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Customers want quick and reliable solutions when solving their problems. Therefore, businesses must provide several support options that are efficient and easy to use.
The days of depending entirely on phone calls and emails are long gone; today, everyone wants to reach out for help via their favorite channel.
By offering multiple customer service channels, businesses empower customers to request support on any platform, and most importantly, over their channel of choice.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the best customer service channels, their strengths and weaknesses and share tips on how to utilize them well.
What are customer service channels?
Customer service channels are media through which customers interact with support teams to ask questions, report issues, or seek assistance. These customer support channels often form an integral part of a brand’s customer service offerings.
Since different customer groups prefer different channels, businesses should be available across all possible channels to cater to this diverse need and enhance customer value.
While email and phone support have traditionally been the most common methods for obtaining help, user-friendly digital channels like social media, chatbots, and live chat are becoming increasingly popular due to their accessibility across multiple platforms.
9 Most influential customer support channels
Nowadays, there are many channels in customer service that clients can use to reach out to businesses for support.
Companies have the option to assist their customers using these multiple support channels depending on need and preference. Below are some of the most common channels.
1. Phone
Answering questions through the phone is one of the most popular methods of communication. Phone support is an essential channel that offers direct access to help and information.
Benefits of phone support
- Phone support is suitable for complicated inquiries that require lengthy
- Phone calls allow for real-time communication, allowing customers to share their problems and get feedback instantly.
Disadvantages of phone support as a channel
- Compared to other methods of communication, customers often have to wait in line for long during peak hours.
- Phone support may not always be available especially if the support team is understaffed.
Pro tip: Train support staff on empathy, phone etiquette and to listen for sentiments customers could portray over their tone and voice.
2. Email
According to a Groove study, 91% of consumers use email daily. This makes it a favorite channel for most clients.
Benefits of email support
- Clients can describe issues in detail over email and even attach further documents and media.
- Email threads can act as records of customer communications and can be used for reference whenever necessary.
- Your support staff can promptly reply to frequent client inquiries using pre-written email templates.
Disadvantages of email support
- Support agents may take longer to respond, lowering satisfaction.
- Customers may fall victim to email phishing scams, where malicious actors impersonate companies to steal personal information. These scams can undermine trust and lead to significant harm if sensitive data is misused.
- It is easy to overlook emails.
Pro tip: Save time by using customer service email templates for common questions. You can also optimize your email offering with an email ticketing system.
3. Live chat
Companies implement live chat support into their customer care strategy to provide instant responses and improve satisfaction. A study by Kayako reveals that 63% of customers are more likely to return to a website with a live chat.
Benefits of live chat
- Customers can get immediate help without having to wait on hold or schedule a call.
- Live chat is accessible from a variety of devices.
Disadvantages of live chat
- A text-based customer communication channel can result in misinterpretations when the language is unclear.
- 24/7 live chat support can be costly as it may require additional staff or outsourcing.
Pro tips: Use canned responses and AI assist tools to save your support agents time.
Additionally, you can implement a shift-based system so there are always agents available to handle customer inquiries through the customer support channels.
4. Self-service portal
Customers prefer to solve problems independently instead of contacting customer support representatives.
According to NICE 81% of consumers want more customer self-service options. Customer self-service portals allow clients to get answers to their inquiries independently.
Benefits of a self-service portal
- Decreases the volume of support tickets received, allowing your support agents more time to work on critical issues, hence improving team productivity.
- Even without your support agents, you can help customers to seek answers outside business hours.
- Promotes proactive problem-solving through knowledge bases, tutorial videos, and FAQ
- Customers can find information at any given time, enhancing your 24/7 customer service
Disadvantages of self-service portal
- Customers, especially older ones, may find it difficult to navigate through the self-service portal.
Pro tip: Regularly update content on your self-service portal, and optimize it to be accessible on all devices and to be available in different languages.
5. Social media
Customers frequently seek recommendations for products and services through social media.
Social media is a powerful tool, as each post can reach thousands, including prospective customers. Thus, promptly addressing a concern raised on social media can quickly turn into a valuable opportunity, and can significantly enhance your online customer service.
Benefits of utilizing social media
- Engaging and resolving customer issues on social media platforms can demonstrate you are a genuine company that is customer centric.
- Social media lets you reach thousands of prospective clients by maximizing positive word-of-mouth.
- You can offer your customers 24-hour support, regardless of their location.
Pro tip: Be active on social media so that you can get notifications whenever your brand is mentioned or whenever you receive comments.
6. Video chat
Video chat is an effective customer communication channel, especially when you need to give in-depth, step-by-step instructions to clients. Video support can give a more human touch to your customer service, improving the quality of customer interactions.
Benefits of video as a support channel
- Customers can replicate the intimacy and depth of in-person interactions while remaining in the comfort of their digital devices.
- It is an excellent way to express customer empathy.
- Helpful in providing how-to guides and troubleshooting assistance. It allows customers to visualize solutions and better understand products and services.
Disadvantages of video support
- Video support requires one-on-one interaction between an agent and a customer, making it difficult for support agents to handle multiple requests from multiple customers.
- Video support can be disrupted by technical issues such as poor internet, or background noise.
Pro tip: Add translations or captions to optimize the video support experience.
7. Community forums
A community forum is an online platform where your customers can share experiences, ask questions, and offer advice on how to improve your offerings.
Customers can learn from each other’s experiences and share tips of using products or services on this customer communication channel.
Community forums can be an essential resource for businesses aiming to enhance customer value. By actively participating in these forums, companies can gain several benefits.
Benefits of community forums
- Forums provide a direct avenue for customers to voice their opinions, concerns, and suggestions.
- Engaging with customers in a community helps build customer relations and loyalty.
- By observing discussions in forums, businesses can identify emerging trends and adapt their products or services as needed.
- Customers often have valuable insights and experiences. Encouraging them to share their knowledge can create a supportive, self-sufficient community.
Disadvantages of community forums
- At times, discussions may go off topic, drawing attention away from your products and services.
- Members may sometimes provide inaccurate information regarding your products or services, leading to misinformation.
Pro tip: Occasionally suggest topics and points to encourage constructive discussions.
8. Text messaging/SMS
Despite the rise of online communication, many consumers, particularly Gen Z, value the ability to text businesses with their questions and concerns.
Text support enables quick and convenient communication that enhances customer satisfaction.
Here are the key benefits:
- Messages can be quickly readable, facilitating quick communication.
- Text support can reduce customers’ wait times by facilitating the support team’s response time.
- SMS support improves the efficiency of the service agents as they can manage multiple conversations simultaneously.
Disadvantages of SMS support
- SMS messages are often limited to a fixed number of characters per message, which may restrict the amount of information a customer wants to convey.
- SMS support is ineffective for complex issues since it does not support multi-media content.
Pro tip: Ensure messages are brief and straightforward.
How to pick the most effective customer support channel for your business
In today’s competitive landscape, merely being heard isn’t sufficient; to truly differentiate yourself, you have to utilize the right customer service channels, in an effective manner. Here are some helpful tips to assist you in selecting the most effective channel.
Understand your industry standards
If your industry prioritizes quick response times, such as healthcare or hospitality, consider prioritizing live chat or messaging apps.
Conversely, if your customers value personalized interactions, you may want to invest in more traditional channels like phone support. It is also a good idea to analyze which channels your competitors use to get a sense of what works and what doesn’t in your industry.
Identify your customer’s needs and preferences
Leverage platforms that appeal to each customer base. Choose a customer support channel that caters to your users’ age and preferences. You can create surveys to determine what support channels best fit your customers.
For instance, younger customers may favor social media and instant messaging, whereas older customers might prefer email and phone support. Proactively reach out to these audiences via these channels, to boost engagement and deliver a more fulfilling customer experience.
Analyze your resources
Determine staffing and technology costs to assess your budget for different customer support channels. This will enable you to select channels that align with your operational capabilities and effectively address your customers’ needs.
Regularly survey your existing support channels
By evaluating your current support channels and leveraging employee analytics dashboards, you can find out which channels have traffic and which ones don’t.
Additionally, assign agents appropriately and adjust your support strategies to improve team productivity and service delivery.
Consider the type of support issues you receive
Understanding the nature of the support issues you encounter can help optimize the support process, allowing you to choose the most suitable channels.
Best practices to optimize customer service channels
Optimizing service channels is critical to meeting customer expectations and building loyalty. By combining technologies, companies can deliver seamless experiences, enhance satisfaction, and drive growth.
To get the best out of your customer service channels, it is advisable to consider the following.
- Gain insights into your audience and their channel preferences: Analyzing your support requests to identify your customers’ most preferred channels is crucial to effectively interact with them, and helps you tailor your communication strategies to better meet their needs.
- Remove silos in conversations: Implement a centralized knowledge base for shared information, and use collaboration tools like shared inbox software for better communication.
- Train your support staff: To build a well-rounded customer support team, hire agents with diverse skills and abilities and train them on how to best utilize each communication channel.
- Use a shared inbox to enhance visibility: A shared inbox provides transparency into all customer interactions across channels like emails, live chats, and social media, significantly reducing the chances of missing essential customer inquiries.
- Personalize your conversations with customers: Personalize customer interactions by using customer names, tracking their preferences for tailored recommendations, and remembering important dates for special offers.
- Use automations to handle repetitive tasks: By integrating automations, you can handle repetitive tasks effortlessly, significantly improving agent productivity and efficiency. For example, you can set up automatic ticket routing to assign tickets to the appropriate agent.
- Utilize a modern help desk system: A help desk system provides all customer service channels through an omnichannel inbox allowing you to switch effortlessly from one channel to another. This smoothens customer interactions and enhances satisfaction.
Choose the right customer service channels to grow your business
As your business grows, so do your customer expectations. To keep up with increasing demand and provide exceptional support, you’ll need to transition beyond traditional customer support channels like phone and email.
An omnichannel support strategy enables you to offer modern customer communication channels, such as live chat and social media, to accommodate a growing customer base and their evolving needs.
BoldDesk allows you to engage with customers through various customer service channels, helping you generate leads, provide support, and follow up effectively.
To learn more on how you can utilize these customer service channels to grow your business, contact BoldDesk support and book a live demo, or start your 15-day free trial today!
We hope this blog gives you an in-depth understanding of customer service channels. Are there any channels that we might have missed out on? Feel free to add them in the comments section below!
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