Choosing Customer Service Channels: What Works Best for Your Industry?

Customer service channels represent touchpoints used by your business to provide customer support. Commonly, these include phone, email, chatbots, live chat, social media, video chat, and self-service options. By offering multiple channels, you can significantly improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Earlier, customer service used to be mainly over the phone. However, nowadays businesses help customers in many ways, such as email, chat, social media, and even text messages.

Please note that each way of communicating serves a different purpose. So, when deciding how to support your customers, think about:

• How do they already reach out?

• Where do you need to improve?

For example, maybe some of your customers prefer texting, but you only offer email. Here, adding a texting option could fill that gap. A recent study shows that businesses providing good customer service on multiple channels keep 89% of their customers coming back.

So, do you want to turn even your most unhappy customers into loyal fans? In this article, let’s understand what customer service channels are, their popular types, and how you can choose the best channel for your business.

What are Customer Service Channels? 

Customer service channels are the different ways customers can contact your business for help. Popularly, these include:

• Phone calls
• Emails
• Your website
• Social media (like Facebook and Instagram)
• Messaging apps (like WhatsApp or live chat).

When businesses connect all these ways of communication into one smooth system, it’s called an omnichannel approach. This means no matter how a customer reaches out, they get the same good experience.

As per a recent study, businesses that use omnichannel strategies grow their customer retention 91% faster each year than those that don’t. Thus, the more ways you let customers reach you, the more likely they are to stay loyal to your business.

9 Popular Types of Customer Service Channels

Gone are the days when businesses used only a single channel to communicate with customers! Today’s modern customers prefer omnichannel support and want their queries to be resolved quickly. 

Below are the nine best customer support channels, you can use:

1. Email Support

Email is one of the most affordable and popular customer service channels. It is a preferred communication method for 62% of customers. If you run an online business, offering email support is a must.

One of the biggest advantages of email support is that customers don’t have to wait on hold for a response. They can send their message at any time, and you can reply when ready. This is called “asynchronous communication”, which means both sides don’t have to be available at the same time.

Using email for customer support also helps businesses organise their responses. Customers can:

• Explain their problems in detail
• Attach files if needed
• Receive clear and step-by-step solutions

Also, as a business owner, you can use email to track past conversations. This makes it easier to understand customer history.

2. Live Chat Support

Live chat is a customer care channel tool that allows businesses to answer customer questions in real time. It is another preferred customer service option, with 79% of customers choosing live chat due to quick responses. 

One of the biggest advantages of live chat is that it is proactive rather than reactive. This means customers don’t have to wait or send multiple messages back and forth. Instead, businesses can solve problems in one conversation (leads to faster solutions). It also has shorter wait times compared to email or phone calls.

To gain the most, add live chat to high-traffic areas of your website where customers ask the most questions. Also, try using canned (pre-written) responses to quickly answer common questions while still being personal.

3. Chatbots

Chatbots are AI-powered assistants. They automatically answer customer questions and are available 24/7. Research shows that 50% of consumers don’t mind if they are talking to a human or a chatbot as long as they get their answer quickly.

Most business owners use chatbots to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs), such as:

• Store hours
• Product details
• Refund policies

This reduces the number of support tickets and allows customer service agents to focus on more urgent issues. To benefit the most, use chatbots in the following manner:

• Let chatbots act as the first point of contact to assist customers.

• Predict customer needs and provide relevant answers based on past interactions.
• Reduce support requests by handling simple issues

4. Video Chat

When you use video chat as a customer service channel, you let your customers explain their problems more clearly. Studies show that video chat has a 73% customer satisfaction rate, which is higher than email (61%) and phone support (44%). 

Let’s see why video chat is highly useful for businesses:

• Faster problem-solving: You can see the issue and resolve it right away. This reduces back-and-forth conversations.
• Better customer trust: Talking face-to-face makes customers feel more valued.
• Works well with live chat and co-browsing: If a customer is struggling with a website or product setup, you can guide them through the process in real time.

5. Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube are also important customer service channels. Instead of calling or emailing, many customers now prefer to reach out to businesses through social media. 

They can comment, message, or tag your business when they need help, and you can respond quickly. A good example is KLM Airlines. It uses Facebook Messenger to send:

• Customers flight details
• Boarding passes
• Latest updates

This makes customer conversations faster and easier. 

6. Messaging Apps

Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and Viber are now widely used as a customer service channel. There are over 2 billion users on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger every month. Most customers use them for quick text-based conversations over traditional phone calls.

Such messaging apps are helpful for businesses because they:

• Let customers message businesses anytime without waiting on hold.
• Provide instant responses with chatbots or live agents.
• Show when messages are delivered and read so customers know their request is being handled.

A great example here is Bupa Australia. It is a healthcare company that uses WhatsApp for customer support. Customers can either:

• Be redirected to WhatsApp during a phone call

• Click a WhatsApp link on the company’s website to start a chat instantly.

7. Phone Support

Phone support is one of the oldest and most commonly used customer service channels. Many customers still prefer to call a company because it adds a personal touch. A conversation over the phone helps agents to:

• Understand customer emotions better
• Reduce confusion and frustration
• Solve complex problems that may be difficult to explain through chat or email.

To make phone support even better, businesses can now use advanced call management systems such as:

• Automatic Call Distribution (ACD): Helps route customer calls to the right agent.
• Interactive Voice Response (IVR): Allows customers to select options (e.g., “Press 1 for Billing, Press 2 for Support”) to connect with the right department.
• Call Recording: Let businesses review calls for quality and training purposes.

8. Knowledge Base (Self-Service Support)

A knowledge base is a collection of:

• Articles
• FAQs,
• Guides

They help customers find answers on their own. Research shows that about 67% of consumers prefer using self-service support online instead of calling or emailing a company.

A perfect knowledge base allows businesses to provide 24/7 customer support, even with a small team. That’s because customers can search for solutions to their problems anytime (without waiting for a response from a support agent).

9. Forms

Online forms are also used as customer service channels. Most businesses use forms to:

• Collect information
• Receive requests
• Offer customer support

A good example is contact forms found on company websites. Customers fill out the form with their name, email, and message, and the business responds later. Some major benefits of using forms are:

• Organised communication: Instead of handling random emails, businesses receive structured requests.
• Better data collection: Businesses can gather customer details for follow-ups.
• Easy customer interaction: Visitors can quickly submit their inquiries without searching for contact details.

Which Customer Service Channel Works Best For Your Industry?

Choosing customer service channels entirely depends on the:

• Business model
• Customer preferences
• Type of support needed

Below is a list of channels that work best for different industries:

Give Your Customers The Best Service! Opt for Atidiv’s Omnichannel Support

Ideally, as a business owner, you should combine multiple channels for the best customer experience. A good strategy includes:

• Phone Support for urgent or sensitive issues.
• Live Chat and Chatbots for instant help.
• Video Chat for personalised and high-value interactions.
• Social Media and Messaging Apps for quick and public communication.
• Knowledge Bases and Forums for self-service and community support.

Here, the key is to understand your customers’ preferences and provide the right mix of support channels to improve satisfaction and loyalty. 

If you are looking for a reliable omnichannel customer support agency, Atidiv is right here!

We integrate phone, email, web chat, SMS, and social media into a seamless experience!

Our centralised data, custom CX processes, and expert teams ensure fast and personalised customer support across all customer service channels. Partner with Atidiv today!

FAQs On Omnichannel Customer Service

1. What is omnichannel customer service, and why does my business need it?

Omnichannel customer service means offering support across multiple customer service channels (phone, email, chat, social media, etc.) while keeping customer data connected.

This helps you to provide more personalised support. It leads to higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and sales.

2. How can I choose the right customer service channels for my business?

To start with, try to understand where your customers prefer to communicate. For example, 

• Retail may need live chat and social media
• Healthcare relies on phone support

Also, consider your team size and budget. Begin with key channels and keep adding new ones as your business grows.

3. How do I handle customer support efficiently without a big team?

You can use automation tools to handle common queries like:

• Chatbots
• Self-service FAQs
• AI-powered ticketing systems 

Also, train your team to prioritise urgent issues and use integrated software to manage customer interactions in one place.

4. What are the biggest mistakes businesses make in customer service?

Some common mistakes are:

• Slow response times
• Inconsistent service across channels
• Poor communication

Always remember that customers hate repeating themselves. Thus, use a centralised system to track conversations. Ignoring feedback and failing to train staff properly also hurt customer trust. To improve CX, you can also associate with leading customer support agencies like Atidiv.