Every time a customer runs into a problem with a product or a service, the first person they reach out to is tech support. For IT-related issues, they get tech support. No matter what kind of issue it is, ‘user error’, a bug, or any technical issue, they expect the tech guys to resolve it due to their expertise. Even if it is something as minor as not being able to log in to their products or having a module that isn’t working anymore, tech support is responsible for managing these issues to ensure the product or service works for the customers. If there is no tech support, customers will simply stop using the product which is bad for business. Hence, any business or brand must have technical support available for their overall success.
Is tech support costly?
Providing tech support to customers is expensive. If the tech guy is unable to provide any support to the customer, then the company’s resources are being wasted. It is even more important if the company has a subscription-based model that customers have subscribed to. For instance, with Xfinity internet prices, and other Xfinity services that customers pay for, it is crucial for the company to ensure customers have a good experience with their tech support and their services.
Technical support and customer support – the difference
The customer support team handles the basic information like answering queries, billing, and payment method, as well as handle their complaints about the products and services, and suggest solutions to the customers. This can be done by anyone trained in the art of handling customers and their queries. On the other hand, tech guys are responsible for issues like installation errors, user-related issues, or any issues that prevent the customers from using that product or service. Research by CMO Council stated that providing technical support to their customers is the best way for companies to provide a good user experience.
Levels of tech support
Tech support can be handled using email, live chat support, forums, or over the phone. Below you will find five distinct levels of tech support that are available on a variety of platforms to ensure a smooth user experience for their customers.
- Pre-support. Today customers would look up Google if they had any queries about the products or services. They could be browsing the web looking for answers where they will find many other users being a huge advocate for the company’s products and present an incredible insight into how to make the best use out of them. This might seem like a bonus for the company, but it is important to keep in mind that for every good review, countless other frustrated customers are complaining about the same products and services because they hadn’t had their issues resolved. The company’s tech support should explore online forums, social media pages, and website comments and seek to control such conversations and guide customers towards tech support and keep them happy.
- Self-service. The next level that customers would seek queries about products would be at self-help wikis, FAQs, and other knowledge bases. Self-service sources can turn out to be where customers can find the solution to their most common queries, instead of calling up a helpdesk.
- The first line of support. Unfortunately, FAQs on websites and knowledge bases can only do so much. Sometimes customers do need to communicate with a human about their queries. The tech support at the first line of support has a basic general understanding of the product or service, and not for complex issues. Nonetheless, the goal at this level is to resolve customers’ issues without letting them escalate to a higher level.
- Second line of support. As the customers’ issues get complex, they are recommended to the second line of support. That is especially because nowadays users are becoming more tech-savvy over time. New York Times found that there was around a 73% increase in the tech support managers of this level because customers were able to resolve the basic issues on their own and only reached out to tech support with complicated issues.
- Third line of support. This is the highest level of tech support available for customer support. Tech guys at this level deal with cases that tech support from the lower levels was unable to handle, which goes to say that they are more knowledgeable in their tech expertise. However, it is most likely that the customers’ issues at this level are so complex that it involves custom work to resolve such issues.
These levels of tech support establish why businesses and brands must have a reliable team of tech support that focuses on working towards the overall user experience. Since customers are becoming more tech-savvy about the basic technical issues in their products and services, the team of tech support needs to be knowledgeable enough to answer their complex queries. This is the number one thing businesses can do to retain more customers for longer periods.
