8 TIPS FOR HELP DESK AND TECH SUPPORT SUCCESS
8
TIPS FOR HELP DESK AND TECH SUPPORT SUCCESS
Many
companies roll the help desk and tech support roles together. In general,
however, help desk is most
frequently considered the first line of
defense for handling initial customer contact and more easily remedied tech
issues, while tech support is the
more specialized second tier that
tougher problems get escalated to for resolutions that require deeper
expertise.
A
customer support ticket that comes in through phone, email, or any other
channel your team uses will most often hit the help desk, where an agent will
work to resolve the issue or gauge whether it needs to be escalated higher up
the knowledge ladder. If it’s a simple solution—for example, if a customer
purchased a product that’s missing a key component and they’d like a
replacement part it’ll get resolved at the help desk level.
If a
customer is experiencing more in-depth problems with a product that help desk
doesn’t have a workable solution for, however, their inquiry would be bumped up
to tech support. For example, if a device is acting unusual and normal steps to
reboot or reset the device aren’t working, an agent with more intimate
technical knowhow on the product can help tackle the problem.
Depending
on your company, your products, and your team makeup, help desk and tech
support might be either consolidated into one role or broken down further into
a larger number of tiers or departments for each role or product line.
Whatever
your approach, here’s a selection of top tips to help boost the techie side of
your customer support team.
1) IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE THE PROBLEM
LEVEL
Customer
issues of a more technical nature can run the gamut in terms of complexity and
ease of resolution, which is why it’s important to pinpoint the problem
immediately and quickly evaluate whether it’s something that can potentially be
solved with a simple fix. On one end of the spectrum, a customer might simply
need instructions on how to recover a lost password or directions to return a
defective product for replacement. On the upper end, they might need to
troubleshoot an unexpected device failure or report a software-halting glitch
they’ve encountered that’s never been seen before.
Directing
customers to helpful resources—like video tutorials, step-by-step instructions,
and user forums—that provide immediate answers to common tech problems can be a
great way to speed things along. However, it’s also useful to identify more
complex issues early on so they can be routed to team members with the proper
expertise to solve them.
2) GAUGE THE CUSTOMER’S TECHNICAL
LEVEL
Using
intuition and clues from the conversation or correspondence, it’s helpful to
try to identify the customer’s level of tech savviness in order to determine
the best way to help them. For some customers, something that might seem like a
simple fix could be a lot more complicated if they’re not technically inclined.
Conversely, a customer with a greater level of technical knowhow may interact
more fluidly and get the solution they need from speaking with an agent that
has more specialized expertise on the matter.
Cable
and Wi-Fi connectivity problems are a common example. A tech-savvy customer
might figure out a fix quickly with access to your company’s knowledge base,
while other casual users might be flustered over the thought of even hunting
around for the reset button.
Figuring
out a customer’s level of technical expertise makes it easier to point your
team’s response in the right direction.
3) CHECK FOR PREVIOUS SUPPORT TICKETS
It’s
not uncommon for many customers who experience technical issues to encounter
some of the same problems—or even related ones—more than once. Looking up any
prior support tickets logged for a particular customer can give helpful clues
that may help speed the process along, which is a good thing for everyone
involved. Previous tickets may have notes that let you direct customers to a
better solution or fast-track them to the right department to better solve
their issues.
4) TAKE DETAILED, USEFUL TICKET NOTES
ON EVERY INTERACTION
Agents
don’t have to write a book on every customer, but keeping detailed notes that
shine light onto the problem, their unique situation, the proposed solution,
and the end result can be invaluable—both for tracking common issues and for
helping customers who reach out repeatedly with similar issues. Customer
service software solutions like Zendesk, Salesforce, and Desk can make the
process of tracking tickets and keeping good customer data organized much
easier.
5) DIRECT CUSTOMERS TO SELF-SERVICE
SOLUTIONS LIKE Q&A, FORUMS, AND VIDEO
Cultivating
a variety of self-service options that provide solutions to common problems can
be a powerful way to cut down on the time spent on individual support tickets.
Since many customers prefer to find an answer on their own, directing them to
the right resources can save everyone time and energy.
The
value here is in creating the best resources possible for the most common
issues raised by customers, then offering several different formats for a la
carte self-service troubleshooting. Some customers may respond best to a guided
video walkthrough. Others may respond better to Q&A text or a searchable
customer forum. Give them options to explore, and leave the door open for
further direct assistance if needed.
6) KEEP SOLUTIONS CLEAR AND EASY TO
UNDERSTAND
Any
solutions you offer to customers, especially if they are pre-created, should be
as clear to follow as possible. Avoid getting too technical, keep things short,
and whenever it makes sense to do so, take customers through the solution
step-by-step. It’s also wise to gather feedback on the quality of any
problem-solving materials you create, so you can continue to fine-tune them to
best suit customers’ needs and technical ability levels.
7) MAKE IT EASY FOR CUSTOMERS TO
FOLLOW UP
Nobody
likes getting what seems to be a good solution to their problem only to find
that it doesn’t actually solve it—after they’ve already hung up or waited hours
for an email response. This can be particularly frustrating, spurring some customers
to give up entirely and remain unsatisfied with your company’s product or
service. To avoid this, make sure customers are given a quick way to follow up
if their issue persists and requires further assistance, whether that’s a
direct phone line to the agent who helped them initially or an email address.
This pairs well with assurances that their further support requests will be
fast-tracked if needed.
8) BE PREPARED TO ESCALATE TOUGHER
SUPPORT REQUESTS
Agents
who serve as the first point of contact for tech-centric customer support
inquiries should become experts at gauging the difficulty level of a request,
so they can be prepared to escalate the support ticket to the appropriate team
members with the right expertise and skill to troubleshoot more involved
customer challenges.
Successful
help desk and tech support is all about tackling challenges as they come and
finding ways to make life easier for customers while solving their high-tech
troubles in a hurry. Paired with different support options and the right
approach from your team, these tips will help ease some of the strain that can
come from juggling tech snafus and other challenges that might arise.
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