In today's fast-paced world, customers expect quick and efficient support when they encounter issues with products or services. This has made customer support a critical aspect of business operations and requires companies to have a solid strategy in place to meet these demands. In this blog, we'll discuss the four main pillars of exceptional customer support and how they relate to Experience Level Agreements (XLAs).
1. Responsiveness
Responsiveness is the cornerstone of customer support. Customers expect quick and efficient support when they encounter issues, and companies need to have a response time that meets or exceeds these expectations. This requires a support system that's accessible 24/7, and a team of experts who are trained to respond to customer inquiries quickly. With the addition of EV Help, our self-service software, teams can lower Tier 1 calls by 30% and reduce onboarding time by 70%. This reduction in time and inquiries is a result of users being empowered to resolve minor issues on their own through the support of knowledge bases and chat bots.
2. Knowledge
The second pillar of exceptional customer support is knowledge. Customers expect support representatives to have a deep understanding of the products or services they offer. This requires training and a comprehensive knowledge base that support representatives can draw upon to provide accurate and helpful information. Figuring out which issues and questions need to be addressed in the knowledge base can be found through implementing Power BI dashboards, where you can track incidents and gather additional relevant data.
3. Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. In customer support, this means putting yourself in the customer's shoes and understanding their perspective. Empathy helps support representatives build strong relationships with customers, which is essential for building trust and fostering loyalty.
4. Problem-Solving Skills
The final pillar of exceptional customer support is problem-solving skills. Customers expect support representatives to be able to resolve their issues quickly and efficiently. This requires support representatives to have a deep understanding of the products or services they offer, as well as the ability to think critically and find creative solutions to complex problems.
The Importance of XLAs in Customer Support
Experience Level Agreements (XLAs) are focused on providing an experience to the end user (i.e., user satisfaction), whereas Service Level Agreements (SLAs) focus on contractual agreements (i.e., response times and types of issues addressed). By establishing XLAs, companies can set customer expectations for the support they will provide and hold themselves accountable for meeting those expectations. This helps companies provide a consistent level of customer support and gives customers peace of mind knowing that their issues will be resolved in a timely manner, and the company genuinely cares about providing good service.
Companies who not only exemplify these 4 pillars (responsiveness, knowledge, empathy, and problem-solving skills), but also have established XLAs to set customer expectations, gain customer loyalty and support faster than those who don’t.
Book a demo today with EasyVista to learn more about how the 2023.2 release can improve customer support at your company.
