If you are new to the customer service industry, then you must know that a customer support representative is key in enhancing the experience for the customer and representing the company in good light. While your interest lies in servicing your customers, it is important to know the different ways to offer these services so as to choose the right process that interests you the most. While companies are on the lookout for talent that can represent their company and be their voice, it is important for you to identify which channel works for you best or if you want to kickstart your customer support career.
For instance, if you hopped on email customer service because you didn’t know any better but are so much better at speaking to customers over the phone then that is where your strengths lie. Knowing which one or many channels you are good at can sometimes be a challenge until you have experienced a few of them or know about them. Remember that providing well-organized service to customers can largely determine your success as a customer support representative and the medium through which you choose to do that matters too as it can determine your success at the job.
Types of customer service
If you are going through a dilemma of which type of customer service you would like to start off with or the one that will suit you best, then this blog will give you an idea of all the available options that are there out there. Let’s explore each and every one of them and see which service type you can adopt to address customer needs.
#1 Phone customer support
Phone or telephone support will be one you will be most familiar with. At some point or the other, we have all been in the place of customers trying to contact customer service agents over the phone. Phone support has been a dominant and extremely popular customer service channel for decades. Here as you already know, customers call agents to explain their problems verbally and the agent must be able to assess a customer’s emotions and tone through this medium and provide satisfactory services. About 61% of customers rely on phone support to resolve their customer service issues. So, customers who prefer this form of medium require an attentive human voice to calm them down and provide them with the solution that they require.
Go for it if:
- You are someone who can respond to customer queries in real-time.
- You have great communication skills and are good at handling people.
- Good at fostering a rapport with customers through interactions over the phone.
- You can deliver personalised experiences to each caller.
- You can handle situations for which you don’t have scripts for.
- You enjoy speaking to people over the phone that texting them.
- You can handle multiple calls while also keeping up the energy.
- You have the ability to resolve issues within the first call itself.
#2 Email customer support
The best part about email support is that you get more time to respond and can use canned responses or email templates for quicker responses. Customers who prefer email communication think that it is more professional and trustworthy when compared to the rest of the channels. And in with email, you are already familiar with the process considering it is something you have been using too!
Go for it if:
- You are someone who can type fast and with clarity.
- You are good at written communication.
- You prefer to talk to a customer via text and words than have to directly interact with them.
- You are adept at typing long emails or explaining complex issues in the form of writing.
- You are enthusiastic about interacting with customers through email rather than phone calls or video calls.
- You can bring about a human touch to writing.
#3 Live chat support
Live chat is widely gaining popularity amongst agents these days. Agents will be able to instantly respond to messages but will not have the pressure of being on a real-time voice call with customers. Here, factors like mood, tonality, etc don’t determine the course of the interaction. And don’t we use texting on a day-to-day basis? It’s something most people are naturally good at.
Go for it if:
- You are quick at typing.
- The quality of your typing skills is not affected by the pressure of time.
- You can handle multiple chats at the same time.
- You can make the chat responses and explanations less robotic and less scripted to customers.
- If you can better explain yourself by typing on a screen than having to vocally interact with the customer.
- You are good at making decisions or understanding and solving issues almost immediately.
- You are good at reading customer emotions between the lines.
- If you have adequate knowledge about live chat etiquette that can pave the way for a meaningful conversation.
#4 Social media customer support
This is the 21st century and we are here to tell you that social media is yet another popular choice amongst agents. But the challenge here is that customers have extremely high expectations and it is your duty to keep a keen eye on posts, messages, comments or group discussions so that you can reach customers before it’s too late. To offer support on social media, you will be assigned t constantly monitor a brand’s presence on platforms like Twitter, Google, Instagram, Facebook, Quora etc to answer their queries and offer solutions and resolve matters or problems as soon as possible.
Go for it if:
- You are not distracted by the other factors offered on social media platforms.
- You can monitor issues and trends.
- You can interact with customers and prospects through comments, posts etc.
- You have exceptional problem-solving skills.
- You have a good idea of your audience and customers and can represent the brand well by offering constructive interaction with users.
- You create methods of finding and learning from customer reviews.
Whichever customer support channel you end up choosing, you will be ultimately tasked with the responsibility of providing excellent customer service to customers who contact you on the channel you have chosen. At VOIZ, you can choose to provide customer support via email and/or phone support. We encourage our agents to experiment with various channels and see what works best for them through personal experience and up-close learning. Find vanilla jobs by joining VOIZ today!