Customer support has come a long way in recent years. Although you might occasionally encounter a call center in a farflung region of the globe, a growing number of companies are introducing the ability to get the help you need instantaneously by leveraging a mix of pre-recorded and live video. Here are some examples of the most creative ways companies are approaching this, and tips and tricks for getting it right for your own business.
Self-Training
Self-training videos, otherwise known as video how to’s, are great educational resources to help keep customer support tickets at a minimum. A lot of customers might encounter the same issue, so making responses to common questions available to everyone is generally helpful to new users. Companies have historically approached this by creating help sections or forums, but those are text-based and usually not very fun to peruse.
Cloud communications platform Twilio allows software developers to programmatically make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and perform other communication functions using its web service APIs. That seems pretty straight-forward but of course there will be some differences in implementing it depending on which language the coder (customer) is using. Anticipating this, Twilio created a useful playlist to help customers get started without needing to reach out for assistance, no matter what they’re using.
Once your videos are created, don’t forget to prominently display them on your website and to promote them on your social channels and in customer e-blasts to ensure people see them. Or, better yet, you can take…
A Social Approach
Social media is now a full-fledged customer service channel, requiring monitoring 24/7 for those with particularly active communities. It is not all about putting fires out, however. The British high street bank NatWest has taken their promotion of self-training videos a step further by using Vine to share short, fun videos in direct response to customer service questions posed on Twitter:
It is amazing what you can fit in 6 seconds, and Vine is particularly well-suited for illustrating quick changes to settings on a dashboard, or locating a specific feature. Get creative and have some fun!
What if Your Company’s Product IS Customer Support?
It is no secret that Zendesk is a favorite of ours, and not just because we like their platform. They also have a hilarious approach to video marketing. Customer service has had a bad rap for too long, and it is refreshing to see agents presented in a light-hearted and endearing manner:
Although this video is entertaining in its own right, it has been viewed over 111,000 times, giving Zendesk great brand exposure and helping them be top of mind when these viewers find themselves looking for a customer support platform.
Online hosted video has been changing customer support rapidly for the better. It does not even have to be as fancy as some of these examples. A simple screen capture or product explainer video can solve common issues for a lot of people.
Have you leveraged online video in your customer service efforts? We would love to hear about it in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
