Two great tech tools to amp your customer service - Leaders West

I like to think that all small business owners want to provide great customer service to go along with their online presences. However, there are times when you?need to be in front of your client to really help them.

Unfortunately that is not always possible.

So, until you can magically transport yourself to their locations, or have so much time on your hands that you can drop everything and drive over to physically visit them every time they need you, I say, ?embrace technology!?

Now, as you might have figured out from my previous ramblings, I love technology. So, it?s easy for me to say but not always easy for non-tech types to implement. But I promise that what I am about to tell you is easy for anyone to do ? well, as long as you know how to operate a computer. If not, then you might be out of luck on this one.

Do you know Jing?

I recently got a message from a business associate who was struggling with how to do something online. He messaged me and asked if I could help.

Ideally, when showing someone how to do something online, you want to be there in person to walk them through the process. ?Otherwise, you end up spending 20 minutes trying to explain how to get where they need to be and what to do once they are there. In person, this process would take all of five minutes. ?You never get those wasted 15 minutes back, and the time spent doesn?t even accomplish anything useful ? unless you were trying to frustrate your valued client, who now thinks you would get lost inside a brown paper sack.

You would have been better off letting the phone go to voicemail and pretending that the message was never delivered. I am not recommending you do that, but it would have been far less frustrating for both of you.

In this instance, instead of trying to give a blind explanation, I opened an application called?Jing?that I had previously downloaded from techsmith.com. Their free plan allows me to not only record my computer screen, but also my voice for up to five minutes. Plenty of time to show my friend how to accomplish what he was trying to do.

It really is that easy.

Let?s review. Select the area of your screen that you want to share and click record. Use your mouse and voice to navigate through the Internet or whatever you are trying to showcase. When you are done, click stop.

The program will automatically upload the video to Jing?s server and give you a link to share. Send the link to your client and you?re done.

In some instances a full-on video screenshot would be overkill. With Jing, you also can take a simple screenshot and make notes using text and arrows to explain how to do something.

Either way, you look like a rock star ? deserving of an award for exceptional customer service. Next time someone calls you and can?t figure out how to do something on your website, you know what to do.

Go to?. Join.me?

But, wait.? What if the situation needs more of a two-way conversation? Perhaps it?s a meeting or training session about how to use something on your website, or sharing a PowerPoint presentation.

As you might have guessed, I have a technology solution for that as well.
You?ve likely heard of Go To Meeting. It?s great, but costs $49 a month and makes your participants download the company?s software to log in.

As a participant of a ?Go To Meeting,? I?ve found logging in a bit cumbersome. The last thing you want is for your client to get confused or frustrated when they try to connect to your meeting.

I also like free and easy. So, I prefer using?Join.me.

It still requires me to download the software to share my screen, but only requires my participants to click on the URL I send them.? That makes ?logging in? super easy.

Using a meeting/screen sharing tool like Join.me makes it feel like you?re right there with the person. Once they are viewing your screen, they can see everything you are doing real time ? and ask questions.

Based on those questions, you can alter your presentation to make sure they get the most out of it. Doing this with just a recorded video or simple screen share would be difficult.

Think about implementing this type of tech as part of your company?s customer service process. I promise, it will take the fuss out of helping your clients.

Can?t think of how this would help your business? Consider how easy it would be to explain how to order from your online store or where to enter that discount code.

The possibilities are endless!

Or you could try unplugging your phone and hope that your customers figure out their questions on their own ? because a blind explanation is rarely helpful when it comes to the online world.

The original article ?Personal touch goes high-tech? by Tessa Miller was published by the Business Examiner.

Original Article

Photo Credit

Tessa joined the Business Examiner's advertising sales team in June 2008. She has a diverse background in customer service, ad design, technology and marketing. In June of 2011 she was promoted to Social Media & Digital Manager. If she isn't tinkering with the Business Examiner website or moderating #BEchat on Twitter, you'll likely find her consulting with clients who want to have a newsletter or social media presence and don't have the time or aren't sure where to start.

Source: http://leaderswest.com/2012/10/15/two-great-tech-tools-for-client-facing/

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