As one of the longest standing channels, telephone customer service has evolved drastically over its time. Going from the most reliable and widely used channels offered customers real-time communication they knew would deliver results. As businesses become more digital, traditional voice customer service had to evolve.
Here, we explore the evolution of telephone customer service.
Let’s start at the beginning .
Telephone customer service gained traction with the rise of call centers in the 1960s. During this time, telephone communications started primarily as a sales tool; however, with the establishment of the toll-free ‘800’ numbers, telephone calls became a new way for customers to contact businesses.
While internet, email and chat rooms came to the scene quite rapidly, telephone use remained a reliable option for customers for quite some time.
The decline of the telephone
Today, when customers need support assistance, they do not pick up a phone to call; they pick it up and send a WhatsApp or message their social media pages. While there are many contributing factors as to why customers stopped using the telephone as their first choices, a critical reason was its inefficiency.
While many different softwares came around to assist with automation and ease operational pressure to create more seamless interactions for customers, a large amount of effort from a customer is still required. In an era where we’re used to quick and easy answers, this makes for a bad experience.
The rise of digital
Replacing telephone support, online interactions became the new go-to customer support channel. Quick, real-time questions being answered was much easier than speaking to an agent on the phone.
Self-service, live chat software, and chatbots have all created competition for the telephone. And these channels have only grown in popularity over the years. In fact, according to some Salesforce research reports, 82% of customers use knowledge bases and 84% use customer portals. 81%, meanwhile, use live chat channels.
Telephone still has a place .
While customers prefer other channels, the primary role telephone thrives in today is escalations.
40% of customers prefer telephone customer service for more complicated interactions. That is, for those problems that they can’t solve easily and quickly through a digital platform. While more customer interactions start online, telephone support usually sits on standby. Then, when an agent needs to escalate a complex issue, the telephone becomes a preferred channel.
The nature of voice-based customer service has shifted from first-line to second-line support. Telephones now handle escalations rather than first contact. This is likely due to the level of human connection that voice-based support allows.
While digital channels offer convenience to customers, second line support is crucial to solving complex situations and creating seamless interactions for your customers.