Customer Support

Customer support is the core of almost every business. It is through this process that customers and clients are won and retained. But what exactly is it, and how can effective use help your company grow? Read on to find out.

Customer support 101

Customer support refers to the processes that involve the development and delivery of customer support services that include installing, configuring, troubleshooting, assisting and training to meet customer requirements.

The best gauge of the effectiveness of your company's customer support is the interaction between your employees and your customers. Are your employees wiling to lend after-sales support to your clients, even when you do not require them to? Do you have manpower devoted solely to making sure that your customers are served well after they have bought your services or products?

Some ideas

Remember that your employees act based on the examples you set - putting up posters or ordering your employees to be friendlier to your clients is never enough. You must lead by example.

You must also make customer support a keystone in the recruitment and dismissal of employees. Ask your supervisors to rate your employees on their customer support performance, and reward those who show exemplary customer support.

You should always measure your company's level of customer support with that of your competitors. Observe their techniques to see what works and what does not. How do you 'spy' on them? Pretend to be a customer - email their online support, or call their toll-free number and see how well they help you. Never attempt to implement any customer support system without benchmarking. Customer support is not a cheap venture - so you need to carefully plan out what you need to do and what customer issues your methods will address.

Remember that customer support is the face of your company. It can make or break your company's reputation. A well-developed customer support system can go a long way.