough about shopping again at your webshop.
Additionally, they are more likely to refer your services to someone else. It is a way of having a cost-efficient balance. Besides attracting more customers, it eases your agents’ workflow and brings more customers. Keep in mind that live chat increases the conversion rate by 25%!
It is beyond beneficial for both sides, businesses, and customers. So what is not to love about it? Drop us a line if you feel like having the best proactive customer support!
