Many facets are involved in developing an application, beginning with devising app ideas and continuing after the app is released. In other words, the work is ceaseless for the development company. Not only do they have to support and maintain the app regularly, but they also take care of customer support. Without proper support, all the effort to retain acquired customers is squandered. Customers will get frustrated and confused, thinking that the company doesn’t care about anything but sales. To avoid this, pay special attention to customer support. If you want to learn more about customer support practices for application development companies, stick around.
Importance of Customer Support
It affects your brand image positively or negatively.
Customers learn about your brand from social media and advertisements, and about the product from using the app. However, the company’s commitment to its customers is reflected in how it treats them.
Customers are more likely to recommend your product to their friends and family when they experience good customer support, increasing your customer base. On the other hand, negative customer service will damage your brand’s reputation and cost you more in the long run.
It builds trust among customers.
When customers feel that their queries and complaints are responded to appropriately, they start trusting the company more. This trust is essential for customer loyalty and retention. Providing excellent customer service is crucial for building customer relationships and creating a positive brand image. The best way to ensure superb customer service provision is by using the right cloud contact center.
It provides customer insights.
When customers provide feedback through customer service interactions, it gives valuable insights into customer needs and expectations. Companies can use this insight to improve their products, services, and customer service. This helps companies stay ahead in the market and build customer loyalty.
Best Customer Support Practices for Application Development Companies
1. Providing App Walkthroughs
The first practice involves minimizing the customers’ need to contact customer service for support. Creating a complex product isn’t necessarily bad, but sometimes it’s uncalled for. An easy-to-navigate product will minimize or eliminate confusion. However, in all cases, you can provide an in-app walkthrough, like onboarding tutorials or hint icons. It can be done in several ways.
Another way to provide support is through documentation, which you can include inside the app or on your website. This is especially helpful if the app is related to the tech industry and difficult to grasp. For visual learners, video tutorials are even better; since YouTube is one of the top search engines on the internet, it will provide an excellent platform for customer support and publicity.
2. FAQs
Another great customer support practice is to provide a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section. That way, customers will quickly find answers to their questions without contacting customer support. This also helps customers become more self-sufficient and gives them a sense of control over their experience with the app. The FAQs should be written in an easy-to-understand language and include visuals, such as screenshots and videos, for better understanding. Additionally, the FAQs should be regularly updated so that customers can find the most up-to-date information.
3. Video Call Consultations
Everybody learns differently, and sometimes customers need live guidance, especially for more technical apps. A video call consultation will help the customers start using your software, and not fear making mistakes. Moreover, they will appreciate the customer support representative taking the time to help them. Utilizing an answering service can further enhance this process by efficiently managing initial inquiries and directing customers to appropriate resources. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming; most video consultations take around 15 to 30 minutes. The call can also be added to the pre-sales strategy, where customers learn about the company and the product before buying or subscribing.
4. Multiple Support Channels
The more customer support channels, the better, provided the customer representatives are well-trained to handle customer support, but that’s another topic. Some customers prefer chatting, while others would rather speak on the phone to explain their issues. In-app messaging, live chat, email, calls and power dialer should all be available for an extended period for customers to find solutions to their problems. It makes a multichannel contact center a good solution.
5. Personalize Customer Support
Personalizing customer support is essential to making customers feel valued. Customers want to feel important, and their opinions are taken into account when dealing with customer service. Companies should ensure their customer service teams are familiar with customer data to personalize their support. This includes recording customer interactions, tracking customer feedback, and providing customer service agents with customer data. Using a mobile carrier lookup can also help them personalize the campaigns based on the line preferences of their users and increase the campaign’s conversion rates.
Customer support agents should be trained to provide personalized support, empathy, and understanding of customer needs. Companies should also take the time to understand customer pain points and offer solutions that address their issues. This will ensure customers have a positive experience and will be more likely to recommend the product to others.
If you have a shortage or can’t afford your hiring agents, you might consider outsourcing call center services to respond to issues in an efficient and organized way by quickly identifying problems and proposing solutions accordingly.
6. Forums
One of the most effective customer support practices is to create a forum on the company’s website. This makes it easy for customers to get their questions answered. Customers can also share their experiences and advice, which is helpful for other customers and the company. The forum can also provide updates about the product, which will help keep customers informed about the latest features and fixes. Forums are an excellent way to build customer relationships and create a community of loyal customers.
7. Reduce Wait Time
Customers don’t want to wait long for a response. Application development companies should ensure customer support agents are available to respond to customer inquiries promptly. Automation can reduce wait times and make customer support more efficient. For example, automated chatbots can answer common customer queries and provide customer support 24/7. Companies should also use customer service software to track customer service requests and prioritize customer requests based on urgency. This will help reduce customer wait times and provide a better customer experience. Another way to improve your customer experience is to hire a virtual receptionist. The question here is: “What is a virtual receptionist?” let me clarify: virtual receptionists are service providers or tools that assist with handling calls and help to improve the overall customer experience by reducing the time customers have to wait, as their main job profile is to make sure customer queries get taken care of.
nandbox Inc. is the company behind the nandbox native no-code app builder. At nandbox Inc., we apply practices to ensure we offer the best solutions for our customers. Customers can reach us via many channels and book consultations to help them build their apps. Moreover, we have thorough text documentation on the website and release video tutorials periodically for customers to get the most out of the platform. Sign up now to build your app and get the best support!
