Business is a combination of numerous things. Every aspect is vital for future growth and development, from metrics and probability calculation to marketing, lead generation, and sales pipelines. However, one specific field needs as much attention as possible, even at the starting point of any business.
According to the research, 64% of business leaders agree that customer service positively impacts their companies’ growth. Unsurprisingly, the proper support of clients can improve the bottom line and customer retention. The most efficient way to bring your support system to the highest level is to create a customer acquisition strategy and choose proper customer service channels.
Customer Service Channels: What Are They?
You first need to understand what are customer service channels to make the right choice. Those are how you reach your clients. Previously, support systems mostly worked through call centers. But as the world grows and develops, various platforms and channels arose that are now used to reach out to loyal or potential clientele.
These modern channels allow for a quicker connection between the support team and customers. They also ensure a sufficient way of problem-solving, as they allow for providing a more comprehensive range of details on the issue in a shorter period.
Different Channels of Customer Service: The Most Popular Options
As was said, today, there is not just one customer service channel but a whole variety of different opportunities to connect with clients. Here we have gathered the most widespread solutions for customer connection, communication, and acquisition.
Live Chats
Nowadays, as businesses dive deep into the digitalization process, a live chat on a platform or a website is not a privilege but a common standard. Many users (73%) even find this communication method to be the most helpful and the most satisfying.
With the help of live chats, customer service representatives can give clients real-time and even 24/7 support. It’s manageable, available, and still offers human interaction, so your customers know their questions and issues are taken care of.
Chatbots
Chatbots can be called another version of a live chat, except for human interactions. An automatic AI system operates these channels built to assess customers’ inquiries and offer an instant response. They can redirect clients to the sections of your websites with correct answers or give needed information themselves.
Social Media
Social media has become a massive part of most people’s lives. So, it is natural that companies started using these platforms to reach out to existing and potential customers.
With social media, outsource ecommerce customer service faces two ways of acquisition strategies: paid and organic. The first is organized through unique ad campaigns, and the second is by putting effort into social media presence and creating a community.
Self-Service
Self-service means customers can find answers to their inquiries without additional help from the agents or even chatbots. Here, businesses create a resource, a knowledge base, that could be filled with all the essential information and common questions from customers. It can be a FAQ section, a blog, or contextual and video guides.
This channel is the oldest option among all the mentioned above. However, as it’s the oldest, its efficiency was proven through time and has now developed to its most adaptable and helpful form.
It’s not the most popular option anymore, and many companies decided to stick to the more modern ways of communication. However, there are still many people who would prefer to organize their communication via email. It can even feel more official and respectable for clients to be contacted directly through their inboxes.
How to Choose The Best Variant
As there are different customer service channels, you might feel pressured to choose the most suitable solution for your business. Nonetheless, you shouldn’t stress too much. Who said you could only use one option? Many companies apply a multi-channel approach to providing customer support.
The one thing you should consider, though, is choosing the main channel based on your target audience. This way, you will be able to use different communication methods while still focusing on and catering to the central pool of clients.
The Bottom Line
Using customer service channels is a great way to build customer relationships while ensuring development and growth. And while there’s no need to limit your business to using only one particular form of communication, there should still be a focus on the needs of your target audience and their preferences.
Companies may not be able to see exactly what their main client support channel should be. Luckily, there are teams of knowledgeable specialists who can help find the right approach for anyone.
