Understanding the extent of each technique is necessary when comparing the differences in business-to-consumer (B2C) customer support and business-to-business (B2B) customer support. Both approaches are intended to serve a vast and diverse client base, but it is the actions of those consumers that set them apart.
Helping regular customers is considerably different from targeting and tailoring support for business-related needs, especially in B2C. B2C businesses must invest in features that take into account their customers’ habits, particularly “when,” “how,” and “why” they shop for their goods and services. If a B2C company wants to discover how frustrated its consumers can become (in huge numbers), it must be proactive in determining how to best assist them.
In this RisePath blog, we shall talk about the 5 essentials for B2C client service.
1. Case management
Case management is the bedrock of all good customer service: a customer support software that can identify and optimise customer support on a case-by-case basis.
A case management system for B2C must be capable of:
- Ticketing for a vast and diverse range of events: Customers will have a variety of backgrounds, educations, and experiences with your items if you are marketing and selling to regular consumers. This will be reflected in their tickets, which will ask the same questions in different ways.
- Including a client information database: Customers appreciate having simple access to their information. It also notifies agents if returning consumers return with new or unsolved issues.
- Providing consumer-oriented problem resolution: Multiple lines of contact and efficient workflows enable B2C support to provide quick resolutions. Case management for businesses can be too complicated and time-consuming to properly assist consumers.
- Supporting workflows for numerous touch points and communication channels: Customers will contact you via the channel that is most convenient for them: email, SMS, social media, and so on. By incorporating these into an omnichannel system, every consumer will be heard.
- Depending on the client and the intricacy of the issue, assigning, routing, and escalating it: Unless you want to find a new system down the road, you’ll need ticket management and internal routing that can expand with your staff. Plan for a system that can scale with the amount of growth you want to attain.
2. Knowledge Management/Self-Service
Consumer issues are frequently more indiscriminate and less specialised than B2B ones. They usually result in a first-contact resolution and are significantly less technical in nature.
However, this does not imply that B2C support is simple. If an alarming situation develops, such as a big e-commerce site being unable to fulfil orders, ticket backlogs may become overloaded.
To reduce the number of tickets that reach an agent, B2C enterprises should provide customers with self-service options. Here are a few tools that can assist in reducing ticket volumes:
- Custom-branded assistance portals: This is where customers may learn how to help themselves the most effectively. Portals are a repository of contact information (your Help Center, support addresses, social media channels, etc.). This is consistent with your brand’s and customer-facing identity. Multiple individually branded portals benefit companies with a variety of items.
- Help guides or knowledge bases: A help guide, also known as a knowledge base, is a collection of articles that provide self-service instructional material. How-tos, step-by-step procedures, and other specific details about a product or service are examples of this.
- Community forums: Want to provide a place for customers to talk? Create a community forum. Consumers can help each other via community forums instead of contacting customer service. They can also point out what’s working, what isn’t, and what can be tough with your goods. This information can help you improve your self-service initiatives.
Self-service issues are typical “how-to’s” such as password resets, altering account details, and controlling basic settings.
It’s also crucial to consider how your help information is organised. Your knowledge management system must be organised and presented in a way that makes sense to your customers (i.e. everyone). Some user experience (UX) research and testing may be required to understand how your clients seek self-help.
3. Channels for digital engagement
Various engagement channels are weaved throughout the client experience. For customer service, this includes assistance delivered over the phone, via email, and through social media interactions.
B2C assistance is intended to be broader for a larger audience while yet allowing for personalisation in the case of unusual inquiries. The following are the interaction channels that B2C organisations should concentrate on:
- Live chat: A live chat engagement or discussion with an agent is one of the quickest and most efficient ways to handle a customer issue. Chat sessions can get to the heart of the topic by including extra features like collaborative browsing, screen sharing, and form completion assistance.
- Email management with automated responses: Email support is still the most frequent type of customer service, but the fastest email support will use automated responses when it comes to consumer needs. This enables B2C enterprises to respond quickly and preserve a competitive advantage while investing in other communication channels.
- Virtual customer assistants: VCA replicate human conversations in order to give information or conduct transactions on behalf of customers. Many are powered by AI techniques such as machine learning and deep learning, allowing them to help a wider range of consumers.
4. Support for mobile devices
B2C businesses aren’t the only ones who need to provide mobile help; it’s also necessary for long-term success. Customers who have had a bad mobile experience are less likely to fix their problems, which is especially concerning given that 90% of consumers have had a bad mobile support experience.
To guarantee that a support plan converts to a mobile experience, more effort must be made. This can be achieved in B2C by investing in mobile engagement channels such as SMS or Facebook Messenger. If your company has a mobile app, consider embedding customer service within it (to prevent customers from transferring from mobile to a PC browser).
B2C mobile support is more common in industries with high customer expectations (such as hospitality, air travel, banking, and telecommunications), but it’s becoming more important for all B2C businesses as consumers get more adept at using their smartphones and tablets.
5. Integrations
It’s possible that your customer support software will not be a perfect fit for your company straight away. Integrations, fortunately, can fill in the gaps.
Integrations that expedite B2C workflows and improve client interaction are available with the correct system. For a B2C company, this usually means improved self-service and mobile help.
Integrations are frequently built to match the needs of certain industries, such as a Shopify app for eCommerce shops that displays customer and purchase details in tickets. However, there are other industry-independent customer support software that can assist with time monitoring, analytical insights, and even employee training.
The most capable solutions include an API for a number of third-party integrations or if a company is brave enough, an internally developed integration tailored to a company’s specific B2C requirements.
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