Whether it’s computer hardware, software, mobile gadgets or anything in between, providing technical support is an integral part of running an IT-related company.
Therefore, if you run or manage an IT company, you are probably well aware of the challenges that providing phone support poses for your business.
Providing tech support to users takes patience, knowledge and great communication skills.
In this article, I will give you a few tips on how you can use live chat for tech support while reducing session times, user frustration and overall costs.
Find the Problem
Many times, customers will contact you requesting support when they really don’t know how to explain the problem. This is certainly not the fault of the customers. Still, these types of support scenarios can be very frustrating for agents.
To help your customers describe their problems adequately, use short simple sentences.
Start at the beginning with basic questions such as “does the device turn on?” or “can you start the application?”. Once you establish a baseline, continue asking simple questions about the problem one at a time.
While these types of questions may seem oversimplified, they will help you navigate to the actual problem so you can help the customer resolve it.
Watch the Language
The last thing you want to do when providing tech support is to make the user or customer feel insecure about his/her knowledge of your product or service.
Therefore, avoid using jargon or technical terms unless absolutely necessary. In virtually all cases, if you use language that is easy for the customer or user to understand, you will find that support sessions go much smoother and faster.
When providing support to your customers, also look for verbal queues he/she uses during the conversation. If the customer describes something as a “thingymajig,” ask something like: “Do you mean the black “thingymajig” on the side of the device?”.
Try to make the customer’s language your own to provide better support and engage him/her on a more personal level.
Address All Questions
When your customer contacts you for support, he/she may have more than a few questions, and it’s important that you answer each and every one. Never leave any question unanswered, regardless of how misguided or irrelevant you think the question may be.
If the customer asks a question that you cannot answer immediately, send a reply that you understand the question and are preparing the most appropriate answer. If you cannot answer a question, ask for help from your team by transferring the chat to another agent or inviting a specialist to join the chat.
The Power of Remote Desktop
Some problems are extremely difficult to resolve unless you can see them for yourself.
So, if your company provides software or computer support, it can be difficult to help troubleshoot some problems based solely on descriptions from the customer.
For difficulty to solve computer or software problems, few methods are more effective than screen sharing or being able to take over the customer’s machine remotely.
Not all live chat applications support screen sharing, but the ones that do can help you provide world-class tech support directly from the chat console.
Really good live chat applications not only support screen sharing, but also enable you to co-browse with your visitors as well.
Avoid Multiple Sessions
After you help your customer or user solve the reported problem, don’t just assume that you’re finished with the support chat. Always quickly walk through the problem again to ensure that the problem has been solved.
Even after you’re sure the problem has been resolved, ask the customer if he/she has any other problems or issues that need to be addressed or has any additional questions. Provide all the solutions your customer needs in one session if possible.
By going the extra mile to resolve any other issues your customer may have, you prove your company’s value after the sale.
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: 5 Tips on Using Live Chat for Tech Support
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