Why omnichannel experience is a non-negotiable in modern support

Today’s hyper-connected world has pushed customer expectations to an all-time high. Customers are spoiled for choice when it comes to the speed of response - they want answers yesterday! And they are not forgiving of any businesses that cannot keep up with their expectations. Support agents, already managing tickets and SLAs, feel the pressure, especially when juggling multiple platforms. Enter the unsung hero of modern customer service: omnichannel support.

Gone are the days when customers would reach out to companies through a single channel and wait patiently for a reply. Today, they’re emailing, messaging through WhatsApp, reaching out through chatbots, and even calling repeatedly, all within a span of a few hours. Today’s age of customer support makes omnichannel support not a nice-to-have but a must-have!

Why is omnichannel support important?

Customers don’t just expect speed, they expect consistency across their interactions too. A survey by SDL showed that 90% of customers expect consistent interactions across channels—whether email, live chat, or even self-service portals. They may want to start a conversation on one channel, continue it later on another, and close it on another channel, without missing a beat.

If this does not happen, it leads to churn. Reports say that 52% of customers will switch to a competitor if they have a single negative experience. So, organizations tend to lose out potential revenue and customer loyalty if they don’t offer a streamlined omnichannel experience. Further, the lack of omnichannel capabilities means that the support teams are bouncing between platforms, struggling to track conversations, and burning out faster.

On the other hand, Aberdeen research showed that 89% of the customers are retained by companies with strong omnichannel capabilities. With omnichannel support, companies not only solve their customer problems faster, they foster relationships and build loyalty.

Pitfalls of not having omnichannel support

1. Inconsistent customer experience: The lack of omnichannel support puts customer conversations in siloes. The email team is uninformed about Slack team’s conversations and WhatsApp team is oblivious to the chat team’s interactions. Customers need to re-explain their issues every time they switch channels, which leads to frustration and then to churn.
2. Operational inefficiency: Without omnichannel support, the support agents would find themselves navigating between multiple systems, which impacts productivity. Research shows that multitasking reduces agent productivity by 40%. Time which could have been invested on closing customer tickets ends up being spent on switching between platforms.
3. Poor data aggregation: When conversation happens in silos, the big picture is often lost. Support teams often sit on a goldmine of data from customer interactions. Without a unified system to bring it all together, insights that could help improve products, services, and customer satisfaction are often lost.

DevRev’s omnichannel support

With this in mind, DevRev is offering a suite of powerful and integrated channels, each tailored to the preferred mode of communication of the customers:

1. Email: With email still being the go-to for customers, it is important to manage it effectively, especially for those detailed issues which require precision and documentation.
2. Slack: As more and more companies adopt Slack for communication, using it as a support channel ensures that support teams are present right where the customers are working. This real-time communication tool enhances transparency and speeds up resolutions.
3. PLuG: PLuG works round the clock, resolving simple queries while passing on the more complex ones to the agents. It reduces the burden on the agents while delighting customers with real-time responses.
4. Portal: Many customers prefer resolving issues by themselves, and the portal acts as a one-stop solution for the same. With FAQs, knowledge bases, and self-service, the portal is an essential piece in today’s customer support, especially for more tech-savvy users.
5. WhatsApp: The world’s most popular messaging app can also be used for customer support. Given WhatsApp’s large user base, most customers are already here. WhatsApp offers a personal, direct line to customer queries, making interactions feel more conversational.
6. Telephony: Voice support still matters for more complex or sensitive cases, or for issues that can’t be solved over text. Further, using telephony as a support channel gives the option to add a human touch into the customer support processes.

DevRev’s omnichannel support enables support teams to meet the customers wherever they are. With DevRev, you get a chance to go ahead of the curve, offering customers a seamless experience across every touchpoint, transforming customer support from fragmented to fantastic. Book a demo today to see DevRev in action.