The best retail customer service people somehow sense when they’re needed, show up with exactly the right information or item and then disappear again.
The customer experience is far worse on either side of the service sweet spot. Either you can’t find anyone to help at all, or you have people following you everywhere, stepping on your feet like a grown toddler.
The same range of services applies online, from sites that hide their contact details in a forest of small print to sites that vomit “We’d love to chat!” at the message you try to read.
The best online customer service is always available when you need it, and won’t get in your way otherwise. On your own website, a tool like Help Scout’s beacon can be presented to different people in different ways to suit their needs and current circumstances.
But what if a customer isn’t on your site when they’re in trouble? Maybe someone opens a gift and discovers that their partner apparently thinks they have giant monster feet and now wants to come back and change the shoes (or their partner).
Providing support options where customers already exist can reduce the effort it takes to get help. For many brands, Instagram and Facebook are already driving sales, so it makes sense to offer post-sales in one place. Opening a new channel is easy, but can your business deliver high-quality service through that channel at a sufficient scale? What tools and processes do you need to deliver it?
How to Provide High-Quality Customer Service Through Messaging
You already have an effective customer service organization that delivers consistently high-quality service. If you don’t, start with our Premium Service Fundamentals course.
Clearly, the channels your customers choose to communicate with you (and the channels you choose to offer them) determine how you interact with them. A live phone conversation is different from an email thread spread out over hours or days. Different tone, different expectations, different capabilities.
Messaging as a support channel exists between the long texts of email and the instant back and forth of live chat and phone calls. That means customer support via messaging tools like Facebook Messenger needs to be handled differently.
Integrate Facebook Messenger with Help Scout
With the Messenger app for Help Scouting, your team can seamlessly handle Messenger conversations right in their Help Scouting inbox .
Know the Difference Between Messaging and Email Support
Every customer has their own style and preferences, but the channel itself shapes communication
More movement means less time and attention
People who use messaging channels are more likely to use a phone or other small device, are more likely to multitask, and are less likely to have instant access to all the information you might need from them.
Messaging favors shorter, shorter writing
Writing on a keypad is hard work. Customers will tend to use shorter language and send shorter messages. They will also expect shorter replies to be easier to read in a limited space.
Smaller screen limits support options
If email can easily hold large screenshots or file attachments, messaging customers may not be able to send or receive attachments and files. Even those who can receive them may prefer plain text on mobile devices or other small screens.
Customers Expect Conversational Communication
Like phone calls and live chat, messaging conversations typically consist of short, back-and-forth segments. Instead of listing five problems at once, people usually start with one and prefer to work on them one at a time. However, some message-based support might be more like email – a customer might send a series of messages now and wait for a response later. Be ready to adapt to the way each client prefers to work.
Customers Expect Faster Responses
Facebook will show visitors your average response time through Messenger, which helps set accurate expectations. However, you are competing with their past experience with messaging channels, which typically have shorter response times than email support channels. Many customers choose Messenger over email if they are in a hurry.
Adapt customer service to fit messaging channels
Even if your team already has all the skills and knowledge needed to answer customers on any channel, there are ways to shape your approach to make messaging support more effective.
Integrate messaging communications into existing customer data
Keep all your communications with customers in one place where possible, so you always have the most complete context. This helps you make more informed decisions and prevents you from asking customers to repeat themselves. Direct integration into your helpdesk, like Help Scout’s messenger channel, will make this easy.
Identify messaging conversations (rather than email and live chat) so they can be handled appropriately
Customer expectations and capabilities vary across messaging channels, which means you need to respond accordingly. Make sure your team can clearly identify messaging conversations. Consider using tags, workflows, or folders to make it easier to find and work on.
Bonus: Help Scout’s messenger integration automatically flags them for you. Your own help desk tool may provide something similar.
Know your customers’ constraints
Use the “How Messaging Is Different” section above to prepare your team to communicate effectively with messaging customers. Training materials for live chat, such as 6 Important Live Chat Tips for Email Support Professionals, can also be helpful here.
Equip Your Messaging Channels to Be More Like Chat, Not Email
The combined expectation of back-and-forth conversations and faster response times means you need more team members to handle messaging support than the same number of email conversations.
If you are adding a new messaging channel to your support mix, our Technical Support Staffing Calculator may be useful in your planning process.
less formal, more conversational
Depending on your current voice and tone and your customer base, you may need to adjust your approach when adding messaging support. Rather than responding with a long text, break it up into smaller chunks and, along the way, reach out to the customer in case they have questions or are confused.
The tone of messaging conversations also tends to be more casual than email conversations, though, as always, you will know your customers best. Read Don’t Let Tone Spoil Your Support Interactions and Adopt the Right Tone with Your Customers for some practical tips on setting the tone.
Know when to switch to another channel
Sometimes support conversations become too complex, time-bound, or emotionally stressful to successfully handle within the confines of messaging tools. In these cases, moving gracefully to another channel, such as a phone or video call, maybe the best path forward.
Give your team some guidance on when to consider channel switching, and read Migrating customer inquiries between support channels for more help.
Adaptive service creates a better customer experience on every channel
A customer-centric company cannot afford to be inflexible in service delivery. Even the best-intentioned “customer service best practices” can fail when applied to new channels.
Instead, work with your team to come to a shared understanding of the feel and values you want your customers to experience. Your staff can then adapt their approach to any given situation using methods that are appropriate for the specific channel and customer at hand.
