Three benefits of using a customer support portal

In today’s fast-paced world, where the combination of remote-working, digital communication and constantly ‘switched on’ lifestyles leads us to live in progressively more connected and accessible ways, we have come to expect that every part of our day-to-day living should be integrated this way. 

Home appliances have become connected via the internet of things, cars now automatically tell us the fastest route to our destination, and businesses are starting to adopt new, innovative ways of delivering customer experience through digital technology. It should come as no surprise then, to hear that the way in which we experience and deliver customer support has started to follow suit. 

In this article, we cover three benefits of using a customer support portal for your business. If you’re thinking of making the switch soon, read on to find out how integrating new ways of working and serving customers through customer support software can impact your business.  

1. Support portals reduce customer support costs 

Having a physical customer service team has always been the traditional, tried, and tested way to operate the customer service part of your business. If the customer finds an issue with your product or service, they phone the customer service department, and then an expert or specialist is able to advise them over the phone on how best to resolve the issue they are experiencing. 

This approach works, and it works well. However, it could be better. One of the most overlooked aspects of this approach is factoring in support costs. For each staff member that answers the phone, uses a computer, or is in a physical office space, there is a support cost. 

By introducing a customer support portal, you may find that, through technology such as discussion forums,  question and answer forums or blogs, customers are able to search for solutions to their issues and self-resolve the problems they have encountered. Not only does this instill a sense of ease and accessibility that is now associated with your brand (more on that below), but it means that you have fewer support costs, and with a new-found lighter load and less demand on that aspect of your business, you can focus your efforts and investments elsewhere. 

2. Build strong customer relationships, and grow revenue 

Once your customer base knows they can receive a great digital experience online, they will, over time, begin to really trust your brand and form a strong bond. It is this sort of brand trust that leads customers to become loyal to businesses over the long term, and in turn, this results in more repeat purchases and up-purchasing, as they know that they have the backing of the company, should something go wrong. 

In other words, people today expect super-fast, multi-touch digital customer support portal experiences, and providing that platform sends the right message to your prospects. 

3. Increases productivity business-wide and focus on new revenue streams 

Continuing on from cutting support costs, deploying effective, well-integrated digital customer support software will free up economic resources across the business, which means you can focus on generating revenue streams in new and exciting areas, confident that your digital platform is running optimally. 

Want to hear more about our customer support software? Speak to our experts today to find out more.