No one ever said that starting a successful business from scratch was going to be easy. Not only do you need to build a killer product and quickly grow your customer base, but you also need to hire a rock star staff and put the right infrastructure in place to help you grow.
It’s easy to think of a customer service solution as something you can add later. Who needs a robust solution when you can get by with gmail? Don’t fall into that trap. A comprehensive customer service solution with mobile capabilities can help your business kill it from day one.
When you have mobile customer service you can:
1) Let customers find their answers. In today’s social, mobile world people are used to finding their own answers and many customers would rather search for their own solutions than speak to an agent on the phone. Self-service sites are table stakes for today’s businesses.
And, if your support site is mobile-optimized, customers can easily get up-to-date information and answers from their mobile devices wherever they are, whenever they want. Check out Pandora’s beautifully-branded help centre from your mobile phone, or see how quickly you can find answers on SoundCloud’s.
2) Help customers 24/7. Today’s uber-connected consumers have increasingly high expectations for service. They’re accustomed to getting the answers they want, when they want them. Most SMB’s can’t afford to staff call centres around the globe so they need to make it easy for their staff to help customers 24/7.
For example, TripADeal, an online adventure deals company located in Byron Bay, gets inquiries at all times of the day or night. The company found that if there was not someone available to respond quickly, they often lost the sale. With mobile, TripADeal can respond to questions any time of the day or night, without needing a huge staff or call centres around the globe. Another benefit with mobile is agents can have a work life balance without sacrificing customer happiness.
3) Cost-effectively build your brand. Forward-thinking SMB’s know that customer service is a great opportunity for building your brand. Some of the most successful companies blend standard responses with personalised communications, building their brand personality even while corresponding about less sexy things like shipping status.
Barkbox, a monthly subscription service offering dog treats and toys,brings life to customer emails with phrases like “pooches gracias” and “kind woofs”. When you have a mobile customer service solution, the opportunity to build your brand with customer service is amplified because you can reach customers at any time day or night. It’s just one of the reasons Barkbox grew 1000% last year.
4) Keep tabs on your operations. When a company is just starting out, founders like to keep their fingers on the pulse of their operations at all times. With a mobile customer support solution, they can always monitor support case volume and content, and see trending issues so they can catch potential problems before they become big issues.
Successful startups like GetFeedback, which makes engaging, mobile-ready online surveys, keep mobile at the heart of everything they do. Founders use Desk.com’s mobile app to monitor the business any time day or night, anticipating issues and making sure that customers are always happy.
Don’t miss the opportunity to use mobile customer service to help your small business success. How is mobile helping your small business to survive and thrive?
About the Author
Leyla Seka is General Manager and Senior Vice President, Salesforce Desk.com
Leyla leads Desk.com, salesforce.com’s all-in-one customer service app for fast-growing companies. Attracting some of the leading customer-oriented brands such as Yelp, SnapChat, Fitbit, Bonobos, and Disqus. Desk.com has become known as the savvy customer support app that connects agents with e-mail, phone calls, and social channels.
In her six years at salesforce.com, Leyla has held a variety of positions across product management, product marketing and business operations helping to build a scalable infrastructure to support the company’s business.
