Building a strong customer experience is a core business objective. It may be stating the obvious to say that customer management tools such as help desk ticketing systems are a great way to streamline customer service and to improve the overall performance of your business. However, the benefit they can provide to customers is just as crucial. Using these customer service systems to enhance the experience of the company and customer alike will give you a competitive edge.
Here are four key strategies you can adopt to use your help desk ticketing system to positively impact the customer’s experience with your business.
1. Categorising your support tickets
Using a help desk ticketing system to categorise customer requests as they arise can improve the speed and quality of the issue resolution process. Help desk ticketing platforms can be employed to sort issues in several different ways. Whether your company decides to do this by type, by department or even by severity, assigning specific agents to each category will streamline your customer service process.
Categorising issues means customers can immediately be put in contact with someone who is able to resolve their query. As a result, customers will experience higher quality resolution and faster response times because tickets will be immediately directed to the corresponding department, instead of being passed from agent to agent through different departments, in search of an answer.
When the customer is able to contact someone with the appropriate knowledge immediately they can resolve their issue quickly. This reinforces their trust in the product or service and improves their overall perception of the brand.
2. Identify repeating issues and cut customer rework
Identifying recurring issues with the aid of a help desk ticketing system has several major benefits to the customer. Firstly, it allows the creation of an FAQ and knowledge base, providing solutions to common problems and questions. This knowledge base platform can be made available to customers in the form of an online help center, so that they are able to ‘self-help’ and resolve issues anywhere, at any time.
Increasingly customers expect a variety of customer service options and prefer this type of service to more traditional channels such as the telephone. A well-structured portal empowers the customer and can be accessed 24/7, removing any time restrictions regarding the resolution of the difficulty.
Additionally, for those customers who prefer to contact an agent directly, a knowledge base covering common enquiries improves response times and ensures that the information given by agents is comprehensive and remains consistent.
Another main advantage of an easily searchable FAQ database is that it will free up agents to deal more efficiently and effectively with unique tickets. This again contributes to faster response times and also increases the amount of personal attention these tickets are able to receive, making the customer feel like they matter to the business.
3. Identify repeat customers
As well as keeping track of repeat issues, a help desk ticketing system can identify those customers that keep coming back. Generating loyalty is essential in every business growth plan. Loyal customers that trust your company and wish to continue their relationship with you are invaluable, particularly in times of economic uncertainty or when faced with greater competition. By using your help desk ticketing system to identify these repeat customers, your company can better adapt and personalise the service they receive.
Where an agent has a customer’s information at their disposal they will be able to see the history of any interactions with the business. The customer will not need to repeat information or start from scratch each time they log an issue. As a result the customer will feel that they are important to you and your business, making them more likely to continue working with you.
4. Allow customers to follow the progress of their issue
Status and tracking reports allow customers to keep up to speed with what is being done to resolve an issue. From the point of view of the customer service team, agents will not lose valuable time reassuring customers of the progress of their issue. More importantly, however, the customer is able to be confident that their problem is being addressed and that progress is being made. The accountability and transparency of a tracking system reassures customers that you are confident in your business practices.
When a customer knows that they are being attended to, even when they are not directly in contact with your company, this makes them feel like a valued member of your community and increases their overall satisfaction with your product/service. So communication is key.
When used appropriately, a help desk ticketing system can provide a huge number of benefits to both customers and agents. By enhancing the customer’s experience of service at your organisation you will be able to increase repeat sales and provide a stronger value proposition.
Streamlining experiences by optimising your customer service team will make customers feel valued by your organisation. Using help desk ticketing systems to create an easily searchable knowledge base and to provide tracking of tickets increases customer autonomy and overall confidence in your brand.
If you want to learn more about customer service, don’t miss our last webinar “Customer Service Transformation”:
