As businesses, we should always have our ears on the ground to gather the wants, needs and complaints from our audiences. That’s why Live Chat customer support is so popular.
With so many businesses adopting a mobile-first mindset, it is important to remember that Live Chat is just as important, if not more so, on mobile applications, as it is on Web-based platforms.
Users should be able to receive assistance with in-application service solutions. The last thing users want to do is exit your application and perform an online search regarding a question that should be answerable through your application. If your mobile app is still without support, there are a variety of reasons why you should consider investing in built-in support.
Mobile applications and games are known for their exponential customer growth. Think about Flappy Bird going viral in what seemed like an “overnight” success.
Simplify the Process
As an app creator, you want to make the process of using your mobile application as user-friendly as possible. There are so many other alternatives available; you don’t want to risk losing a customer just because your app is too tricky to use or your company is too hard to reach.
Making use of in-app support alongside Web-based support through Live Chat will give your users a feeling of being constantly connected to your business. The concept itself is very simple – whenever your users need help or assistance – there should be a button offering assistance by either directing them to a Website or showing them a screen within your app that addresses the issue, or gets them connected to the appropriate person.
Damage Control for User Growth
Having an in-app customer service function will help you streamline the process to manage support requests as your user base grows.
Through a consistent and cross-platform service function, you won’t overload your customer support team by needing to add additional responsibilities related to mobile support requests. This is a smart way to manage both your online and offline clients.
John Hibel, Director of Marketing at a leading customer care company explains that for the next generation of mobile applications in-application customer services is a must have. This is to prevent your users from leaving the application without making a purchase, but for creating brand loyalty and satisfaction as well.
“In fact, 1 in 4 shoppers who had to leave a mobile app to get help from a site were unlikely to make a transaction with that brand at all”. – Biz Report
Additional Support for Tech Beginners
Not everyone grew up in the digital age, but as consumers are changing, so will companies need to change. It’s believed that app developers should create applications in such a way that app features and general usability are self-explaining. While this might be true, less than tech-savvy individuals might just need that extra bit of support.
Offer an in-app support system for customer service while encouraging early adopter users to easily fly through your application and not just ‘exit’ when it feels too complex. An example of this in the real world is the recent release of Amazon’s Mayday built in support system with the Kindle Fire.
Offer LiveChat Assistance
In a collaboration between Rushcliff and ActiveCampaign, the two companies found a way to integrate chat into their application software. This is in the form of a pop-up style box that allows users to interact with support should they feel the need. This way, consumers receive immediate attention and the assistance they need.
Create an FAQ to Save Time
By implementing an in-app support system, you give users exposure to a whole world of information. The most frequently asked questions can be sorted in such a way that they are able to refer to those answers before they contact you directly.
By implementing this, you are diverting all the ‘obvious’ questions to one platform, opening up more time to deal with the trickier or unique queries. This is also an alternate way to engage your users and educate them without them needing to leave the application.
Use In-App Support as a Platform for Research
One of the best ways to understand what your users want, is by looking at what they complain about. An in-app customer service feature will allow you to collect this valuable data and make use of its findings for your next marketing strategy.
Alternatively, you could also offer online surveys with incentives for the user to inspire them to take part. These surveys could help you streamline the issues and create a solution that is beneficial to both your users and your product.
Zendesk offers such a service where the Mobile SDK can be be embedded in the support options of your native app, allowing you to help your customers via the application. By making use of this feature, which is only available in the current version of Zendesk your customers will be able to do the following:
- Create tickets using a contact form in your app
- View and comment on existing tickets in-app, without switching to email
- Browse and search your Help Center knowledge base in-app, without being redirected to a browser
- Rate your app in the app store or send you direct feedback
The type of mobile or Website application you’ve created will help you choose which in-app customer service options will work the best for you. Do some research to see how your competition is treating their users on a mobile platform. Apart from in-app customer service options there are also numerous customer service applications to choose from to help optimize the customer service process.
Implementing in-app customer support will allow you to connect with your followers on a different level, increase your reach, educate tech-newbies and all in all enable you to speed up the process of customer engagement.
Anneke Steenkamp is a freelance writer for Digital Brand Group and shares her expertise on anything related to mobile and web application development.
