A lot of people think that customer support is the sort of thing that anyone can excel in. However, this field has become so important for a reason. It is the backbone of pretty much every consumer facing industry out there.
Hence, it is important to understand the various complexities of the field. There are actually five tiers to customer support.
Understanding these tiers can help you get a sense of what customer support is all about. Listed below are the tiers and their purposes.
#1 Tier 0
This is a somewhat underrated tier, but it is an important one all the same. It basically involves setting up an ecosystem that would allow customers to help themselves. Part of the process of setting up an adequate Tier 0 system is creating a FAQ that customers can easily access.
This can be available on your website, your social media profile or any other place where your customers would face no troubles accessing it.
This is great for customers that want to be able to obtain an answer to their queries without having to contact someone. The process of calling a customer support line or contacting a representative through live chat can be quite annoying, especially if you just have a simple question and don’t want to have to explain the whole thing to someone in order to get the simple answer.
#2 Tier 1
This is where actual customer support begins. This is the basic level of customer service that you owe to the various people that are buying your products and services. This tier is also often referred to as first line support, and a customer service software such as the one offered by Kayako is quite useful if you want to provide a large number of customers with top quality tier one support.
The basic tier 1 process involves getting contacted by a customer, noting down the problem that they are facing and then thinking of a possible solution to said problem. It is a simple enough process, but it needs to be done in a systematic way in order to make it viable in the long term. A lack of organization in the tier 1 support that you provide can lead to poor execution, something that can drag customer satisfaction down immensely.
#3 Tier 2
Tier 2 customer support is a more advanced form of tier 1. It is essentially a form of customer support that requires more technical knowledge. As a result of this fact, the customer service representatives that will be working in this tier are going to have to receive special training. Basic CSR training involves managing their speech and teaching them how to deescalate situations with irate customers.
Those CSRs usually just note down the problem and then send it to a specialist. For the CSRs in this category, they will need to already have the specialized knowledge that would allow the customer to have their problem solved.
Basically, tier 2 is where the problems that the tier 1 CSRs record get sent to. This is where problems come to get solved, at least if they are problems that are relatively simple and have been recorded before with regards to the products that the company is offering.
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#4 Tier 3
In a lot of ways, tier 3 is the epitome of customer support within an organization. In fact, the traditional customer support model involves a three tiered system, with this tier sitting at the very top.
Basically, tier 3 CSRs are going to be the ones that get called in to solve problems that have never been seen before.
Tier 3 customer support requires out of the box thinking, as technicians in this category are expected to solve the most difficult problems that customers could possibly come across.
In a lot of ways, people working in tiers 2 and 3 have similar responsibilities. They both require technical knowledge and they both get their tasks from tier 1 CSRs. However, tier 3 technicians can be considered specialists, whereas tier 2 CSRs can be considered general practitioners. They are both important to the end goal which is giving customers the best experience possible.
#5 Tier 4
This is a somewhat unorthodox tier that many companies don’t even offer. It is essentially going above and beyond the call of duty.
At this point, the organization is no longer able to solve the problem and outsources it to a different enterprise that specializes in the inner workings of the product that they are providing.
A lot of companies are starting to pay more attention to tier 4 customer support because of the fact that the various industries in the world are getting a lot more competitive, and most companies are desperately searching for any kind of edge they can find.
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The post The 5 tiers of customer support appeared first on TheMarketingblog.
from TheMarketingblog http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/2018/12/the-5-tiers-of-customer-support/
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