As technology changes, so does inbound customer service. Whereas in the old times, customers need to talk face-to-face with a shopkeeper, today, all it takes to connect with a company is to pick up the phone or access the Internet.

According to Business2Community, companies need to keep up with current trends and train their staff to adapt to these changes to stay ahead of the competition.

Multi-channel support

The phone lines has always been the primary channel used for customer service, but companies who want to get better results need to set up more than a trunkline number. As Forrester has reported early this year, more customers are using web self-services, live chat modules, and communities for their issues.

To respond to the preferences of tech-savvy customers, a company needs to provide more entry points and train their representatives to provide inbound customer service in web-based platforms.

Mobile solutions

Mobile solutions are more than just a nice little addition to a company’s support channels. The increasing number of smartphone users who demand quick, on-the-go service makes it a requisite for the company and even a key competitive differentiator. Companies need to develop mobile web sites or apps with customer service functionality. Moreover, their agents need to be knowledgeable in transmitting information in a way that is suitable for mobile users.

Streamlined access to customer information

Additional channels are not separate from the primary customer service system though it serves as an extension of it. If a company has a newly implemented mobile phone support, it needs to make sure that the agents assigned to this platform also have the same resources as phone agents. That is, they have full in-demand access to customer information, including previously reported issues and purchases. This improves efficiency and equips your agents with pertinent information needed to assist customers quickly.

Following these trends helps companies deliver excellent-quality inbound customer service to the new generation of customers who have high expectations on various channels.