Improving CustomerSupport for ExceptionalCustomer ExperienceThe ability to deliver the right answers—anywhere, anytime—can make the di�erence between asuccessful digital organization and one that fails.

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In a global, digital-led marketplace, customer experi-ence is no longer a secondary consideration, but a di�erentiator with bottom-line impact. If an organization can’t keep up with its competitors in delivering best-in-class customer experience and support, consumers have a range of alternative choices just one quick click away.

That may be why those companies that lead the way on customer experience are growing faster than those that lag behind, according to 2016 research from Forrester. Across all industries, customer experience leaders outperform laggards by 14% on compound average revenue growth. In some industries, such as cable TV and Internet services, the di�erence can be as large as 24.9%.

Nowhere is this shift more keenly felt than in customer support—often a customer’s first point of contact with the business, and frequently the only way they interact directly with the enterprise. The contact center’s ability to help those customers by quickly delivering the right answers can keep customers satisfied, loyal, and coming back for more. In a word, best-in-class customer support can mean the di�erence between a successful digital organization and one that falls behind (or disappears).

Changing CustomerExpectations

It’s no secret that customer expectations have changed. Think of almost any industry or sector: Consumers have never had so many product choices from so many manufacturers available through so many outlets. The growth of online stores and on-demand services means consumers are used to getting what they want with just a few clicks, from whatever device they’re using at the time.

Although they may make their buying decision based on traditional brand values, price comparisons, user reviews, and social media feedback and reviews, a company’s ability to help customers use the product is an increasingly important factor. Consumers change their minds quickly, and they’re willing and able to share experiences and opinions publicly in real-time.

All of this a�ects an organization’s customer support and customer experience functions in very tangible ways. Customers want their questions or problems addressed as soon as possible, if not instantly, and preferably from the first person they contact. It’s crucial to get it right the first time.

At the same time, “getting it right the first time” is made more di�cult as many products become increasingly complex, smart, and/or connected. More and more devices are connecting to wireless networks and the Internet, working hand-in-hand with online services and communicating with other devices in the home or o�ce.

As mobile and smart technologies evolve, the situation will only grow more challenging. Not only are users growing more reliant on their smart devices and online services, making any breakdown more disruptive and inconvenient, but products and apps are becoming more di�cult to support, service, and repair. As a result, o�ering fast and e�ective support often requires specialized expertise.

Answering the Challenge

How, then, can organizations deliver best-in-class customer experience and support? The answer lies in using tools and technologies that promote speed, intelligence, and simplicity, empowering support teams to locate the customer information they need quickly, interact with the customer more directly, and use the necessary expertise to meet the customer’s needs. Though it sounds like a tall order, a system with the following capabilities can:

Enhance the ability to capture customer information easily and deliver it to support agents in a way that helps them understand the issue clearly and respond more e�ectively. This requires close integration with existing Ccstomer relationship management (CRM) systems, providing agents with 2-way access to customer data and the ability to feed information from a support call back into the system.

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Improve the ability to tailor what each agent sees and the tools they use based on their own skillset, level of expertise, and the customer needs. This ensures that the first person with whom a customer interacts is the best-qualified person to resolve the issue quickly and e�ciently.

Add capabilities for hands-on support through remote-access technologies, including live video feeds and capture and annotation through smart-phone and tablet apps. If agents can “see” the problem from the customer’s perspective, it gives them a better chance of fixing an issue on thefirst call.

Add the ability to monitor customer calls in real time and intervene or escalate if the issue isn’t being resolved e�ectively or fast enough.

Enhance the ability to measure the progress of the support team across industry-accepted KPIs, includ-ing first-time call resolution, average handle time (AHT), net promoter score (NPS), and customer satisfaction (CSAT).

Together, these capabilities can transform the customer’s experience from the moment they contact support, both meeting their needs and safeguarding their impression of the brand. At the same time, these capabilities help ensure agents can handle and resolve calls quickly and e�ectively.

The Bottom Line

The customer experience has never been so crucial for digital organizations, and the contact center plays a critical role in delivering the highest-quality support. While shifts in consumer behavior and the increasing complexity of technology make delivering high levels of support more challenging than ever, tools with the right capabilities, such as LogMeIn Rescue, can give organi-zations a leg up.

Rescue allows companies to resolve more interactions overall, which directly impacts first call resolution (FCR) and customer satisfaction. This, in turn, increases customer loyalty, which results in customer engagement and employee productivity. For proactive digital organi-zations, that makes all the di�erence for the bottom line.

https://www.logmeinrescue.com/

Additional Reading

The Future of the Contact CenterCIO, June 2015http://www.cio.com.au/article/576773/future-contact-centre/

7 Tech Support Features Consumers Should DemandCIO, Jan. 2015http://www.cio.com/article/2865513/consumer-technology/7-tech-support-features-consumers-should-demand-in-2015.html

The New IT is All About the CustomerInfoworld, Aug. 2015http://www.infoworld.com/article/2977875/enterprise-architecture/the-new-it-is-all-about-the-customer.html

It's Time for a Digital Customer Experience Bill of RightsComputerworld, July 2015http://www.computerworld.com/article/2952240/internet/its-time-for-a-digital-customer-experience-bill-of-rights.html

11 Tips for Improving Your Company’s Customer SupportCIO, March 2015http://www.cio.com/article/2891850/customer-relationshipmanagement/11-tips-for-improving-your-company-s-customer-support.html

Improve Outcomes by Connecting the Employee and Customer ExperienceComputerworld, July 2015http://www.computerworld.com/article/2948973/it-management/improve-outcomes-by-connecting-the-employee-and-customer-experience.html

Customizing the Customer Experience with DMPs Computerworld, April 2016http://www.computerworld.com/article/3057905/data-analytics/customizing-the-customer-experience-with-dmps.html

Consumers Are Fed Up with "Human-Less" Customer ServiceCIO, April 2016http://www.cio.com/article/3051031/consumer-electronics/consumers-are-fed-up-with-human-less-customer-service.html

How to Use BI to Improve the Customer ExperienceCIO, March 2016http://www.cio.com/article/3042805/business-intelligence/howto-use-bi-to-improve-the-customer-experience.html

Reinventing the CIO as Chief Interaction O�cerComputerworld, Aug. 2013http://www.computerworld.com/article/2473738/it-leadership/reinventing-the-cio-as-chief-interaction-o�cer.html

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No Customer Left Behind: Supporting the Unconnected in the Internet of Things AgeVanillaPlus.com, December 2016http://www.vanillaplus.com/2016/12/07/24120-no-customer-left--behind-supporting-the-unconnected-in-the-internet-of-things-age/

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