In this day and age, not making full use of the technological wonders that we possess to help clients is a terrible mistake. With just a few clicks you can get access to a world of services dedicated to the world of the helpdesk, from connected application services, to live chat integrations, etc. Troubleshooting for your client is now an interactive process, you need to offer an interactive solution.
Gear up to help troubleshoot for clients
The classic helpdesk hotline+mailbox is not going to cut it now. You need to offer options, and options are aplenty these days.
Live chat
Live-chat is a great solution; this is by far the quickest and best way to retain clients as the effects are immediate. Be warned though, this will require you to switch your helpdesk model considerably if you currently don’t employ helpdesk personnel to monitor in real time. If you already have people monitor your phone lines though these guys will be a shoe-in do to this job.
Automated answers
This couples up really well with the live-chat feature. Having programmable automated responses, or a chatbot, really simplifies the job by making sure that all chats are immediately serviced regardless of the time of day they are received or if your workers are busy. Plus this can help filter out some basic questions really early on like: how much does it cost and, when are you open?
Remote operational fixes
This is a great one if you want your customers to stick around. There’s nothing like watching someone steal control of your computer and fix whatever is wrong like some magic remote activated wizardry. This will require some pretty gifted technicians and some strong policies as remote access might be easy but still involves you playing in the systems of others. Not everyone is okay with that, and if so you can always go for the next best thing…
Demos / Live Demos
This is the next best thing and one of the strongest things to have done on a regular basis. Sales demos are the backbone of a business’ marketing and troubleshooting demo sessions should be the same for helpdesk. This involves live demoing fixes and explaining issues to customers with visual and audio support, without the remote take-over of their PC’s and possibly all their data.
App support
These services should find themselves on your app. Or a version of them, however lite it may be. You should also consider simply putting all the links to the various services you offer on your app as well if you do not want to duplicate the work you do on both platforms
Change your culture when it comes to helping the client
Don’t just opt for a sit-back-and-let-the-robots-do-the-work approach. Helpdesk is a culture too; you need to want to help. These clients are coming to you to fix their issues instead of leaving and not looking back; don’t take clients for granted.
You will need to implement new ways of working if you decide to upgrade your helpdesk with these add-ons. Some are easy to setup and let run, like the chatbots and the app support, but others will demand a lot of discipline or even actual training to make sure your workers are up to the job. Live-chat might seem easy but it’s very different to the kind of help offered by a hotline, your guys can’t just respond by asking the clients to call them!
Your job is to help your clients so they don’t all flee to somewhere that does. Client retention is the key to maintaining your business, and that comes with a strong set of tools and dedicated workers.
In the End…
You need more than an email@support to do proper helpdesk work these days. Taking the time and means to improve your support outlets and do the troubleshooting alongside your client is the real way to garner positive feedback and truly help your business retain clients.
Photo Credit: Mackenzie Chase / 123 Setup / CC BY