{"id":2435,"date":"2015-04-08T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-04-08T20:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=2435"},"modified":"2015-04-08T15:09:26","modified_gmt":"2015-04-08T23:09:26","slug":"advice-non-tech-savvy-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/post-launch\/advice-non-tech-savvy-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices for Giving Support to Non-Tech Savvy Customers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re at a startup or a full-fledged conglomerate, providing\u00a0support for a tech company and dealing with customers who may or may not be tech savvy can be one of the most difficult things about working in the tech space.<\/p>\n

At MerusCase<\/a>, we work to bring law firms into the 21st century by providing them with cloud-based legal practice management software with\u00a0a myriad of features, from communication tools to billing and beyond.<\/p>\n

This means that, for most of our clients, we\u2019re their first foray into the world of legal tech. For us, this means a ton of time spent explaining foreign technology to really smart lawyers who often have no clue what we\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n

But, as a result, we’ve become particularly well-versed when it comes to dealing with customers who aren\u2019t as tech savvy as we\u2019d like them to be!<\/p>\n

After a few years in the industry, we\u2019ve come up with a helpful list of best practices for dealing with clients who\u00a0are still stuck in the days of Word Perfect and @hotmail.com email addresses.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Have set time limits and parameters in which your team is going to provide support.<\/h2>\n

For your own support team\u2019s sanity, it\u2019s important that you figure out just exactly how much you\u2019re willing to put up with.<\/p>\n

If a customer calls in and can\u2019t get connected to your product (which you determine is because his <\/i>Internet is down), how much support are you going to give him? Are you going to go the extra mile or will you tell him to call his ISP?<\/p>\n

It may not be as simple as drawing a line in the sand and sticking to it; there\u2019s merit in both approaches. However, your support team may appreciate the fact that they don\u2019t have to wear the hat of a remote Internet technician, too.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, your support team should also be comfortable enough to tell your client that the issues he’s\u00a0facing are not <\/i>due to your product. Maybe his\u00a0browser doesn\u2019t support your service; maybe his\u00a0machine is just old and outdated; maybe he\u00a0really just doesn’t understand how to work your product.<\/p>\n

Whatever the reason for his\u00a0struggle, if it\u2019s not you<\/i>, figure out how much time you\u2019re willing to devote to the issue. (Besides, there\u2019s only so much you can do if his\u00a0Internet connection is just unbelievably slow.)\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Always use (and ask for) a visual aid.<\/h2>\n

Wouldn\u2019t getting to the bottom of your client\u2019s issue be a breeze if you could just see <\/i>what he’s\u00a0doing?<\/p>\n

If your company produces a computer-based product, it\u2019s your lucky day: there are a myriad of screen-sharing tools you can utilize to make this happen. At MerusCase, we love join.me<\/a>, but do some research and figure out which one works best for your team.<\/p>\n

Some software even allows you to take control of your client\u2019s mouse, removing the possibility of confusion and frustration as you attempt to repeatedly explain how to do something step-by-step, only to be endlessly misunderstood.<\/p>\n

Make it as easy as possible for your clients to upload visuals when they email in for support. Heck, you should probably just go ahead and ask <\/i>them for visuals right off the bat.<\/p>\n

For your customers who really have no idea why they\u2019re repeatedly getting the same error message, asking them to take a quick screenshot of their issue will help you figure out exactly <\/i>what\u2019s going on\u00a0without a bunch of email messages back-and-forth.<\/p>\n

3. Take the time to put together a comprehensive help section.<\/h2>\n

In an ideal world, the quickest way to handle support would be to not have to give support at all. Granted, with the complexity that most tech companies bring to the table, this isn\u2019t a feasible solution.<\/p>\n

Something that is<\/em> a totally manageable way to minimize time spent on support? Take the time to put together a comprehensive help section.<\/p>\n

\"Knowledge<\/a><\/p>\n

A help section can come in many forms (for us it\u2019s a knowledge base<\/a> and a blog<\/a>), but you should try to zero in on what works best for your target customer.<\/p>\n

Whenever possible, use visuals to explain the main points of your articles \u2014\u00a0videos<\/a> and annotated screenshots are among the best ways to achieve this.<\/p>\n

Even if your clients don\u2019t take the time to browse your support section before contacting you, at the very least, your support team will save tons of time by pointing clients to a knowledge base article instead of repeatedly answering common questions.<\/p>\n

You might even leverage your blog to give your clients parameters for submitting support requests, like we did in this post!<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Always ask for more …<\/h2>\n

… details, that is!<\/p>\n

If a client calls in and is speaking complete gibberish, your best bet is to keep asking questions until you\u2019re able to zero in on what he’s\u00a0actually talking about.<\/p>\n

Depending on your product or service, here are some helpful places to start:<\/p>\n