In all relationships, issues can arise. The key to solving those issues is to have a clear understanding of the issue itself. For instance, when a customer reports an issue it is critical to listen to the customer with patience and empathy so that they feel understood, and to assure them that they will receive assistance promptly. Furthermore, product issues can present themselves in various forms of complexities. It requires a great deal of technical expertise to determine the root cause of the issue and to provide a fitting solution. 

Effective communication is one of the most important aspects of customer service. When a customer reports a problem, it usually starts with a support case. Depending on the nature and severity of the problem, it is essential to determine the best channel of communication to effectively resolve the issue in a timely manner. Certain issues can be easily solved by sending the customer the required steps over email. Some may require additional guidance in-person, over the phone or video call to ensure that the right solution is implemented to resolve the issue.

The customer support lifecycle:

Understanding the issue:  Effective troubleshooting of a problem starts when the issue is reported. The quality and completeness of the initial data collected has a very significant impact on the rate at which the issue can be resolved. 

Example: When did the customer start experiencing the issue? What is their current software version? Any modifications to the environment? As all the required details are gathered it is critical to document all the data including the available tools they are using. 

Technical expertise: Having the required research skills, technical expertise and product knowledge is essential to one’s ability to successfully understand and determine the root cause of an issue. Determining the root cause of a problem will assist in finding the best-suited solution. Escalating the issues to the relevant team and getting a subject matter expert involved at the right time ensures that the issues are resolved in a timely manner and reduces any potential down time for the customer. This also helps in maintaining a positive relationship with the customer and prevents the issue from escalating further.

Constant Communication: It is important to maintain a constant communication with the customer throughout the troubleshooting process until the issue is fully resolved. This ensures that the customer receives constant updates and it also helps the team gather any additional information as needed to successfully resolve the issue.

Coordination: In most cases, there are multiple teams working diligently with the customer to ensure they are able to get value out of the product. Each of these teams (Sales, Customer Success, Support, etc.) have valuable feedback from the customer as they are meeting with them on a regular basis. Effective communication between the internal teams ensures that the customer’s feedback is valued and the appropriate actions are taken. Working together with excellent coordination ensures that critical issues are resolved effectively and efficiently. It can also help in preventing future issues from becoming critical escalations.

Setting Expectations:  Providing all the necessary details and setting clear expectations with the customer throughout the troubleshooting process maintains a positive level of trust and understanding, especially if the issue is complex in nature and may require some extra time to resolve.

Follow-up: It is always a good practice to follow-up with the customer once the issue is resolved to ensure that they are fully satisfied with the resolution and there are no outstanding issues. This also shows that the team genuinely cares about the customer and their success.

At ThreatQuotient we immensely value our customers and will do whatever it takes to ensure they are able to take full advantage of the ThreatQ Platform and its features. Using these guidelines has helped us solve critical issues while maintaining an excellent Time to Resolution rate.  To see our latest customer success story from Sysdig, you can read it here.