As a result, human support<\/a> is more critical than ever. And with a greater impact on your customer satisfaction \u2013 and ultimately your company\u2019s bottom line \u2013 it\u2019s increasingly important to invest in your human support team as a real strategic lever in your business.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why human support is so crucial for any customer-centric organization, and how it can have a significant impact on your team, your business, and your customers.<\/p>\n So why does human support matter? Can\u2019t bots just do it all? Well, no. No matter how great your bot is (and they can be pretty great!<\/a>), when it comes to complex or emotionally-charged issues, bots are no substitute for a human. That\u2019s why any great support strategy needs a clever mix of both, so you can balance efficiency with a great customer experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n At Intercom, we use a framework called the Conversational Support Funnel<\/a> to help us optimize the support experience for both our customers and our support team. The Conversational Support Funnel consists of three layers: proactive support<\/a>, self-serve support<\/a>, and human support.<\/p>\n While every layer of the Conversational Support Funnel has different benefits, the human support layer is particularly important when it comes to engagement and retention. Offering personalized, one-to-one human support is essential for keeping both your customers and your team happy in the long term. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n We\u2019re the first to say that bots<\/a> and automation<\/a> are invaluable tools in your support arsenal \u2013 but we also know they\u2019re not always the answer.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve probably had at least one awful support experience where automation has been used to disastrous effect. You know the kind: you have a complicated or sensitive issue, but you\u2019re trapped in a bot loop, wasting time going around in circles and getting the same platitudes without ever actually solving the problem at hand. Suddenly, the conversation has been closed without a real resolution. What?!<\/p>\n \u201cPoor customer experiences make you feel like a company doesn\u2019t really value your time or care about resolving your problem; they just want to deflect\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As a customer, experiences like that make you feel like a company doesn\u2019t really value your time or care about resolving your problem; they just want to deflect and close the conversation ASAP. It\u2019s a terrible experience that can seriously erode customer trust in a business \u2013 and eventually lead to churn.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s no surprise that human support is crucial for those tricky or sensitive issues that just can\u2019t be solved with automation or bots, such as payment problems, difficult technical issues, or complex queries that need deeper context. Being able to route these problems to a real person is essential for maintaining customer happiness.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, these are also great opportunities to enhance loyalty and advocacy by building real long-term customer relationships through personalized, tailored problem-solving and genuine human connection at key moments of your customer\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n As support professionals, we\u2019re usually drawn to the role because we love helping people. So getting stuck answering mind-numbingly repetitive questions over and over (and over) again is a one-way ticket to job dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n But at the same time, trying to deliver the exact same level of support (in terms of your team\u2019s investment of time and emotional intelligence) to all conversations doesn’t make sense when answers to quick wins or FAQ type questions can be automated. So as a support leader, how can you find the right balance for your support reps?<\/p>\n \u201cNot only does this improve morale and let your team do what they do best, it also helps support reps to know that they\u2019re making a real difference to the entire company\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n By using the proactive and self-serve support strategies mentioned above to ensure that only complex queries reach your team, you can ensure that your support reps are always working where they can have the most impact.<\/p>\n This approach lets your team focus on the things that only they can do, empowering them to specialize and hone their problem-solving, technical, and empathetic skills, so they can upskill and progress their careers. Not only does this improve morale and let your team do what they do best, it also helps support reps to know that they\u2019re making a real difference to the entire company<\/a>.<\/p>\n And sure, this helps the business by reducing the hefty costs involved in employee turnover and training new hires \u2013 but when it comes down to it, it\u2019s also just the right thing to do.<\/p>\n So how do you ensure that you\u2019re getting the most out of your human support strategy? Use these three strategies to empower your team to deliver exceptional experiences, every time.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve talked about the Conversational Support Funnel already, but it\u2019s an incredibly useful framework for making sure the right conversations go to the right people, at the right time.<\/p>\n By cleverly utilizing proactive and self-serve support to provide efficient, tailored support where possible, you can ensure that only complex issues reach your human support team. This means that you can protect your team\u2019s bandwidth and reserve their time for queries that will be more impactful \u2013 and satisfying \u2013 for them to work on, while simultaneously ensuring that high-priority queries get a fast, efficient response.<\/p>\n Customers prefer this option<\/a> for these types of conversations too: it means that they get their answer faster than if they were to wait for human support. For example, our research shows<\/a> that support teams that use chatbots are 60% more likely to report a definite improvement in resolution times and are 30% more likely to report a definite increase in customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n Automation doesn\u2019t just help you with your self-serve and proactive support layers; it\u2019s also an essential part of any efficient human support workflow. That\u2019s because automation allows you to minimize essential but time-sucking administrative tasks (like routing conversations to the right people or inboxes), streamlining the process and saving valuable time that can be used to solve more problems, not sort through more conversations.<\/p>\n Another key tip is to integrate your customer communications platform with the other essential tools in your support tech stack<\/a>, so your support reps can surface important insights right in your messenger \u2013 without ever needing to switch tools or dig for data.<\/p>\n In order to create a consistent voice across every customer touchpoint, create a set of guidelines that your team can use to stay aligned. At Intercom, we created our own framework called PREACH<\/a>, which serves as a handy mnemonic so we can always provide a world-class, personal, and cohesive experience that\u2019s in line with our company values.<\/p>\n Whatever your brand and company values are, consider distilling them into a similar guide that outlines the tone of voice and type of experience you want to provide. That way, all of your agents will be on the same page from day one, with no ambiguity around expectations.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember that your human support team is made up of humans. That human element \u2013 the chance for connection \u2013 is what makes it special and different, so don\u2019t try to filter it out\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Side note: while these guidelines are super useful, truly great human support requires listening to your customers and meeting them where they are. That means that your tone of voice can and should adapt based on the situation at hand. If your customer is in a difficult or stressful situation, don\u2019t respond with a goofy GIF because you\u2019re trying to be playful. A billing concern is not the time for a message like, \u201cUh oh, your payment failed! Womp wooommppp \ud83c\udfba \u201d. Always tailor your tone to the situation at hand.<\/p>\n Finally, remember that your human support team is made up of humans. That human element \u2013 the chance for connection \u2013 is what makes it special and different, so don\u2019t try to filter it out. Embrace it by empowering your support reps to bring their own personality and flair to the table (or to the inbox, as the case may be).<\/p>\n It\u2019s clear that the rise of automation and bots has changed the career landscape for many support professionals. But while this can sound scary at first (\u201crobots are taking over our jobs!\u201d), it\u2019s actually a good thing: because bots are handling the simple, repetitive tasks, humans are left with the more complex and rewarding stuff, with less of the boring admin. This leads to more challenging and robust support careers, with greater opportunities for specialization and impact.<\/p>\n This is really exciting, but it does come with some new challenges. Namely: how do you ensure your team has room to grow and protect them from burnout?<\/p>\n Here are three people-centric strategies we use to help our support team go further.<\/p>\n Having clearly defined career paths gives people something to work towards. As the field of customer support becomes more specialized (and increasingly important to every business\u2019s bottom line<\/a>), this will not only help your team to advance their careers, but it also shows that their career growth is something you\u2019re prioritizing as an organization.<\/p>\nThe business benefits of human support<\/h2>\n
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![\"Conversational](\"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/CSF-Funnel.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEngage and retain your customers<\/h3>\n
Engage and retain your support team<\/h3>\n
Top tips for providing world-class human support<\/h2>\n
1. Ensure only complex queries reach your team using the Conversational Support Funnel<\/h3>\n
2. Supercharge your team\u2019s efficiency with automation and apps<\/h3>\n
3. Keep it personal with the right tone of voice<\/h3>\n
3 human strategies to support your support team<\/h2>\n
1. Map out career paths<\/h3>\n