Customer support is as important for any organization as it is for a SAAS based company. The key to market an excellent Product is to have a strong customer support. A wide user base these days comes from word of mouth, which for one comes only after a user has not only used your product but has also examined your support responses.
You may have the best SAAS based product in the market but with the lack of a reliable support system it may not be of any good as there will be no one to pay for it. It is however difficult to narrow down the impact of an uncompromising support system for a SAAS based organization, but here are 7 reasons which can establish the importance of it.
1. Synergy
It is the best way to give a trial and live demo to any prospect and make them understand the importance of your winning product but to stay in touch with them and responding to their queries in less than 24 hours will help you close the sale in less time. The points of interactions can be varied in nature like email, social media, and phone numbers through which users can reach you.
The swifter the response the better impression you have on your customer. There are organizations out there who have earned their name in the market not on the basis of what they do but how prompt there customer support is.
2. Customer Retention
Every business is setup with long-term goal and if your product has what it takes, it is necessary to have a stringent customer support system. With a winning product it is easy to acquire customers but is it that easy to retain them in the absence of a sound customer support.
The average cost of customer acquisition is 2-10 times more than average monthly spend of clients in SAAS industry. It is established as a fact that the cost of acquiring new users is less than the cost of retaining your existing users, which can only be done with the help of excellent support system. By all means it is necessary to make your customers feel appreciated. According to a survey, 68% of customers leave a product due to perceived indifference from service providers and 9% switch for a superior product.
Churn is a trailing factor for disengaged or dissatisfied customers. It is important to identify a dissatisfied customer and take actions to avoid any unexpected churn. A behavioral segmentation to identify the risk of user churn is only possible with the help of an efficient customer support.
3. Feedbacks
It is important from the point of view of what the customer thinks about your product and what feedback they have about it. An unprecedented support system helps the client’s to float information to the company. An efficient support system is voice of the customer.
It is important to keep your clients updated about recent developments and also gather feedbacks in terms of what they would like to see as an improvement on the product. These interactive techniques help the organization and the customer come together as a family, you discuss what you want, if or not that can be arranged and why your requirements cannot be accommodated.
Support will help the customers achieve what they want or if they cannot get that, then why.
4. Not everyone does it
Not everyone is doing it out there so having an unparalleled support system may help you stand out. A strategized support system should not only be accessible online through Live chats, emails and blogs but there should also be a direct Telephone number also.
Many big organizations are not doing this, they only offer online support to their clients but it is necessary to have personal touch with them as well. A support system teamed up with excellent strategy can make you stand out in the market from other competitors.
5. Anticipation
With an unmatched support system the biggest advantage is that you can foresee and anticipate concerns before they go viral. The daily interactions with the clients on a regular basis will give you a hint on slightest problem and before it is realized by a wider base this can be fixed.
Also a sound support system will always help you in handling clients in cases of unscheduled outages, transition, updates or scheduled updates. If you have a sound support system then there isn’t much to worry about.
6. Relationship Management
Relationship management is essential for a SAAS company as it is the key through which the current and future customers are managed. The Sales team can do an excellent job on acquisition and bring in business but the success rate will depend on how many customers were retained and not gained.
A support system initiates and maintains relationship with customers which play key role in maintaining these clients. A decrease of 5% in churn rate can show an increase of 25% to 95% in the profits.
Relationships can be built with a well-coordinated support system and can be further strengthened on how well managed it is.
7. If you believe in your Product
If you believe in your product then no one can tell you if or not you need this.