The goal as a company is to build customer service that is not just the best but legendary.
Gone are the days when pricing was the biggest factor differentiating a brand. Now, a brand can offer similar products or services at a lower price, but this does not guarantee higher sales. Why? Because customers want products and services that have a robust and satisfactory customer experience.
A brand with affordable products and services and an effective customer experience can become a customer favourite. A brand with products and services priced similarly but with a bad customer experience is something customers will forget after the first buy.
Take it this way: regardless of the price of the products or services, studies show that 79% of customers generally switch to a different brand if they find a better customer experience. However, it is easy to satisfy customers and sway their sentiments so that they remain customers and recommend your brand to others.
What should we do then? How can we provide a seamless customer experience? One of the most important factors in providing the best customer experience is building a comprehensive customer support team.
A customer support team ensures excellent customer service, enhances brand reputation, and increases customer loyalty. What more can a business want, right? Read this blog for useful tips for building the most robust customer support team.
What is a Customer Support Team?
A customer support team is a group of employees who are experts in providing customer support. They work together to handle customer concerns, inquiries, complaints, feedback, and issues, thereby creating a bridge between the customers and the company.
- For example, if you have bought a product from a company and want to complain about its quality, you would aim to convey your concerns to the CEO. However, based on the chain of command, the company employs a customer support team that interacts with the customers to listen to their concerns. Once done, they convey the concerns to the top executives, who may use them to improve their products and services to rectify the concerns.
A customer support team is tasked with:
- Answering every customer question related to any product or service.
- Resolving issues related to a product or service.
- Processing returns or refunds for customers.
- Providing assistance through phone calls, social media platforms, emails, and SMS.
- Providing additional information about the features and facilities of products and services.
An effective customer support team quickly resolves all customer queries and complaints and assists the company in improving its products and services. The process by which a customer support team operates defines a major part of the overall customer experience.
What Should an Effective Customer Support Team Structure Look Like?
Building customer service through a customer support team does not mean employing multiple people and creating a team without structure and defined roles. Although the structure depends on the size of your company and the nature of the business, some common factors define the structure of an effective customer support team. These are:
For small businesses and startups:
- Customer Service Manager: They are responsible for organising, managing, and providing needed support to your company’s clients.
- Customer Service Specialist: They are responsible for resolving non-technical customer queries, such as returns, refunds, billing, product use cases, installation, etc.
- Technical Support: They are responsible for resolving all technical queries related to a product, app, or platform.
The team members must be skilled in their respective areas and should resolve all queries swiftly. Generally, customer support team members in small businesses and startups rely heavily on automation tools such as AI chatbots, auto-replies, online forms, etc.
For mid-size companies and startups:
- Director: The head of the customer support team.
- Customer Success Manager: The manager works closely with the Director to organise the customer support process for customers and clients.
- Account Development Manager: The manager is responsible for creating an extensive sales plan and how the support team can help execute it by providing their services.
- Onboarding Specialist: They ensure that every user has all the resources and facilities to successfully onboard.
For enterprise-level companies:
- VP of Customer Success
- Director of Customer Success
- Customer Success Lead
- Support Specialists
- Account Development Manager
- Onboarding Team Lead
- Onboarding Specialists
- Training Specialists
- Customers Operations Director
- Customer Operations Coordinator
- Customer Engagement Manager
- Renewals Manager
Some Tips to Build a Robust Customer Support Team
A robust customer support team is the backbone of a seamless customer experience. However good your brand’s products or services are, you can not deny the possibility of some defects or concerns that may lead the customers to seek support.
If the customer support provided by your brand is bad or mediocre, it badly affects your brand’s reputation. However, if it is seamless and robust, the customers will likely understand that defects happen, and they will swiftly get replacements or even refunds.
Hence, it is crucial that you build customer service by building an effective customer support team. Here are some tips:
1. Define The roles and Objectives
The first step in building a robust customer support team is to establish clear goals, roles, and responsibilities:
- Purpose: Ask yourself why you are creating the support team. Clearly define and delegate responsibilities within the team. Establish which team members will handle inquiries, complaints, technical support, non-technical support, etc.
- KPIs & Success Metrics: Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) such as response time, resolution time, CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score), and NPS (Net Promoter Score).
- Customer Need Analysis: Task your analysis team to conduct research to understand customer expectations, pain points, and their preferred communication and redressal channels.
2. Determine the Structure of the Customer Support Team
When choosing the structure of the customer support team, consider the nature of your business, the size of your organisation, and industry best practices.
Types of Customer Support Models:
- Tiered Support: The team members escalate the issues to specialists.
- Hybrid Support: The team members use human assistance and AI chatbots to provide customer support.
- Dedicated Support Teams: Specialised and dedicated support team specialists for prestigious and VIP customers.
Roles Within a Customer Support Team
- Customer Support Representatives: Frontline agents handling general queries.
- Technical Support Specialists: Experts addressing product-related technical issues.
- Customer Success Managers (CSMs): Focus on long-term customer relationships.
- Support Operations Manager: Oversees workflow, reporting, and quality assurance.
- Knowledge Base Specialist: Manages FAQs, documentation, and self-help resources.
3. Hiring the Right People
The success of your customer support team depends on how skilled and expert the team members are.
Key Skills
- Patience: Understanding customer frustrations and resolving the issue with patience.
- Strong Communication: Should be able to explain the solutions clearly and resolve companies swiftly and professionally.
- Problem-Solving Abilities: Quick thinking to troubleshoot issues efficiently.
- Product Knowledge: In-depth understanding of the company’s offerings and their features.
- Multitasking and Adaptability: Handling multiple customers across various channels without hassle.
Where to Find The Right Candidates
- Third-party recruitment websites, platforms, or apps.
- Social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
- Employee referrals.
- Employment-fair
- Recruitment drives at colleges.
- In-house training programs
- Internships.
4. Provide Comprehensive Training
Although you may have an extensive customer support team, it is crucial that they receive regular training so that they are equipped to deal with all types of customers. This training can also help the team members learn about the company’s latest offerings and provide customers with information or solutions about them. Some training topics may include:
- Company Culture and Policies
- Product Knowledge
- Support Tools and Software
- Communication and Soft Skills
- Handling Difficult Customers
- Crisis Management
- Time Management and Efficiency Techniques
Methods of Training
- Onboarding Programs
- Hands-on Training
- On-the-job Training
- Shadow Training
- E-Learning Modules
5. Rights Tools and Technology
Every effective customer support team uses various tools and technology to enhance efficiency and help manage customer interactions seamlessly. However, the tools and technology used by your customer support team must be ideal for the processes set by the team for providing customer support.
Essential Customer Support Team Tools
- Help Desk Software
- Live Chat & Chatbots
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
- Knowledge Base & Self-Service Portals
- Phone and Call Centre Software
- Social Media & Email Support Tools
- AI and Automation Tools
6. Monitor the Customer support Team’s Performance
Track progress and refine strategies for better efficiency.
Key Metrics to Track
- First Response Time (FRT): How quickly agents reply.
- Average Resolution Time (ART): Time taken to resolve an issue.
- Ticket Backlog Rate: Pending cases that need attention.
- Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): Overall customer happiness.
Improvement Strategies
- Regular Feedback from Customers and Agents: Identify pain points.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Use analytics to optimise workflows.
- Update Training and Policies: Adapt based on customer trends.
You Say Customer Service, We Say Atidiv!
You must have understood now that your business needs an effective customer support team. If the customers are happy and satisfied, they will buy your business’s products and services again. What’s more, they will recommend your brand to others, which will increase the number of your customers.
However, we do not want you to shift your focus from your products or services to building a robust customer support team. You do you and leave the customer experience part to us at Atidiv. We ensure that your customer support is elevated to its highest level through our unique solutions:
- Omnichannel Customer Support
- Impact-Driven Sales Support
- 24/7 Back Office Support
- NPS Enhancement
What are you waiting for? Visit Atidiv and transform your CX today!
FAQs On Customer Support Team
Q.1: What are the key qualities of an effective customer support team?
Ans: An effective support team should have patience, strong communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and deep product knowledge. It should also be adaptable to different customer needs and proficient in using customer service tools.
Q.2: How do I structure my customer support team?
Ans: The structure depends on business needs, but common models include tiered support (basic to expert levels), dedicated teams for VIP customers, and hybrid models combining automation and human support. Roles typically include frontline members, technical specialists, and customer success managers.
Q.3: What tools are essential for a customer support team?
Ans: Key tools include help desk software, CRM platforms, live chat/chatbots, and knowledge bases. AI automation, social media monitoring, and call center software also enhance efficiency.
Q.4: How can I measure customer support team performance?
Ans: You can use metrics like First Response Time (FRT), Average Resolution Time (ART), Ticket Backlog Rate, Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), and Net Promoter Score (NPS). Regular customer feedback and data analysis help refine processes.
Q.5: When should I scale my customer support team?
Ans: It is ideal to scale when ticket volumes consistently increase, response times slow down, or new customer service channels (like social media or live chat) are introduced. Hiring, automation, and process optimisation can help you manage growing demands effectively.
Q.6: What kind of training should I provide to my customer support team?
Ans: Customer support training should cover product knowledge, communication skills, and problem-solving techniques. It should also teach agents how to handle difficult customers, use support tools like CRM and ticketing systems, and follow company policies. Hands-on practice improves real-world responses. Regular refresher courses and upskilling can keep the team updated with industry trends.
