Anyone who has seen the futuristic, leaving-Planet-Earth flick Passengers would agree the movie offers the opportunity for an energetic debate on Artificial Intelligence—just where exactly should one draw the line? In the movie, a robot bartender, Arthur (portrayed by Michael Sheen), gracefully fulfills his duty of fixing drinks aboard the Avalon. But he grievously falls short of the bar at a key human trait–discretion.

We all have words to describe 2020. Few of them would ring with nostalgia. COVID-19 has created pain, loss, and disruption on a scale not seen in generations. The economy has also been a casualty, as some companies have transformed and thrived while many others have stumbled and dissolved. But then, just as 2020 was bowing out, hope emerged. Three promising vaccines had produced better than expected results in clinical trials. Governments around the world rushed to approve them.

The day in the life of a customer support agent is not an easy one. Between staying on top of assigned tickets, dealing with angry customers, completing complicated back-end processes, answering repetitive customer inquiries, and adhering to strict company policies, there’s plenty of potential headaches that can spring up. Without adequate support and resources, 74% of customer support agents are susceptible to burnout1.

No matter the size, every company has to communicate with their customers – some need just to handle occasional questions and issues while others make and answer calls daily. But both can agree that customers’ expectations are increasing drastically, and living up to those expectations becomes more and more difficult.

Did you know that retaining a customer is five times cheaper than acquiring a new one? Customer satisfaction is extremely vital to business success. Your business strategy for the year 2021 probably includes generating more leads, but it should also include retaining your current customers. According to the World Bank, the 2020 recession has been one of the worst since the Great Depression, which was a decade-long economic slowdown.

‍Customer support drives long-term relationships that can be the primary source of profit for your business. However, a customer support process that is slow or does not make itself as accessible as it needs to be can drive customers away. As such, we're going to look at 15 ways to streamline and improve the whole process. The farther that the customer has to go to get the support that they need, the more expensive it becomes for you, and the slower your response will become.

In Part 1 of this three-part series we introduced the new report by ServiceXRG and TeamSupport. The 2021 Customer Support Transformation report examines current trends in Support delivery and offers tangible guidance for Support and Service professionals to meet growing expectations of both customers and company executives. Part 1 explored the transition of support from a reactive transactional model to a more proactive and preventive approach.

Businesses often undermine the significance of delivering superior customer experience — the driving force which influences the decision of over 90% of American consumers. Unless you simplify your customer support mechanism, you may not be able to deliver a superior customer experience. So, you need to evaluate whether your customers getting exactly what they need.

This is part two of a three-part content series between Freshworks and Textline. You can read part one: “9 reasons your customers want to be able to text support” here. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that a photo can greatly enhance any text message you’re trying to send. That includes messages you send in a customer support role to help customers solve a problem or those texts your customers send you.