IT services are there to ensure the efficiency and automation of all your business processes and customer service is no exception. While this is generally an industry that is tied closely to personal (human) interaction, technology definitely plays a huge role in this whole system. This means that, in the 21st century, it’s nearly impossible to run a successful customer service without an efficient IT management process.
With that in mind and without further ado, here are several reasons why IT service is an incredibly important part of your customer service and, therefore, for your entire enterprise.
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Customer retention and returns
The first thing you need to understand is the importance of customer retention. Return customers spend more money and, overall, generate more revenue than all the rest of your customers. In fact, 8% of your most loyal customers are directly responsible for as much as 40% of your entire profit. Other than this, keep in mind that it is five times cheaper to make old customers come back than it is to make a new conversion.
One of the things you need to keep in mind is the customer lifecycle. This is something you need to start with. First of all, you need to understand that a lot of people aren’t ready to buy just yet. Customer service is not there just for those who are actual buyers. There are a lot of concerns about the functioning of your website, your offer, etc.
Shopping cart abandonment is another huge deal that you need to focus on. Through IT services, you can reliably diagnose why people are leaving your e-store and at what stage. This way, you can give your technical services, especially your IT department, a chance to make things right.
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Part of your business model
Another thing you need to understand is that your IT services are a mandatory part of your IT process. Remember that everything relies on this, which is why IT managed services providers are so important. There are several ways to avert this problem and the choice is yours. The simplest solution is to look for reliable IT managed service providers.
Keep in mind that the majority of your processes are running through the IT service or are cloud-based. So, you need to start thinking about this as rationally as possible. Let’s say that your customers are worried about a late shipment. If you are tracking your fleet, chances are that your IT team can access this information and give them an exact location of the shipment (as well as the new ETA).
Through concepts like ERP (enterprise resource planning), it’s possible to create a closed system that contains all the relevant information for the functioning of your business. In this scenario, a problem with the program would cause expensive downtime.
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Cross-selling and upselling opportunities
Identifying missed opportunities is one of the best ways for a business to improve its operations. Previously, we’ve talked about shopping cart abandonment, however, selling someone $100 worth of products when you can sell them $20 is an opportunity loss of $20.
In order to come up with great cross-selling and upselling opportunities, you need to keep an ear to the ground regarding what your audience really wants. Simply picking an item because it goes thematically with the main product or picking something from the same category won’t work. Sure, it might, but there’s really no guarantee. Instead, you need to pick something perfect for the opportunity, and syncing your IT and customer service will help you find the answer. Sometimes, all you have to do is listen.
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Gathering customer service data
Analytics can provide you with the necessary customer data and there are a lot of points that can be harvested automatically. Frequency of calls, average response time, the average duration of the conversation, and similar parameters all need to be monitored carefully.
Other than this, more and more companies have customer service that is heavily reliant on chatbots. Chatbots are fast, efficient, and great overall but they also need quite a bit of IT upkeep. In this regard, the technical aspect of your company’s digital services can determine the efficiency of your business.
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Employee satisfaction
One last thing you need to keep in mind is that your employee satisfaction and your customer satisfaction often go hand in hand. Members of your staff heavily rely on your IT processes in order to function, which makes your IT management team directly responsible.
Even if you decide to focus exclusively on your team, it’s essential that you realize that employee satisfaction directly affects sales. Happier employees work harder, which is why happier employees create 147% higher earnings for their company.
Keep in mind that the attitude of your employees tends to be one of the first things that your customers will notice about you. In other words, it will earn you positive reviews, better ratings, etc. The key thing is that you don’t forget the basis – functioning and efficient IT systems.
In conclusion
At the end of the day, people want to be heard but they also want to be heard quickly. Your own staff members need to have functioning tools and have a clear line of communication. Everything that you do leaves a digital trace and all of this should find its way back to a single spot. IT-managed customer service is what all three of these factors have in common.
