How Visual Assistance Works and the Ultimate Strategy on Unlocking this Technology for Customer Growth and Success

An 83% increment in revenue and a 2.7 times reduction in the customer effort — that's what businesses with visual assistance at their disposal have been able to achieve. So, it doesn't surprise that customers are willing to pay more (about 16%) to sustain a high-grade customer experience (CX). After all, they too, want the businesses to thrive at end-user communication and be seamless at problem resolution. 

It is noteworthy that when the phrase customer experience (CX) is brought into perspective, the focus is both on helping the customers and advancing the brand's image. Likewise, when brand image is put under the scanner, everything from marketing to growth metrics comes to light. So, indirectly, it's all related to how well a business can communicate with the customer and how much a business can contribute to a customer's success. 

In fact, more than 70% of companies attribute their marketing success to improved relationships with customers. Considering how smooth visual assistance makes the endeavor of driving these enriched business-to-customer relationships, it goes without saying that it is the best bet to help both customers and companies achieve unprecedented results.

How Visual Assistance Works?

Visual assistance (or video support) simplifies and accelerates the interaction with customers, enables voice and video playback, and takes customer input, all on a single screen. It is, as a result of this interaction between companies and customers, that leads to more sales and customer loyalty.

For instance, SupportGenie's live chat system allows the customer support representative to create a shareable link to get the customer on a video call. As soon as the customer clicks on the link, the representative is in control of what's being discussed, which gives them a chance to guide the customer better in their decision-making.

In the new normal, visual assistance has become a standard feature in the customer experience, which means it is not only used to dispatch customer service problems. A 2020 research by Turku University of Applied Sciences revealed how doctors, nurses, and patients have been using video support amidst the pandemic. 

Here's what the author (Pauliina Ramberg) had to say: 

‍In the patient responses, ease was perceived as important to the success of the customer experience in video meetings. Good IT skills, the professionalism of the doctor or a nurse, friendliness, and good cooperation were repeated in the customers' answers.

A host of other literature (research studies and surveys) underlines how visual assistance can be used to help a business develop close-knit relationships with customers and foster the qualities of brand loyalty. 

How Visual Assistance Helps Develop Positive Business-Customer Relationship?

We sure know that visual assistance is one of the most productive and powerful approaches to customer support. But why is that? 

The underlying theme to its success is that visual assistance projects an upfront image of a business as it would be and makes the customer feel that they are being taken care of. 

Ask yourself - What are the primary factors that a business-customer relationship depends on? 

Perhaps the quality of communication, pleasant experience, being treated with respect, and appreciation are some facets to the aforementioned theme that come to mind. As it turns out, visual assistance suffices each of these facets profoundly.

Here's how:

1. It helps facilitate high-grade communication by putting the agent and the customer together, thus, eliminating the need for detailed laying out of instructions and redundant onboarding. The customer, this way, can reach out for help/resolution immediately, voice out their issues instantly, and demonstrate them in real-time. 

2. It gives customers a chance to remember (and prove) their questions and concerns in high-definition, which is an appealing way for businesses to nurture their relationships with customers. Besides, the agent doesn't have to refer to (and rehash) previous conversations to resolve a problem, for everything is visible on the live video. 

3. It enables customer-focused support, in which the agent is able to express concern and empathy for the customer. The latter appreciates a business that understands them and contributes to their success. 

4. The multi-screen application of visual assistance also helps build trust, as customers and agents are able to see each other's facial expressions. This facilitates ease of access and works towards exceeding the customer's expectations, which is one of the critical elements of boosting the customer satisfaction score and reducing the customer effort. 

5. All in all, the business is able to deliver a personalized, customized experience that makes customers feel special. This way, it becomes easier for agents and customers to document their support requests in high-definition and keep track of all the resolutions and action steps taken.

How Visual Assistance Helps Businesses Ease the Process of Customer Support?

Often, the cost of acquiring a customer and retaining them for a prolonged period is too high for a business to bear. Clearly, not every company (especially startups) is in a position to promote the brand for the long term and have access to all kinds of resources. However, optimized customer service can help offload some of the intangibles that a business creates and comforts as needed. So, where does visual assistance fit into this? 

As mentioned above, visual assistance gives each customer an opportunity to feel that they are being taken care of and be in control of their interactions with a business. As such, it is a great starting point for businesses to develop meaningful relationships with contacts (customer or otherwise).

To that end, here's a list of benefits associated with the incorporation of visual assistance that eases the facilitation of customer service without hindering the support quality.

1. Profound Understanding of the Customer Wants

When you're able to have a video call with your customers, it is easy to capture their facial expressions and gauge their enthusiasm, annoyance, and whatever emotions they're experiencing as they talk to you. 

A while ago, Ventana Research revealed the biggest challenges in customer service ranking communication gap across channels #1. Lacking the visual channel is a significant reason for these challenges because customer reps often find themselves on the backfoot regarding the knowledge about their customers. 

With a video call platform in place, however, understanding the customer becomes exceptionally straightforward. The business agent is in a position to effectively explore the issues that bring a customer to the business' doors. At the end of the day, every client has their own expectations and problems that they want resolved, and visual assistance assuredly allows for confident exploration and resolution. 

2. Assistance in Measuring the Tone and Personality of Your Brand

Imagine you own a store selling clothing, accessories, shoes, and so on. You've been in business for a while and have a slew of loyal customers. Now, imagine a customer with a long history of shopping at your store (John) suddenly submits a formal complaint stating some issue with your business. What do you do? 

The best bet is to resolve the issue first and then try to understand why John saw fit to leave a formal complaint. When a customer submits a complaint, it's evident that you've failed to satisfy them. 

So, a video call is the most suitable mode of communication to maintain their satisfaction levels. Especially when a customer submits a formal complaint or query, the business agent can ask to share their screen and then assist them with the query. By doing so, it becomes possible for businesses to measure the tone and personality of their brand.

3. Recording Customer Support Requests to Avoid Misunderstandings

As a business, your success depends on the success of your customers. What does this statement imply? That at every stage, you have an opportunity to endear yourself to them. This means, however, that you need to meet your customers' expectations and continue to develop a positive relationship with them.

This is where visual assistance comes into play. You can ask them to share the screen with you and explain why they're unhappy. This way, should any issues arise when a customer takes the matter to the next stage (the formal complaint), you'll have all your answers written down.

Conclusively, you'll be able to avoid any misunderstandings and therefore go back to the long road of making happy customers.

4. Helping Customers Learn More About the Business and its Products

A customer is always looking for a personal connection. They want to understand the business they're dealing with, from the products they sell to handling their complaints. But not all of them are in a position to fully explore the history of a business, its key personnel, etc. That's where visual assistance comes in handy. 

For instance, there may be a point in mediation when the customer refers to something you've said or done previously. But the business agent won't have a firm grasp of what the customer is referring to. 

So, visual assistance allows businesses to better understand customers and the values they attach to them. And then, using this data, companies can work towards customer satisfaction and retention.

5. Capturing Information to Avoid Repeated Interactions

With visual assistance, businesses can more easily capture information like orders, product specifications, etc. In the end, this improves the relationship between the customer and the company. It also reduces repetitive interactions altogether, avoiding non-productive and disrespectful conversations. 

6. Remotely Reaching Out to Customers Across the World

A business may be facing challenges in responding to customers who are spread across the world. Maybe they are not physically close to the company or have any easy access to a phone line. Visual assistance solves this issue better than any other medium. In fact, businesses can relay information to customers who are in remote locations. 

7. Facilitating After Sales/Service/Diagnosis Operations Management

Visual assistance allows a better throughput of customer information and is particularly useful in after-diagnosis operations management. How? Imagine a business claims to have corrected or fixed the issue with the customer, but they are still unhappy. 

In that case, visual assistance can help businesses keep their customers updated on their progress and resolutions. Moreover, the customer can sometimes follow up on the issue's progress and see for themselves how exactly it is being resolved. 

The key is to optimize the entire operation from start to finish while ensuring an immersive support experience. 

Improve Your Relationships with Customers Using SupportGenie's Visual Assistance Solutions

The progressive-minded businesses are appreciating the benefits of visual assistance and using video call platforms to understand their customers better. That way, they have all the means to enhance customer support and further improve the satisfaction levels of all involved.

Foster long-term relationships with your customers by using our live visual assistance/video support solutions.