Brands in various industries know how difficult it is to stand out and attract customers. Competition is fierce today, and you need to excel at many things to move consumers down the sales funnel.
Some businesses have found success on social media, where 54% of internet users research products. Others have implemented videos in their marketing strategies as 72% of customers say they would instead learn about a product or service by way of video. If your business is present on social media and uses videos already, there is one thing you can focus on—providing the best customer service.
Good customer service is the backbone of your business. It makes people stay loyal to your brand even if specific issues arise. If there is a problem with their order or account, consumers expect your business will resolve it as quickly and effortlessly as possible.
In 2022, 58% of Americans contacted some form of customer service. This shows how important it is to invest in it. Using a call center phone system, training your employees and putting customers first can improve the service you offer.
What you need the most are customer support tools that encourage consumers to interact with your brand. We’ll divide these tools into the following categories:
- Phone support
- Email support
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
If you want to make these tools work, customer service software is a must.
What are customer support tools?
Customer service tools are software tools that help a business improve its customer service efforts. That could include a live chat, automatic email responses or ticketing software that tracks any customer request. All of this streamlines the process, enabling your business to provide the best customer experience.
Years ago, employees had to do many tasks manually. This proved to be time-consuming and inefficient. With developments in technology, it has become possible to automate specific repetitive tasks. Now employees can focus on more pressing issues and ensure their company has returning customers.
Customer service tools are also helpful if your employees work from home due to a pandemic or any other reason. Even though you have to make specific changes to your working arrangements, your customers should still count on you. Using customer service software tools helps you meet their expectations and present your business in a positive light.
These tools improve the overall experience for customers and make tasks easier for your employees. This is a win-win situation!
Before we list some helpful tools, let’s see why you should leverage them in the first place.
Why use customer service tools
In the beginning, new companies usually don’t rely on specialist software. This is because they are more focused on building a customer base. Over time, however, they need to invest in high-quality software to retain those customers and build loyalty.
Using customer service tools helps your team members create a better customer experience. Here is why you should incorporate these tools:
- Keep track of all customer requests. Sometimes there is an influx of customer requests. This can be stressful for support agents working around the clock to respond to all queries. There is a chance that some requests remain unanswered, leading to poor customer service. Use professional software that streamlines the process and enables your team to resolve all requests.
- Measure the performance of your team. Your main goal is to raise customer satisfaction. It’s impossible to do that if you’re not measuring your team’s performance. Sure, you can present your findings in a spreadsheet, but this won’t be as effective. Instead, use a customer service tool that stores everything in one place. Once you access the main dashboard, all customer support requests and solutions will be displayed, showing how fruitful your team efforts are.
- Automate repetitive tasks. Automation is prevalent nowadays. Thanks to technology, your business can automate customer service as well. This reduces the need for human effort in everyday tasks. Your customer service team can offer solutions and save time—both for themselves and customers. Automation in customer service means introducing processes that ensure customers receive a response quickly, without the intervention of a customer support representative.
- Keep tabs on all customer service channels. You inevitably use various channels to communicate with customers. If a shopper has an order issue, they might contact you via chat, social media or phone. As multiple agents handle their requests, they need to know what the customer was told each time they reached customer support. These types of tools will give them the information they need.
When multiple team members support customers, using tools is the right choice for your business.
The importance of customer service in 2023
Excellent customer service can be hard to find, but this is exactly what consumers are after. Yes, the main things that attract them to your business are products or services, but your treatment makes them stay. They take all things into account before moving down the sales funnel.
That means that you need to provide the best customer support experience. It’s not enough to only answer calls from your customers—you need to step it up a notch. Add a “call us now” button on your website, interact with followers on your social media channels and use customer service software tools.
Everything you do impacts the way consumers see your business. If you come across as caring and responsive, they’ll remain loyal to your brand. Here are various stats that show how essential exceptional customer service is in 2023:
- 50% of US customers think the pandemic has enhanced the importance they place on customer service when determining whether or not to do business with the company
- When customer service addresses their problem, 80% of customers feel more emotionally attached to a business
- 30% of customers are ready to pay more for good service, a 6% rise from 2019
- Small businesses improved their customer service, according to 48% of worldwide customers
Before you research call routing and the best practices, acquaint yourself with the customer service software you have at your disposal. To make things easier for you, we’ve categorized our solutions—try out the ones your business needs the most!
Phone support
The rise of the internet has created new communication opportunities, from emailing and chatting to blogging and exchanging short videos. This has affected consumer interactions as well.
Most businesses use multiple channels to communicate with customers. They also invest in customer service software to track, manage, personalize and optimize their efforts.
Regardless of which channels your brand is present, communicating by voice remains the fastest and most effective tool. According to a study by Google, most respondents would still call a business instead of contacting them online. They listed various reasons for this:
- The chance to quickly get an answer (59%)
- The opportunity to talk to a real person (57%)
- They want to get more accurate information (43%)
- It’s more convenient (42%)
You should use various customer service software for other channels, but don’t forget that people still like calling your business! It helps them build a more personal connection with your brand. If your customer service agents provide stellar support, expect great reviews!
Having a phone and a dedicated number is not enough. You need to use customer service software solutions to improve the experience. Here is one tool that can take your efforts to the next level!
Ringblaze
Ringblaze is an optimized phone system that helps you improve customer satisfaction and offer excellent service. It is the customer service app you need to show the best sides of your business.
Establishing effective communication between teams is crucial. When your support teams work together, customers are more likely to receive the service they expect. What you need to achieve seamless communication are customer service tools, especially a phone system.
With Ringblaze, you get more bang for your buck. Our customer service software includes various features you need to impress existing customers. All that for a fraction of the price that you’d have to pay for other business phone systems on the market!
Our platform is suitable for businesses of all sizes operating in different industries. Bring your customer support and sales teams together and ensure their communication goes off without a hitch! Ringblaze provides no confusion and that your team members resolve any issue on the spot.
Our customer service platform is the perfect choice for you because of the following key features:
- Use a shared dashboard: Multiple users can access one dashboard to keep track of all conversations. You’ll avoid duplicate callbacks, which will result in good customer service. Your customer service team will be on the same page and customers satisfied!
- Set call owners: Agents can build strong customer relationships with consumers. With Ringblaze, your customer service management department can decide which agent will make a call depending on various factors.
- Add a call widget to your website: Ensure your customers know you’re only one call away by implementing a call widget on your website! Ringblaze is a perfect customer service software because it enables your consumers to contact you in a matter of seconds. Conversion rates might increase when you resolve customer queries on the spot!
- Access a user-friendly platform: Ringblaze works to provide the best user experience to our clients. You don’t need any technical know-how to use our platform as it is very intuitive and user-friendly.
- Interact with your global audience: There are no limitations with Ringblaze! Keep in touch with customers all over the world. Regardless of the market you operate in, Ringblaze is there to help your customer support teams provide the best experience.
Ringblaze is a cost-effective and advanced customer service software for your business. Support your customer service teams with our platform and streamline the process for them!
Aside from phone support, you can incorporate other means of communication. Let’s start with email support!
Email support
Exceptional customer service is on every brand’s mind. It is what will keep an existing customer loyal to your products. To offer this level of service, you need to ensure all issues are resolved on time.
Apart from calls, you can provide email support as well. Communicating via email is one of the most popular methods among customers. Especially now, when there are many useful tools such as email finder tools, doing customer support via email has become highly convenient and productive. According to a study, 54% of customers use email to contact brands.
This means that they won’t tolerate late replies or ignored emails. Investing in customer service software is a must to avoid problems. You need an intuitive platform that stores all emails you receive, categorizing them according to set parameters.
Emails also establish transparency. Everything your customer service agents say will be documented in written form. It will be easier to read through the entire correspondence with a customer service tool.
Email support also means notifying your customers of your progress. Let’s say someone reports a missing order. Your team members are investigating the location of the parcel. They can schedule automatic emails that inform the customer of the progress, keeping them in the loop.
Let’s see which customer service software you can use to provide the best support.
Outpost
Outpost is a simple tool that helps customer agents manage, organize, collaborate, and respond to customer emails. Using a primary email client won’t be enough as your business grows. There will be an influx of emails, making it difficult to keep track of them. This is where Outpost comes in with useful features, simplicity and, most importantly, affordability.
The customer service tool enables team members to respond to consumers on time. This efficiency is what helps you stand out from other competitors. Order issues, product queries, honest reviews—customers can send all of this via email. Using customer service software solutions like Outpost can make replying easier for your agents.
This customer service app is easy to use. You can connect all of your mailboxes to it, uniting them into one inbox. No email will go unreplied when you do that.
Here are the key features of Outpost:
- Assign emails: If you have hundreds of unreplied emails, it’s easier to assign them to different individuals. Everyone will know which email is their obligation and there won’t be any confusion.
- Enable collision alerts: This feature is helpful as it shows who is already writing a response. Customer service representatives won’t send the same answer twice.
- Create and save templates: You’ll inevitably get the same question numerous times. Use this customer service software tool to create and save templates so that your customers receive a reply in a matter of minutes.
- Access analytics: Tracking all aspects of your customer support is essential. Outpost comes with analytics that measures average response times. You can figure out how your team can reply faster with this information.
If your brand can’t afford to invest in an all-in-one comprehensive customer service management software, then Outpost is perfect for your support team.
Live chat
Humans lead fast-paced lives today. The majority of us expect to respond the moment we ask our questions. This is where emails aren’t good enough because we never know when to expect an answer. It is way easier to contact customer support via phone or live chat.
For this reason, you need to set up your office phone system or include a live chat on your website. These two customer service software tools are the most effective because communication happens in real-time. If you already offer phone support, it’s time to consider adding a live chat as well.
According to statistics, 38% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company if they offer live chat support. Not only that, but 51% of them are more likely to buy again if they have access to live chat support.
Live chat software can significantly improve user experience. Together with phone support, it can lead consumers down the sales funnel following a good experience. You need some of the best customer service software tools for this.
If your live chat software lags, closes or disconnects consumers, they’re likely to take their business elsewhere. Studies show, however, that a positive experience on live chat can attract new customers and retain the old ones:
- 79% of enterprises report that implementing live chat increased customer loyalty, sales, and revenue
- One brand experienced a 3.84% increase in conversion rates
- Website visitors that engage with your business via live chat are worth 4.5 times more than visitors that don’t
Your company needs customer service software for live chat!
LiveChat
LiveChat is a customer service software for businesses needing a live chat solution. It enables you to resolve all queries with live chat or chatbot. Responding quickly and resolving issues improves customer satisfaction and LiveChat can help you there.
It comes with various live chat features that streamline the process. You can send automated greetings, saved responses, and customer satisfaction surveys. Another perk is message sneak peek, which allows support teams to see what customers are typing before hitting send.
This live chat software also tracks sales and goals automatically, showing how chats boost revenue. Your website visitors don’t need to contact you to start a chat—you can do that as well. LiveChat sends targeted messages automatically, proactively engaging all visitors.
The key features of LiveChat are:
- Access to message sneak peeks: This customer service software shows you message sneak peeks. Even before your customers send a message, you’ll know what they want to ask. As a result, you’ll reply faster.
- Possibility to share files: You can send any file via LiveChat—screenshots, offers, discounts or zip files. This makes it easier to support your customers.
- Chat archives: If an issue isn’t resolved promptly, customers will return to your live chat support for help. All agents can access chat archives to see what previous responses were and how they should handle the problem.
- Targeted messages: Even if they don’t contact you via live chat, you can engage website visitors using this communication tool. While they are on the website, share announcements, promote product launches or offer discounts to visitors!
Better customer service can translate into more website visitors, new customers and increased trust in your brand. When consumers have a myriad of choices, you need to show them your business is worth their time and money. Focus on your customer service tools like phone, email or chat support and your shoppers will be grateful!
Apart from the tools we mention, we also suggest having a knowledge base.
Knowledge base
Another thing that can improve customer journeys is access to a knowledge base. It is usually a problem for businesses to set up one. They have a lot of information to share with customers, but they can’t often find an effective way to present them. Luckily, they can leverage knowledge base software in this case.
Knowledge base software or help center software is a tool that helps you create and publish self-service content for website visitors. The self-service knowledge base tool includes frequently asked questions (FAQs), tutorials and how-to articles.
This software type offers troubleshooting content for your customers. They won’t need to contact your support agents for help as the required answers will be visible.
If you want to reduce the burden on your agents, then a knowledge base is what you need. Customer self-service encourages consumers to find answers and other supporting materials independently. Then, your agents will focus on resolving issues that aren’t mentioned in the knowledge base.
Here is one of the best customer service software for a knowledge base.
Zendesk
Zendesk is a help desk software, ticketing system and CRM that has been around for a while. Businesses mainly use it to create an extensive knowledge base for their customers. Instead of roaming around your website, consumers can find all the answers in one place with Zendesk.
This customer service software also works if you need an internal knowledge base. Sometimes your agents need a bit of help. Zendesk makes it possible for them to get that help without waiting for a response from their team member.
Your customer service teams can contribute and expand the existing knowledge base wherever needed. If customers keep asking the same question, your team should see if it’s available in the knowledge base. If it isn’t, they should add it together with the answer!
Access to self-service content 24/7 means customers can find solutions whenever needed. This is especially useful if your business works in a one-time zone and the majority of your consumers live in another.
Just like other customer service tools, Zendesk comes with certain key features:
- Variety of information in one place: With Zendesk, you can organize different information like FAQs, tutorials and product details. Customers then access that information in a searchable database.
- Customization: You can customize your web-based knowledge base in any way you want. We suggest you customize it in a way that reflects your business.
- AI-powered bots: Your knowledge base can become even more effective if you use AI-powered bots. Once a customer types in a query, these bots can recommend relevant articles that answer their question. That takes self-service to the next level!
- Restrictions: You don’t need to worry if you’re creating an internal knowledge base. Zendesk allows you to restrict it to specific groups. Only selected users will be able to access and work on it.
As you can see, customer service software can truly streamline the entire process for your support team. Being present on various channels is essential. While you are using them, invest in the best customer service software. Only like this will you be able to provide the best service.
Conclusion
Customers come first. It might sound like a cliché, but it is a saying you need to accept. When they visit your store, access your website, make a purchase and interact with your representatives, customers constantly form opinions about your business.
Ensure you leave a lasting impression on them by providing the best customer experience. To do that, you need only the best customer service software. Invest in some of the tools we mentioned in our article and you’ll see how they’ll transform your business.
Don’t let your customers down, but show them you value their time and effort through excellent service!
If you want to try a VoIP provider, consider Ringblaze. Give it a go by clicking here. It is 100% free to try!
FAQ
What are some customer service tools?
Some customer service tools that help businesses provide excellent customer support are:
- Ringblaze
- Zendesk
- Outpost
- LiveChat
What are support tools?
Support tools are communication channels that connect customers with a company’s support team. Their goal is to encourage more significant interaction between consumers and their selected brand.
What is customer support software?
Customer service software is a tool that enables companies to provide the best customer support. That could include a live chat, email or knowledge base tool.
What are four examples of customer service?
Four examples of customers service are:
- An online business that sends exclusive deals to loyal customers
- Customer support agents who resolve all queries on time
- A company that acknowledges the feedback it receives from customers and acts on it
- A brand that is present on various channels such as email, phone and live chat
Originally published on November 8, 2021. Updated November 10, 2022.
