What Does 24/7 Support Mean and Do You Really Need It?
With the persistently increasing expectations of customers, providing 24/7 support is no longer something you should only consider. Instead, it has become an important hourly need, crucial to surviving the extraordinary competition that exists in every industry.
Unlike in 2010, when more customers did not mind waiting for companies and organizations to respond to their requests, today’s customers do not have the same type of patience. Technology has led to more customers becoming accustomed to instant gratification. More of today’s customers expect to receive a response to their issue in a matter of minutes. For customers who have to wait 2 or 3 hours to have their problem addressed, the entire ordeal will start to feel like a nightmare.
Customer Expectations
Three-quarters of customers expect help within at least five minutes. If customer expectations are not fulfilled within the expected timeframe, many customers will have zero problems taking their business elsewhere — which means your business will lose revenue. Fortunately, there is a solution to this — 24/7 support.
For the majority of customers, good customer service generally means providing timely, attentive, and upbeat service to all customers, in addition to providing a quick resolution of issues. Three-quarters of customers view a quick resolution of their issues as the most essential aspect of the customer experience.
One way your company can meet the expectations of your current customers and potential customers is to provide 24/7 customer support. For companies that lean on service agents to provide the customer support services customers need, this likely means making multiple hires — which has likely already proven to be very costly.
What is 24/7 Customer Support?
24/7 customer support involves companies being engaged with their customers whenever they need it by deploying digital channels like live chat or automated chatbots for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Delivering top-notch support to customers when they are in need can certainly make customers feel delighted. As mentioned, most customers do not like to wait for a prolonged period of time, and they expect swift and effective responses.
When there is 24/7 support available, customers will always have an outlet that will allow them to explain their issues. 24/7 support will allow customers to have their issues resolved with efficiency, clarity, and proactive assistance. When customers are happy with the level of support they receive, they will likely remain loyal to your company and will not want to take their business elsewhere.
Does Your Business Need to Provide 24/7 Customer Support?
While 24/7 customer support can certainly be a good thing to implement, it may not be the right move for every business. Since 24/7 customer support will require businesses to invest in the needed services, businesses will need to justify the value that a move to 24/7 customer support would bring. For some businesses, there is a great need to offer 24/7 customer support. For other businesses, offering 24/7 customer support is a decision that will be made based on growth and increasing customer demands.
If you are wondering if your business should offer 24/7 customer support, here are some scenarios that may call for switching to 24/7 customer support:
- You have customers spread across different geographic locations and time zones: If you are selling products and/or services to customers around the globe, you will need to consider the time zones. When you are not able to account for this, your customers may not always receive a timely response or resolution. When you have a 24/7 support mechanism, your customers will be able to send requests at any time; they will no longer have to worry about staying up later or getting up early just to send a request within your customer support hours.
- Your business is an industry that offers time-sensitive products and/or services: Is your business part of an industry that needs to offer round the clock due to your selection of products and services? If customers need to have access to your products or services on a 24/7 basis, you need to provide support on a 24/7 basis.
Your business can make the decision to prioritize customer experience without hiring additional staff.
Why Is 24/7 Customer Support Important?
The digitization of businesses is becoming the new norm and is rapidly growing. Regardless of the technology, there will always be unplanned and unexpected issues that will arise due to various reasons, including network issues, system trouble, hardware failure, etc. To help your customers in need and to offer reliable and efficient services, your business will need a dedicated IT support team that will help your business run smoothly and allows you to focus on other areas of your business. Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty will often be the outcome of offering 24/7 customer support.
24/7 support service can also achieve the following:
- Quick and easy access to technical support
- High-quality customer satisfaction
- No Customer loss
- A reduction in downtime
- Effective and efficient IT support
How Can Your Business Leverage 24/7 Support?
Depending on the nature of your business, it is highly possible that your customers will need their problems to be resolved immediately. If you have a 24/7 support mechanism, you would be able to offer the fast solutions they need. Apart from your business being able to offer the traditional email and phone support communication channels, here is how else you can deliver the 24/7 support your customers need:
- Live chat support
- Automated chats that will provide your customers with better service and faster service
- Ticket Routing
- Self-service options
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Customer Knowledge Base
- Voicemails
Make The Switch To 24/7 Support
The heartbeat of your business lies within customer support. When your business is able to deliver high-quality customer support on a consistent basis, your customers will keep coming back. Depending on your business’s geographic focus and the nature of your products and services, you may discover that you do need to provide 24/7 support as your business continues to grow. However, this does not mean you need to hire more customer service agents.
If you want to extend your support services to 24/7, our award-winning IT support firm can provide you with the tools and resources you need to satisfy your customers and stay faithful to them. At 4it Inc., our IT support services are 24/7 services, and we have the proper resources to provide timely service. We have a team that is dedicated to providing rapid response and great customer feedback.
We will monitor your networks and uncover any vulnerabilities before they result in any significant damage. Our monitoring services will protect your network and infrastructure from cyberattacks and threats. We provide the level of 24/7 IT support services your customers need at all times, regardless of their geographic location or time zone. Contact us today at (305) 614-9815 for sales or (305) 278-7100 for support.
