previous icon Back to blog
Dec 17, 2020
7 minutes read

The 10 biggest challenges facing today's customer service manager

Customer service has changed and improved enormously over the years. Until a few years ago, companies could only be reached by phone, e-mail or face-to-face. Fortunately, the rapid digitization of our society has contributed to better accessibility of both companies and customers. However, customers' expectations have also changed a lot in recent times . Managing these expectations is sometimes challenging and frustrating. We investigated: what are the ten biggest challenges for today's customer service manager?

Challenge # 1: Being available on all of your customers' preferred communication channels

The number of channels through which your customers can reach your company has increased enormously in recent years. As a result, customers increasingly expect your business to be available on their favorite communication channels such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

And managing all these service channels separately is a huge challenge. However, we still advise to be available on as many channels as possible as this increases customer experience and customer satisfaction. And with a smart customer service tool you can keep track of conversations across all messaging channels in one dashboard.

messaging channels general

Challenge #2: Providing service when your customers need it

Being available on many channels also has a large side effect. Because your company is present on more channels where messages can be sent, it is much easier for a customer to start a conversation with your company. Service requests will come in at any time of the day, even outside office hours and on weekends. Nowadays, customers no longer take the opening hours of your company into account when they send a message. In fact, they expect even that your company can be reached at any time!

Of course, for most companies it is impossible to have employees available 24 hours a day to respond to incoming messages. Fortunately, today there is a very cost-effective solution for this challenge: a customer service chatbot. A chatbot helps you to shorten the average response time and at the same time significantly reduce service costs by reducing the pressure on customer service.

Read more about chatbots on this page.

Challenge #3: Managing the ever-increasing number of calls

The more channels you manage, the more conversations there will be initiated. Not only is it a challenge to answer to every message quickly, but also to keep an overview.

A chatbot can also help with this. The chatbot informs your customer that the message has been received and immediately helps to find the answer. And if that is not possible, the bot will forward the conversation to an employee. By using a chatbot, important or complex messages are therefore filtered from the rest.

chatbot-bot

Challenge #4: Maintaining a low response time on all channels

How can a customer service team effectively manage multiple messages at the same time? While it may seem chaotic to manage multiple channels, it doesn't mean it has to be. No company can handle every incoming message at the same time unless it has a huge team of customer service representatives.

Scaling up a customer service team is also not within the reach of every company. That is why it is important to look at other solutions. By using the right software, your company can manage every incoming message without reducing average response time or scaling your team. In this way you also immediately save money in the long term.

Read about our solution for customer service, Mobile Service Cloud.

Challenge #5: Adding value to any conversation at a rapid pace

Your customer service exists to add value for your customers. However, every company has to deal with repetitive questions and this can negatively affect the motivation of your employees . But answering these questions is also necessary. However?

Not really.

Of course it is still important to answer all questions adequately. This is another reason to consider a chatbot in your customer service. One of the advantages of a chatbot is that it can easily manage recurring questions for your department. This saves your customer service employees valuable time. This allows them to spend their time on more complex matters, which is both more fun and more challenging.

Challenge #6: Staying in control of your service quality

People make mistakes. It is inevitable. They rarely make mistakes on purpose, but as a result of processes. It is important to identify the most common mistakes to avoid customer dissatisfaction, your reputation to maintain or running the risk to lose money.

By automating as many processes as possible, you can fix as many errors as possible. This includes pre-completing webshop forms or automated conversations. In concrete terms, this latter automation will promote the self-service of your customers.

Challenge #7: Keeping your conversations personal

Many companies and brands have a hard time responding to all incoming messages. They struggle not only with response time, but also with the content of their response. It is important to prevent you with standard answers to your questions to the customer responds.

How do you go about this?

The first step is to gain insight into the questions and needs of your customers. A Customer Data Platform helps you to understand your customers. This software stores all important data in one place. With this data, your employees can speak to customers better and more personally.

The next step is to write good and personalized content for a chatbot or a script for your customer service. This improves your communication by making it more personal and has a positive effect on the average response time.

Mobile service cloud cdp profile

Challenge #8: Maintaining the relevancy of your service

Being in touch with your customers automatically provides you with an important data source. However, many companies are not yet able to make optimal use of this data. The diversity of channels through which data comes in is a major challenge to collect this data effectively and analyze it as a whole. So it's important to centralize this data by connecting all customer data sources to one customer data platform.

By using a Customer Data Platform you have access to all data, tools and functions to take your customer service to the highest level on all channels.

Challenge #9: Peak Moments

Peak times can be a struggle for customer service, every year over and over again. The holidays, Black Friday, the summer season and so on. What is the best way to prepare your customer service for these peak moments? Watch the video to learn on how Mobile Service Cloud, customer service software helps you to take control over a rising volume of customer interactions.

Challenge #10: Scaling while maintaining quality

As your business grows, your customer service grows. With an increasing demand for customer service, your NPS can be put at risk. With 50% growth, can you still offer the same customer experience or is the service level of your company being questioned?

Many customer service managers have these questions. Again, we want to emphasize the benefit of customer service chatbots. With this you offer your customers 24/7 support and several customers can be served at the same time. This drastically reduces the number of emails and phone calls your employees have to handle. A win-win situation!

Take on these challenges and improve!

As you have read, the above challenges are easy to overcome with the right tools. Gaining insight into your customers is essential to properly organize and improve your processes. In addition, there are many advantages to using a chatbot for your customer service.

All tools you need as a customer service manager are available in Mobile Service Cloud. With Mobile Service Cloud you have access to all channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and even an completely integrated channel for telephone. Furthermore, discover how automations can take your customer service to the highest level. Our clear conversation dashboard and chatbot will significantly reduce the pressure on your employees and allow you to maximize your NPS and ROI.

Read more about Mobile Service Cloud on this page.

Was this article interesting?
Share it!
CM.com
connects tens of thousands of companies with millions of consumers via their mobile phone each day. Behind the scenes, from our innovative platform, CM.com makes sure companies can use these millions of messages, phone calls and payments to become part of people’s lives.

Latest Articles

Black Friday Payments
Nov 01, 2024 • Payments

Optimize the Payment Experience for Maximum Black Friday Sales

The last weekend of November is the perfect time as an (online) retailer to take advantage of your customers' appetite for buying. For years this weekend has been dominated by Black Friday, closely followed by Cyber Monday. This is the perfect time to give them a fast, safe and seamless payment experience, both online and in physical stores. Is your (online) store ready for Black Friday yet?

whatsapp-business-blog_image-deals-offers
Sep 11, 2024 • WhatsApp

Increase Conversion With Promotional Messages on WhatsApp

In an age of mass marketing, as well as constant TV, internet and email advertising, it’s safe to say that peak sales periods like Black Friday and the Holiday Season can be something of an overwhelming experience for consumers around the world. Feeling overwhelmed by irrelevant information from companies that doesn't match their personal needs and desires, it's no surprise people might want to switch off their phones, radios, and televisions, tuning out all forms of marketing until the sales peak season is over. As an eCommerce player, you should always be looking to avoid this by diversifying and personalizing your marketing strategy in a way that suits your customers needs and sensibilities.

unlock-communication-excellence-with-cpaas
Jun 06, 2024 • CM.com

Unlock Communication Excellence With CPaaS

Diving deeper into CM.com's CPaaS approach in empowering business users to unlock Communication Excellence - a guest article by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, a global advisory and consulting firm focused on helping clients in achieving business transformation goals with Strategic Business and Growth advisory services.

hero-17-sms-customer-service-templates-to-use-today
Apr 29, 2024 • SMS

17 SMS Customer Service Templates to Use Today

Using SMS customer service templates not only saves time but lets your support team create personalized, on-brand communications with just a few clicks. Today we’ll share business text message templates you can use to give your customers the information they need — fast.

engage-platform-effect-customer-service
Apr 22, 2024 • CM.com

Happy Clients, Happy Agents: the Platform Effect in Customer Service

As a member of the customer service team, you stand on the front lines of customer interaction every day. In a world where customers demand quick and personalized service, long wait times, impersonal responses, or worse, incorrect answers, can quickly drive a customer away. Your goal, however, is to connect customers with your organization and deliver the best answers and service possible. It’s incredibly satisfying to see a customer leave a conversation happier and eager to purchase your product. Your efforts can significantly enhance the customer experience, but you need the right tools to truly excel. Integrating these tools into a platform amplifies your capabilities and lets you experience the power of the platform effect.

Ads That Click to WhatsApp
Jan 17, 2024 • Marketing

Ads That Click to WhatsApp: What Are They and What Are the Benefits?

Successful marketing means creating personal and conversational experiences for your customers. And what better place to meaningfully connect to your customers than on their favorite social media platforms and channels such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp? With ads that click to WhatsApp, aka click-to-chat WhatsApp ads, you can offer your customers the direct and personal engagement that they crave. Read all about it!

blog-image-chatbots-increase-sales-reduce-costs
Oct 16, 2023 • Conversational AI

Voicebots: The Emerging Force for Customer Service

Voicebots are growing in popularity and are arguably one of the biggest Customer Experience trends of the moment. But what exactly are voicebots? And how can they help your business? Discover our Conversational IVR Solution and read all about voicebots in this blog.

facebook-chatbot-1
Sep 22, 2023 • Chatbots

Chatbots in Action: Facebook Chatbots

In the real world, people use different environments to achieve different goals. They’ll go to brick-and-mortar shops to compare prices and competitors. Visit a showroom to experience products up close. Or schedule a meeting to see a live demo. But is that how it works in the digital world? Yes, it is. The digital world has various environments, too, from websites to messaging channels, social platforms and more.

instagram-chatbot
Sep 13, 2023 • Chatbots

Chatbots in Action: Instagram Chatbots

Every channel where customers interact with a brand offers a different experience. Among the most distinctive is Instagram. Unlike other social media apps, Instagram users scrolling through posts often feel a deeply personal connection with the sources they follow: celebrities, favorite products, and subjects they’re passionate about. It’s a community built on trusting influential people.

Is this region a better fit for you?
Go
close icon