Due to the advent of technology, a lot of people expect seamless and rapid customer service.
Most people want answers to their queries instantly but are reluctant to speak with customer service teams. With customer self-service in place, it empowers customers to solve their issues themselves.
More and more companies are leveraging technology that implements customer self-service to offer better customer experiences to their consumers.
Companies look into its importance as it can be time and cost-saving and an easy way to offer solutions for customers.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how customer self-service works, its types, and its importance for business.
What is customer self-service?
Customer self-service is the process by which customers set up their own solutions or resolve their own problems without the help of a customer support representative.
Some of the common self-service channels include customer portals, help centers, FAQ pages, and automated chatbots.
Businesses of all sizes implement effective customer self-service with a modern customer support system.
Types of customer self-service
Once a customer self-service option is done right, it significantly helps companies by easing the burden of customer support agents. It allows agents to focus on bringing more value to the organization.
Here are the common types of customer self-service options that businesses usually offer to boost customer experience:
Customer self-service portals
Ever since companies have expanded their service through to the internet, it has been common practice for businesses to have a help section on their website.
If customers can easily find answers to their questions, they will be more satisfied with customer support offerings.
Customer service portals contain the most common queries along with their answers and instructions for basic fixes that help customers resolve their own issues.
Bots and AI
Automated chatbots can offer a great customer experience. Companies leverage the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which is a big help in providing customer self-service.
Most business websites have a pop-out live chat window that provides support and assists them with booking and sales.
Today, businesses turn to live chatbots through AI to scale their operations and provide on-support at the consumer’s convenience.
Mobile Options
A custom-built mobile app is also a viable option for businesses to provide a customer self-service option. A mobile version of a brand can also give benefits to customers.
With push notifications and service updates technology, customers can be well-informed about the brand. These are great way to create connections with consumers.
Moreover, brands can launch mobile apps that let customers make service appointments, check their outstanding balances, or ask queries via live chat functions.
Functional automated phone systems
The younger generation sees phone interaction with businesses as their last resort.
To better offer customer experience, companies offer them an option to use automated menu systems to accomplish tasks without a live support agent.
This is a great customer service option for customers on the go who don’t always have internet access to use a brand’s website.
Why customer self-service matters
Customer self-service is becoming a preferred approach for businesses to offer customer service.
It enables customers to use the company’s resources to resolve their issues. On the other hand, it benefits the company and its customer service team as they do not have to spend more time answering repetitive questions. Instead, they can focus more on other important tasks.
Here are some of the key benefits of customer self-service for businesses:
Lower costs
Customer self-service makes it possible for companies to help a larger number of customers at significantly lower costs. Once this solution has been placed, it eliminates the need for customer support agents.
Companies are able to offer 24/7 support to customers as well as streamline answers to most frequently asked questions via automation.
Boost efficiency
As customer expectations continue to rise, this leads to a large volume of incoming queries.
Further, customer self-service can improve the company’s overall customer service and support as it significantly shortens support resolution times.
It can also boost efficiency in providing service for customers and end-users as automated assistance gives more streamlined solutions for their problems.
More productive support staff
While keeping the customer support representative free from repetitive concerns, they’ll have more time and energy to handle more complex interactions. They can use their skills to deliver the best customer service.
Having customer self-service can help companies to have more productive employees, which leads to higher staff satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty to the company.
Setup a robust customer self-service for your business
Investing in customer self-service support is the key to boosting your team’s performance and customer satisfaction.
It is important to maximize opportunities for customers, like allowing them to get the answers to their queries without the support agents.
Letting customers solve their issues empowers them, and they will be more satisfied with the experience with your brand.
That said, customer self-service can offer a better customer experience and help businesses increase efficiency and boost ROI.
