Written by Monica

You may have the best customer support processes in place, be equipped with kickass tools, and recruit great support agents to run the support show. But you keep wondering if you are somehow falling short when delivering great customer experience. Well, let me tell you this — you are not alone.

Most companies fail to recognize the underlying factors that influence how customers rate their support. Customers are complex beings — some are grumpy and some are absolutely wonderful. If you are in a customer-facing team, your ultimate goal is to turn their frowns upside down. Your…

Written by Monica

You probably decided that email isn’t cutting it as a support solution for your business; maybe, you’re building your customer support team or launching a startup of your own — whatever the reason, quality support is crucial in creating great customer experience and building brand loyalty. Sooner or later you will need a robust customer support software to run your support efficiently.

But there are so many support solutions out there! And the search for the right customer support software can be daunting. Let’s put an end to that misery with this easy-to-use guide.

There are 5…

Written by Prashanthini Mande

For a customer service agent, few things match the thrill of solving a customer’s problem. In fact, in a recent informal poll we conducted, support reps said that they are more motivated by their eagerness to solve problems than anything else (more than customer love!).

But every now and then, you come across a problem so complex that solving it will require a lot of time and effort. For example, some customer’s problem can only be solved by adding a new feature to the product. If the feature will benefit a large portion of your…

Written by Abid Khan

If you’re a business operating in today’s constantly evolving social landscape, chances are that you use social media as a channel to communicate with customers. Among the different social channels available, Twitter has become the most preferred medium for customers to reach out to brands when they expect quick replies and an immediate action. This is primarily because the Twitter universe is extremely public, and any attempt by brands to brush aside an issue can be instantly called out. …

Written by Monica

Today, customer support isn’t restricted to email, phone, and chat. Each year sees new trends in the way brands wow their customers. But there’s one support channel that is powered by users themselves.

In this week’s secret sauce edition, we discuss how Mozilla leverages its community to build great products and up its customer service game. To learn more, we talked to Rachel McGuigan from Mozilla. She is responsible for managing and organizing the team of volunteers under the SUMO (SUpport.MOzilla.org) program.

Truth be told, Mozilla does not have a customer support team, at least not in…

Written by Prashanthini Mande

There are many occasions in support when you would have to say no to a customer. Maybe the customer asked for a product or a service you don’t offer. Or maybe the customer made an unreasonable or even an unethical demand. So learning to say no is an essential skill you need as a support rep. Here are some things to keep in mind when you are saying no to customers.

Say no quickly

It’s natural to try and avoid disappointing the customer for as long as possible. But saying no at…

Written by Prashanthini Mande

It’s enough if you follow basic email etiquette to write a good email. But what if “good” isn’t enough. What if you want to write an email that is exceptional and impactful? An exceptional support email helps you reach out and build a bond with a customer. In this post, we will go over the 5 most important ingredients of an exceptional email.

1. Convenience: making it easy for the customer to read and understand

Value your customer’s time and make the email as easy as possible for them to read the email. You can do this by:

• Highlighting the most important point they need to know.
• …

Written by Prashanthini Mande

When you are sending emails day in and day out, it’s only natural for some emails to miss the mark. Maybe you sent the wrong link to someone or addressed someone by the wrong name. These are issues that can be easily fixed with a simple check-list. After all, writing a good email depends, a lot, on getting the basics right. Let’s look at the 6 main checks you need to do before you hit ‘send’ on a support email.

1. Address the customer by their name

It’s a good practice to call a customer by their name. If you do not…