For companies stepping up their digital customer service game, it is important to inform current and prospective customers on where and how they can find the information they seek. Whether your brand is offering self-service options or multiple channels, online and offline, for engaging a customer service agent, the “Contact Us” page on your website is likely one of the first places they will look.
Since websites are often primarily considered a marketing and sales tool, many website designers place contact pages toward the bottom of their priority list. However, ensuring that contact information is readily available for customer service inquiries builds trust – and supports sales and marketing efforts. In fact, a marketing study revealed that:
51% of customers feel “thorough contact information” is the most important element missing from most websites.
Think about it. If customers cannot get answers to their questions about a product or service they are considering, or if they do not receive the assistance needed to complete a transaction, the additional effort required to obtain the answers they need may result in a missed sales opportunity.
So, what do “Contact Us” pages look like for progressive companies delivering modern, digital customer service experiences? Hint: It’s much more than a phone number and email address.
The best contact pages enable a frictionless experience by including these elements…
Uber’s help page includes an example of suggesting support within the app and on the company’s customer support-oriented Twitter account.
By proactively educating customers about the digital customer service options available, companies can drive more traffic to these channels and help agents maintain efficiency. As an example, Ford Motor Company’s contact page includes a banner identifying customer service channels so that website visitors can immediately see they have options for self-service, live chat, speaking with an agent or contact with a local dealership.
With the appropriate mobile optimization, customers should be able to easily click-to-call customer service directly, bypassing the need to provide their information or authentication process. With CRM integration, this initiative can provide contextual information that empowers the receiving agent to deliver personalized service.
Verizon’s contact page is a great example of clearly identifying channel options to engage the company, with direct links to each channel that make it easy for customers to reach out from their smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. Forrester has noted that highlighting self-service content can also aid in call deflection.
Western Union’s contact page showcases how to include frequently inquired topics, empowering customers who prefer self-service to easily find the information they are looking for, on their own.
As an example, Blue Apron’s contact page includes a brief form asking just a few questions that will provide the company quite a bit of information. From just 5 form fields, agents can identify current subscribers and gather enough information to route the inquiry to the appropriate contact in a process where the customer should not have to repeat their information.
For example, the Discover contact page communicates that customers will receive an immediate response if they use messaging to engage customer service and support.
At the end of the day, the future of digital customer service is centered around reducing customer effort. Leveraging social media, digital messaging and web chats for customer service allows companies to engage customers across several online communication channels, but customers need to know which channels are available to them for support. The contact page is the most important place to share this information.
Request a demo to see how Sparkcentral can help ensure your company is ahead of the digital customer service curve with frictionless experiences that customers expect.
Image: Sparkcentral
