For those of us working in CRM or product teams, it is important to find ways to reduce the amount of users’ need to contact support. This can save the company money and improve the SLA and customer satisfaction. Here are some ideas to help with this goal:

1. Create a single account that holds data across all user touchpoints

Gathering information from different sources, like social media, customer service chat, phone calls, emails, and notifications, makes it possible for users to follow up on their inquiries without having to repeat themselves and for the staff to access a customer’s history of communication without having to switch between different displays.

2. Take a look at the idea of a case manager

Using an account manager for a CRM system is an attractive solution for B2B businesses, but not typically recommended for B2C companies. The reason is, B2C firms typically have too many customers to manage with the size of their CRM team, making it difficult to create strong, lasting connections. Additionally, the revenue and user retention do not make up for the cost of employing an account manager. As an alternative, we can propose the idea of an account manager for a single issue. This structure allows for any follow-up messages to be promptly dispatched to the dedicated case manager.

3. Automate routine processes

Certain repetitive, monotonous, and time-consuming tasks, such as reminding customers of items, providing updates on any changes, and inputting data, should be delegated to automated systems as much as feasible rather than being done manually.

4. Hand over repetitious support questions to an AI chatbot

In general, the Pareto principle does apply to user issues. Consequently, we can delegate a certain percentage of our user inquiries to artificial intelligence.

5. Classifying and tagging user questions

By labeling and grouping the user’s needs, we can prioritize and solve the problem through the design process or via FAQs, help articles, or tooltips.

6. Improve the efficiency of the Help page iteratively

An effective help page must be evaluated over time; it’s not a one-time task. An expansion, redesign, pivoting of core values, changing needs of customers, or even timely trends can cause this to occur.

Consequently, one day in the month should be dedicated to analyzing new data and making changes. Ensure this process involves customer service insight.

7. Ensure CRM staff are taught new updates

Your job is not done when you alter the UX and Help pages; you should communicate these modifications to the support team to ensure they are up to date and can give the correct aid to users. This can be done through regular meetings or by relaying the information in an organized fashion.

8. Enhance service through customer feedback

The bond between you and the user should not be unilateral; it is important to obtain feedback from the user to help refine the system.

9. Improve decision-making by leveraging customer data

When a user contacts the support team, it is important to provide as much data as possible. This could include details such as the type of browser and operating system being used, the first time they logged into the system, if they are a part of a user segment, any prior issues, and orders. This will give the team more information to make better decisions. It is essential to make sure all customer interactions are recorded and stored.

10. Utilize time-tracking metrics to discover any time-consuming steps

Assessing the amount of time consumed in every stage of the CRM process can help you recognize which ones require improvement to quicken the entire procedure. By keeping tabs on how much time is devoted to each step, you can distinguish those that are taking too long.

11. Ad optimization for funnel entries

We have not paid enough attention to the fact that our advertising campaigns have been incorrectly aimed at the wrong audience. Consequently, if there are a lot of users that are confused, it would be sensible to look into and examine the issue.

12. Pay close attention to UX writing

It is clear that adhering to UX writing standards is a great way to help users understand the product or service and reduce the need for them to get in touch with customer service.

13. Keep the user experience in mind

A user-friendly product and CRM dashboard that is designed with user experience in mind can help customers prevent the need for support and, if necessary, CRM staff can quickly and effectively address any problems.

14. Ensure that processes are error-free

As long as we don’t create a Poka-Yoke system that completely prevents mistakes from happening or makes them instantly recognizable when they do happen, we will continue to experience rework and dissatisfaction from both customers and customer service personnel.

15. Keeping simplicity as complexity growth

Product or CRM professionals are responsible for making processes, products, or interactions as straightforward as possible by comparing similar products and discovering the most efficient methods.*

16. Buying CRM software shouldn’t be rushed

It is not recommended to buy CRM software if your business is just beginning. Instead, take advantage of free tools such as Trello, Google Sheets, Notion, etc. to gain a clear understanding of your organization’s needs.

Doing this will help you make a wise decision when it comes to selecting a CRM software that is suitable for your current and future needs. Otherwise, you may end up with a system that doesn’t fit your business or you may have to invest time and money to transition to a new system.

17. Ensure newcomers are onboarded properly

Organizations often overlook the need to train their fresh hires, leaving them to figure things out on their own. It is wise to establish an onboarding program to ensure new hires have what they need to be successful so there is no need to go through the same processes again or disappoint customers.

18. Clear roles and responsibilities

If the support team is not aware of what is expected of them, it is likely that their work will need to be redone, resulting in delays. To prevent this, it is essential to ensure that each team member understands their duties and obligations.

19. Create a customer-centric culture

Making customers a priority should be at the forefront of every team’s strategy. By doing this, your team can ensure that their products and processes are tailored to the needs of their customers. This will result in a better customer experience, as customers will feel like their wants and needs are being taken into account.

20. Recruiting caring people

Choosing a person for the support team who cares about people will ensure customers’ issues are handled efficiently and they will speak positively about your business.

21. Performance monitoring on a daily basis

Without consistently monitoring the CRM pipeline, improvement of a process is unlikely. It is therefore wise to identify the most important metrics and measure them systematically in order to track the progress of the process.

22. Stay up-to-date with industry trends

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; if you don’t keep up with the latest developments, you’ll be at a disadvantage and will struggle to compete. The same is true when it comes to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. To stay ahead of your rivals, it’s important to make sure your products and processes are up-to-date and pertinent.

23. Outsource certain tasks

If you don’t have the resources or the time to put these ideas into practice, you could always consider getting outside help. This could be a great option for those with a smaller team.