Customer Support Software Featured Articles

There are a number of reasons why a consumer might select one vendor over another when it comes to buying online. One may habitually go back to a vendor simply because they are familiar with the company’s ecommerce site and knows what to expect. Another may tend to be constantly on the search for the best personalization experience and still another is more focused on the customer experience.

One of the goals when implementing customer support software is to ensure the optimal experience for the consumer, while learning along the way. The focus should always be on consistent improvements, making adjustments where failures occur and making customer satisfaction a priority. But does the same apply in the business to business environment? Should companies be that concerned with the experience?

While there are a number of differences between business to consumer and business to business interactions, the focus should never stray from the customer experience. People are still on the other end of the transaction and they have expectations as to how the transaction should be handled. As customer retention is essential to keeping costs down and revenue at a healthy tick, it’s important to understand where demand continues to grow.

According to Gartner (News - Alert), 70 percent of business to business ecommerce sites will provide customers with personalization features. Those sites using personalization effectively will outsell competitors by as much as 30 percent. Just how important is this finding? Consider research from Bain & Company that suggests that a five percent increase in customer retention in the financial services industry increases profits by more than 25 percent. Gartner suggests that 80 percent of future profits come from 20 percent of customers.

Given these realities, companies can’t afford to not have customer support software in place that drives the personalized experience and places the customer interaction at the top of the priority list. A recent Customer Think article explores this concept, offering three strategies companies can implement to keep customers coming back and keep the customer retention rate on a steady uptick. The first on the list – improve the customer experience.

One of the best ways to improve the customer experience is to understand what the customer is currently experiencing and how that meets with their expectations for interactions. Customer support software can help in this process. It can also help in the second strategy of building personal relationships. This is where personalization comes in. If you can demonstrate that you pay attention to the customer’s needs – even if it is automated – you’re more likely to keep them coming back.

Finally, make it a priority to track customer satisfaction. Customer support software provider TeamSupport has built a strong reputation in the market by providing the necessary tools to do this and more. If you don’t want your competition to draw the attention of your customers, don’t give your customers a reason to look.