Covid-19如何影响客户服务以及下一步[Data + Expert Tips]

We all know the importance of customer service for retaining customers and scaling a business — and it's only increasing in value over time.

Consider, for instance, what happened when I calledCorePower Yoga'scustomer service team last week to complain about an incorrect charge to my account. What could've been a stressful and frustrating experience turned into me actually升级我的会员。

这就是良好的客户服务的力量 - 这是客户的忠诚度开始或结束的地方。

不幸的是，过去两年对客户服务团队来说并不容易。而客户对客户服务的期望hit an all-time high，客户服务代表同时看到了更多困难的电话，增加升级in 2020.

HubSpot's Industry Data, for instance, shows a consistent rise in support tickets since the beginning of the pandemic — from 6% in March of 2020 to over 90% as of August 2021:

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然而,随着客户的挑战和公司的请求reased exponentially as a result of the pandemic, most service teams were still struggling to adjust to a fully remote setup. (Imagine the stress of a conversation with an unhappy customer from your kitchen table, where you might lack a strong phone connection or easy access to peers for help. Yikes.)

All of which is to say: COVID-19 had a strong impact on customer service, and in 2022 and beyond we'll continue to see the ramifications of the pandemic on what customers expect from customer service, and how service reps will need to adjust to handle those new expectations.

Here, I spoke with six experts in the customer service industry to gather insights into the future of customer service. Let's dive in.

COVID如何影响客户服务

1. Service reps needed to adjust business offerings to meet new customer demands.

Microsoft'sWorldwide Support LeaderKirsten Gudmundson告诉我，重要的服务团队学会了适应客户的独特需求，这可能与他们的流行前不同。

"Listen, learn, evolve — quickly," Gudmundson told me. "During the pandemic, our customers' needs were evolving at warp speed as many had to quickly go through a digital transformation to stay relevant."

Gudmundson adds, "It was imperative that we actively listened and adjusted our offerings to meet new customer demands and identified innovative ways to engage with customers."

The pandemic required all businesses to re-route existing strategies and refocus their efforts. If you work for a B2B customer service team, then, it's important to keep in-mind that part of your job is exhibiting patience and empathy when working with your customers.

Additionally, the 'rule book' you followed pre-pandemic might not work anymore. Part of the challenge of the service industry today is having the flexibility to alter your approach — and your business offerings — as you identify better ways to serve your customers.

正如古德蒙森（Gudmundson）指出的那样，“通过使客户轻松获得支持并主动提供服务，我们使客户安心，这使他们能够专注于这一关键的枢轴点。”

2. Burnout across service organizations increased.

According to a 2020 Gallup report,76% of employees experience burnout至少有时候在工作中，有28％的人说他们在工作中被烧毁或“总是”。

Burnout has increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic. Work-life balance has blurred significantly. Additionally, some employeesfeel pressure to remain online为了证明他们向经理的工作 - 还有其他人需要适应在家工作，同时还要照顾孩子或处理其他家庭责任。

不幸的是，服务员工特别倦怠。作为研究员克里斯蒂娜·霍尔格伦（Kristina Hultgren）写信, "call centre jobs are notorious worldwide for their high levels of turnover, absenteeism, employee burnout and emotional exhaustion."

凯文·加米奇（Kevan Gammage）, Global Director of Customer Support atBrandWatch, told me he's seen burnout increase for his own team after joining Brandwatch at the beginning of 2021.

盖玛格说：“对我们来说，大流行有点骑行。”“似乎客户在理解我们的团队也受到库维德的影响方面是合理的，但这只有到目前为止。”

"Our reps have certainly had to work under more pressure in general, and burnout has been a constant threat in our world. For example, our team has seen the type of tickets we get become much more technical in nature and subject."

为了应对倦怠，Gammage告诉我，即使该环境完全遥不可及，他也需要更加有意地对他如何为团队创建连接的环境。

Additionally, he told me, "We do our best to avoid burnout by encouraging our folks to take advantage of unlimited vacation. We also like to give the team specific self-development time to work on things that are more personal, like self-development or mentoring from teams they aspire to work in. So far, so good — but we have to continue to be creative for the team."

3. Customers became more familiar with communication tools like Zoom and Google Meets.

Fatima Sbeih,美丽Director of Customer Success, told me her team's customer support requests nearly doubled at the beginning of the pandemic.

Sbeih说：“作为一种远程协作工具，新用户在大流行中的早期采用了Beautiful.AI，他们过渡到家里工作。结果，[我们的]客户支持请求几乎翻了一番，导致响应时间更长并调整优先级级别为了支持票。这 - 加上远程工作的固有协作挑战，导致了一项积压的任务。”

Sbeih告诉我，“明确而简洁的内部交流比以前更加优先，我的团队的心理健康也是如此，以确保每个人都受到支持。”

To ensure strong internal communication on your own support team, consider investing in powerfulcustomer service tools，例如用于帮助台软件的HubSpot或用于错误报告的JIRA。bob电竞官方下载

Sbeih告诉我，她所看到的最引人注目的客户服务改进之一是与客户时区保持一致的地理上多样化的人才库。她指出，这已经减少了首次响应的等待时间，并允许每个团队在工作时间内安排呼叫。

As your team became more comfortable with remote software in 2020, so did your customers. This is a major benefit for remote support teams, as customers are more efficient at submitting and responding to requests on communication platforms outside of traditional phone calls.

As Sbeih puts it, "customers became more comfortable with communication tools likeZoom and Google Meets, enabling easier assistance."

4. Remote support coaching became a requirement.

As people adjusted to this 'new normal', tensions were high. Along with the daily challenges they faced at their companies, customers also dealt with the extreme pressures of a global pandemic.

所有这些都是：对于任何担任客户角色的人来说，2020年并不是一年。

作为HubSpot在柏林客户支持的团队负责人高茶富士puts it, "customer-facing teams were on the frontline for managing customer frustrations — which can be stressful for customer support teams to manage."

此外，藤田指出，远程生活方式的孤独和隔离也会影响支持代表的生产力。“如果没有队友'在地板上'进行指导，那么如果代表没有人求助，支持升级就会增加。

为你减轻孤独和沮丧r team, you might consider offering remote coaching for your support reps. As Fujita told me, championing collaboration within and across teams, encouraging transparency, and keeping communication channels open is vital for enabling reps to share knowledge and learn from one another.

藤田补充说：“通过反复的虚拟支持和积极主动的教练授权代表可以为有效的个性化支持互动奠定基础，这只能帮助我们的客户增长。”

5. Service reps needed to develop or nurture a stronger sense of empathy in their customer interactions.

When a customer is calling a customer service representative, they're usually facing a challenging, frustrating, or disruptive situation. In 2020, it became increasingly important forservice reps to lead with empathy在与客户的对话中。

AsMoz's客户支持Lead Natalie Alexis puts it, "Early on, we saw an increase in customers seeking help for their businesses to survive. To better assist those dealing with the impact of the pandemic, our services had to evolve so we aimed to lead with more empathy in our interactions — this brought a sense of camaraderie with our customers."

"But as the pandemic has persisted," Alexis adds, "we've seen the impacts of the sustained stress on our customers. We've continued to focus on providing empathic service while acknowledging the increasingly stressful times we live in."

同理心能够让自己穿上别人的鞋子。这对于客户支持代表尤其重要。为了帮助您的团队发展同理心，请考虑如何每天向他们展示客户的体验。

例如，如果您出售软件，则bob电竞官方下载需要确保对客户支持代表进行了如何使用软件的培训 - 他们在学习如何使用您的工具时所面临的挑战将帮助他们理解和与您的客户建立关系。挑战也是如此。

Alnaica Augustave, an EMEA Customer Specialist at HubSpot, agrees that empathy has never been more critical in the support industry. She says, "COVID-19 has had an impact on customer service — particularly in the way of working and interacting with customers to have open communication and listening."

Augustave adds, "We have seen an increase in customer service volume shifts with COVID-19, and in order to reduce customer frustration and anxiety, we have adjusted our infrastructure and focused on listening, increasing our empathy during this period."

So … What's Next?

Gammage told me that the pandemic has forced his support organization to learn how to roll with the punches — and this flexibility is going to remain necessary moving forward.

正如Gammage所说的那样：“进展，我认为客户的期望仍然很高，但是代表应该期望与客户拥有更多的接触点。”

您需要确保在与您的支持团队取得联系时为客户提供各种选择 - 例如，您提供实时聊天，Facebook或Instagram上的Messenger，SMS短信和电话线。要简化这些过程，请考虑一个类似的工具MobileMonkey，这使您可以在一个地方看到所有客户消息。

Additionally, as the remote customer support world continues to evolve, it's vital you remain open to change and willing to adjust your team's processes to fit the new needs of your customers.

As Sbeih told me, "Customer service has been, and will continue to be, successful in remote and hybrid environments. Work-from-home flexibility, retention, productivity, and work-life balance will continue to see improvements. However, the adjustment will remain a challenge for those who aren't self-starters and may require extra support."

Ultimately, it's imperative your team listen to your customers and iterate over time to continue providing reliable, helpful solutions to their problems.

Remember: Your business' success starts and ends with good support, so it's vital you invest in your support team for the long-haul, particularly as the world adjusts to a world post-pandemic.