Nowadays businesses face a lot of challenges such as client dependence, staff insufficiency, an imbalance between the quality and quantity of products and services, etc.
Although modern business organizations largely depend upon digital infrastructure, many companies ignore the need for technical support. Not much is talked about the importance of technical support but it is extremely crucial for businesses.
Inefficient technical support leads to the delivery of poor-quality customer service. This in turn results in a loss of profit and customer loyalty within no time. Proficient technical support results in a higher customer retention rate and increased profitability.
It is therefore very important to understand the role of technical support in core business operations. Let’s begin with defining Technical Support-
Definition of Technical Support and Its Types
Technical Support refers to various services offered to customers through a mobile app or website to resolve their queries regarding the company’s products. A business can offer tech support either through an in-house team or by outsourcing it to an IT firm.
Every company should have solid technical support that can instantly and effectively resolve its customer’s problems. That is why the main aim of having a technical support system is to resolve customer issues instead of educating them.
Depending upon the unique customer requirements, Technical support provided by any business can be categorized into five main types-
- Pre-support Level: The pre-support level is the initial phase wherein the users type their queries on search engines before actually landing on the company website. The possibility at this level is that users find both satisfied and dissatisfied customers for the same product. The happy customers will write positive feedback whereas the unhappy ones will share negative reviews. So companies must keep a check on various online forums, social media pages, website comments, and other sites to proactively address customer queries.
- Self-service Level: This is the second level of tech support where the users find the answers to their queries by referring to the help section and FAQs on the website. Many users find self-help to be a better alternative to contacting the customer care executives of the company.
- 1st Line of Support: There are many instances where self-help and FAQs fail to address customer queries. In such cases, customers need to interact with technical support personnel called first-line support. This stage usually involves addressing customer problems using e-mail support. The tech support individuals at this level have the basic knowledge of the product and can resolve simple issues.
- 2nd Line of Support: The complex issues that are not solved at the first level are solved at this level of technical support. With tech-savvy users of the new generation, the technical support executives find it difficult to resolve their queries at the 1st level. The tech support executives at this level are more experienced and knowledgeable so they can easily address the complex problems of the customers.
- 3rd Line of Support: The 3rd line of support is the highest level of tech support that deals with the most complicated product issues. The most complex cases are handled by the managers or the R&D department. The issues resolved at this stage are addressed using the most advanced technological solutions.
The Important Role of Technical Support for a Business
Technical support has the potential to give businesses an edge over their rivals in the market. It helps in the effective and efficient execution of various business operations and functions.
Implementing technical support in your business can help you gain several advantages as discussed below.
- Maintaining the smooth flow of systems: Every business has its infrastructure and systems to carry out daily operations. There are various core functions businesses need to ensure smooth functioning. Technical support, therefore, plays a key role in maintaining the smooth functioning of the systems and infrastructure.
- Helps in monitoring resource usage: Technical support allows a business to know deeply about its customers and employees. Technical support can help in effectively monitoring resource usage, data breaches, etc.
- Helps to educate teams regarding security: A highly skilled technical support team can be efficiently utilized to educate other teams regarding the security and network systems of the business.
- Helps in maximizing profits: Building a skilled team of technical support can help a company to maximize its profits by efficiently addressing customer issues. Even if a company outsources its tech support functions, the cost of outsourcing is far less than the benefits a company reaps.
- Helps in the prevention of data breaches: Hacking has affected almost all industrial sectors in the past few decades. Therefore, it has become extremely crucial for businesses to opt for technical support to ensure the security of their systems. Good technical support can help in the prevention of data breaches that can lead to various serious troubles for the business.
Technical support is one of the most critical elements in enhancing the user experience for product-based websites. To improve customer relationships and retain customers, a business must have a highly skilled technical support team.
To meet your technical support requirements, contact us today.
