Focusing on customer care is always important, but there are times when it must be taken to new heights. Businesses must really prioritize customer impact during events like a new product or application launch, system integration, or software update. These “hypercare” periods are designed to resolve any issues quickly and are essential for ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction and retention.
But what happens when hypercare goes awry? Unfortunately, that’s all too often the case. Hypercare by definition adds extra strain onto existing support systems. When incorrectly managed it can cause a host of problems, including an increase in support tickets, the need for intensive application support training, and even changes to your customer-related processes and systems.
Each hypercare spike risks monopolizing valuable resources and further alienating customers. For example, confusion over a new product feature could lead to a sharp influx of Help Desk requests that tax customer support systems and create system bottlenecks. In these situations, hypercare can do more harm than good.
However, properly implemented hypercare can be a critical element of your business’s customer support efforts. The key is to create a proactive mechanism for hypercare that allows you to anticipate elevated levels of strain with each new application or update–and embed strategies to meet those challenges.
Build a structure around your hypercare services
During a period of hypercare, your organization may provide a range of support services to your customers. These could include steps to initiate rapid issue resolution; omnichannel support, consulting services, support from account managers or product specialists, preparing training materials for customer support specialists, and more. All involved teams must be enabled to handle the influx of support requests.
Don’t begin taking these steps after a hypercare period begins. Instead, consider building a structure that supports a steady state of “hypercare-ability.”
Start with establishing a definition of success. Set expectations and define these outcomes with your customers early, before a new product launch, system integration, or similar event. Leverage these customer interactions to measure the success of your hypercare efforts and identify areas that may end up needing a little extra attention as you move forward.
Communication and customer engagement are important during this initial step. Your team must communicate upcoming changes and benefits early and clearly to prepare your customers for what’s about to happen. You’ll need to establish a dedicated team with the expertise to handle customer care demands and communicate your messages effectively.
Next, establish checkpoints where you assess the progress of your goal and minimize potential risks associated with customer care surges. Take time at each checkpoint to make sure you have the correct enablement materials, that your product, platform, or application is stable, and that you’re correctly tracking adoption of your solution.
Each checkpoint gives you the opportunity to optimize and evaluate many aspects of your hypercare model. You can look at whether tickets are being routed to the right tier and if support agents are properly trained and documenting case notes, for example. Checkpoints are also a good time to check and make sure your automation and support systems have been stress tested and are ready for sudden surges or unexpected obstacles.
Overcome these obstacles faster by establishing a team of experts. This team of domain specialists should be ready and available to answer any customer questions that might arise.
Support your structure with modern technologies
Supporting this process with the appropriate technologies is critical to optimizing your hypercare services.
Platforms with built-in, automated data reporting capabilities can provide real-time insights into the performance of your applications. Your support teams will get greater visibility into possible issues, allowing them to rectify problems quickly. Automation can also alleviate the need for teams to spend time on repetitive tasks, freeing them up to focus on more complex, customer-centric issues.
Finally, generative AI can positively impact how you build and offer your support structure. You can leverage generative AI in various ways, from classifying and categorizing cases to implementing chatbot agents that take support cases from open to close. Indeed, according to a report from Deloitte Digital, “service agents utilizing a GenAI powered conversational assistant saw a 14% productivity boost. The largest gains were among new or low-skilled agents, who showed a 35% average improvement.”
Measure the effectiveness of your hyperscale efforts
Once you have the process and technologies in place, it’s time to measure the effectiveness of your efforts. Customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores and Application Success Reviews (ASR) are two of the best ways to do this.
Conduct CSAT surveys at key touch points during the hyperscale period to measure changes in customer satisfaction. For instance, after a customer interacts with support agents or receives training on a new system, survey them to capture their satisfaction with the specific interaction. Be sure to conduct detailed analyses of how the application, product, or service performed during its rollout. After the data is available, compare prior application success reviews to gauge how a hypercare period affected adoption, application health, and impact.
ASRs are also great for measuring the impact, adoption, and health of applications post-launch. Focus on quantifiable metrics like user adoption rates, system performance, and issue resolution times. Use this data to compare the performance of the application during hypercare against other projects that lacked a hypercare effort. This comparison will highlight the tangible benefits of hypercare, such as improved adoption and system health, and provide valuable insights for optimizing your future hypercare strategies.
Employing a proactive hypercare process and combining it with the appropriate technologies and research will create a cohesive and manageable customer care approach. Your organization will be in a constant yet manageable state of hypercare, allowing you to focus on providing exceptional service while avoiding the peaks and valleys that can be detrimental to your organization and customers.