Customer Support Software Featured Articles

Coming off of another successful holiday season, we’ve emerged on the other side of the heavy return season. While exchanges and returns are sure to continue throughout the year, the heavier traffic in the customer service lines has disappeared for the season. Now is the time to consider going back to business as usual or paying closer attention to your customer support software options.

The role of customer care in today’s business environments is much stronger than it was even 10 years ago. Technology has eliminated many of the competitive advantages companies once claimed, putting customer support at the forefront of differentiation. In fact, according to Gartner (News - Alert), as quoted in this Information Age piece, more than half of all research and development investments will be redirected to customer service innovations by 2017.

Consider the relationship between customer service and growth. It’s critical that companies stand out from the competition, especially at the beginning. The startup and small business can’t afford to put off investments in advanced customer support software, waiting for things to improve. Maximum growth opportunities exist where the customer is made the priority. Yes, the implementation comes with a cost, but the right tools and strategy can assure growth and a strong return on investment.

For those more established organizations, it’s easy to assume that all customers will continue to return if things stay the same. The problem is there are innovators in the same space that can easily impact trends in customer expectations. Those companies unwilling to adapt to the change in expectations and allocate the necessary investments in customer support software will quickly be left behind.

For those brands who want to take customer support to the next level, the customer experience can easily be associated with the brand. Zappos, for instance, is one company that has quickly established its market dominance in the way it treats customers. Southwest Airlines positions itself on low pricing, no reserved seating and great customer care. Travelers will give up their opportunity for convenience in exchange for the Southwest experience.

Amazon has definitely changed the way we expect our online experience to be. We want personalized options, suggestive selling, easy ordering, even easier returning, free shipping and instant service when we have a question or concern. Anyone hoping to sell online has to pay attention to Amazon or quickly find another channel for distribution.

Customers are not willing to wait for improvements in customer care. They want satisfaction now or they will go elsewhere. Very few companies can enjoy the luxury of no competing products and even then – the customer always has the choice to walk away and look for an alternative. For those who want to prevent this churn, the time to invest in customer support software is now.

TeamSupport is one company leading the way on delivering solutions companies need to stand apart from the competition. Have you achieved your competitive advantage?