Insights
Oct 16, 2023

Customer Support Follow Up: Basics and Specifics

If your support agent's interaction with a client ends with a resolution of his or her issue it means you don't care as much about retaining the one. The important retention factor is to stay connected to ensure that service and overall product experience are successful.

Table of Contents

Proactivity in communication in this case doesn't mean being annoying or too insistent. It's about being predictive, empathic, and loyal not just to earn additional points in the market competition but also to show you care and create a meaningful product.

What is Customer Support Follow Up

There are several must-do messages to clients who have reached out to your service desk with certain issues. They should finalize the communication and move them to the appropriate stage of the sales funnel.

The whole process can have several of the following topics depending on the situation and can be a part of automated customer service.

1. Acknowledge completion

A fundamental step in any case is acknowledging that the inquiry has been resolved. Send a message using the last contact or a user-preferred channel confirming that their request has been successfully addressed, resolved, and taken into account if global product changes are required.

2. Express gratitude

Always express your appreciation for the client’s business and their patience during the support process. A simple "Thank you for choosing our product/service" can go a long way in making them feel valued. Don't sweeten too match though to justify mistakes - acknowledge, apologize, and learn.

3. Ask for feedback

Customer service follow up and feedback are both essential parts of CX strategy. That’s why encourage your buyers to review their support experience. According to CFI Group, 48 percent of buyers overall will share their service experience, whether it’s good or bad.

This can be done through a post-interaction survey, a feedback form, or a direct request for their thoughts. Let them know that they make a contribution to improving the overall experience or even reward them for trust, ideas, and opinions.

4. Ensure satisfaction

Double-check that the client is truly satisfied with the resolution. Ask if there's anything else you can assist them with or if they have any remaining concerns. This shows you commit and take responsibility for agent actions and help buyers avoid doubts to reach out to support again.

5. Provide additional resources

Share helpful articles that are relevant to the client’s inquiry or problem. This might include links to knowledge base articles, video tutorials, or FAQs you can send as a customer support follow up email. It can empower them to self-solve similar issues in the future.

Such a message should be only an additional one. Although it seems like a time-saving option it won't be appreciated much by clients. Solve then guide. It’s a balance between tutoring and reducing agent workload.

Customer Support Follow up Specifics

The team can't just be trivial, send a certain customer service follow up template from time to time, and wait for buyer loyalty. There are factors to consider and take into action. Namely:

1. Know when and what

Follow up promptly after the support interaction. Ideally, you should reach out within a day or two of resolving the issue. This way demonstrate your dedication to the provided service and understand the current client’s mood and possible future needs.

2. Make it personal

Address the buyers by their name and personalize your messages. Use the details of their support inquiry and overall interaction history with a brand to make your messages more specific and relevant to the situation. Up-to-date conversational artificial intelligence tools like Ioni can ease the objective for agents.

3. Automate if relevant

Consider using a fitting AI automation tool within different channels to make follow ups not optional even during high workload periods. But make sure that the campaigns are formed accurately not including users that can't be annoyed by standard messages and require continuing direct personal communication.

4. Learn and change

Don't disregard replies even to standard messages to your chatbot online. Act on the feedback you receive during further interaction. Use the insights gained to make necessary improvements in your support processes and approaches. For instance, you can discover some additional text template that can be applied only to your brand or product.

5. Show the options

If appropriate, use follow up communications as an opportunity to introduce customers to additional products or services they might find valuable. However, think twice and analyze the interaction history to make sure it's appropriate. Sometimes it's better to skip out on these customer service responsibilities or leave it out for the sales team.

6. Check client health

For subscription-based services or products, monitor customer engagement and application patterns. Use this data to define potential issues where buyers might need additional help or options to make it work for their changing business needs.

7. Address long-term goals

For enterprise clients or those with long-term relationships, consider discussing their broader goals and how your products or services can support them over time. In this case, proactivity shows you help your buyers form their future strategy with the right tools.

8. Recognize and reward

Occasionally, surprise customers with unexpected gestures such as discounts, early access to new features or other personalized offers including content, insights, etc. Customer support ticketing software allows defining the audience for such loyalty steps and synchronizing efforts with other teams.

9. Monitor social channels

Keep an eye on social media and online forums where users might discuss their experiences. Engage with them, address any concerns, and thank them for their feedback. Don’t get overfamiliar - feel the appropriate distance.

10. Stay consistent

Maintain a consistent approach to follow ups to ensure that all clients receive the same level of attention and care. Consistency builds trust and reliability. Some AI agents allow analyzing product and user info across multiple channels to build a tailor-made proposition.

Following overall market tendencies best customer support follow up examples should be created within a certain industry, region, and brand. The more agents communicate with buyers the more they interact with personalities instead of personas. 

The last-at-the-moment action can and should be not less memorable than the first impression. By acting proactively and automating thoroughly you can establish the desirable level of engagement to provide appropriate CSAT and retention.