Insights & Updates

The HelpSpot Blog

Changing Your Customer Support Procedures as Your Business Grows

When companies experience growth, especially rapid growth, it is the customer service segment that often has trouble keeping pace. You are so focused on expansion that you lose sight of what got you here -- servicing and wowing your customers. It was once easy to respond to customers at a lightning-fast pace. Now, you’re embarrassed to admit it could be days, if not a string of days, before you get around to hitting reply on a customer inquiry. Something has got to change.

Nov 1, 2016 Read more

4 Types of Customers and How to Serve Them

In this article, we cover a few types of customers you’ll come across, with tips on how to engage with them.

Oct 25, 2016 Read more

Hold, Please: Managing Your Customer Service Wait Time

No one likes being placed on hold. Consumers wants quick, uncomplicated answers, but holds happen. As a business obsessed with delivering delightful customer service, how can you create a pleasant hold experience for your customers? One that gives you the time you need to properly handle their request, but doesn’t make them feel put off or like they’re being herded around like cattle?

Oct 18, 2016 Read more

The Dos and Don’ts of Chatting with Customers

By following these tips, you can help avoid awkward situations while providing enjoyable and personable experiences to your customers.

Oct 11, 2016 Read more

The Importance of Customer Contact

In honor of Customer Service Week, we are asking you to look at how often you communicate with customers and to question whether it’s enough. Are you being a responsive company that cares about your customers’ needs, or are you the friend they only hear from when you need a ride to the airport?

Oct 4, 2016 Read more

Believe It or Not: The Customer Service Industry Is Growing

Today’s customer service professionals are not only in demand, they’re demanding respect. As more and more organizations rely on service representatives to build satisfaction and increase retention, customer service has transitioned from a thankless job to one rich with opportunity.

Sep 20, 2016 Read more

Act It Out: Customer Service Training Ideas Inspired by Acting Class

It so happens that customer service and acting have a lot in common. Today, we invite you to check out some acting practices and standards that can help you build a powerful and highly effective customer service team.

Aug 23, 2016 Read more

How to Create Realistic Customer Service Guidelines

Have you armed your team with the customer service guidelines they need to be successful, or have you left them flying without a net? In today’s post, we look at how to create realistic customer service guidelines that provide procedure and support for your team.

Aug 9, 2016 Read more

Customer Support by Email: Dos and Don’ts

Customer service through email is critical today, especially as the cost to acquire a new customer is much more expensive than the cost to retain a customer. We dig into some key email dos and don'ts.

Jul 26, 2016 Read more

The Relationship Between Service & Upsell Opportunities

How and when you upsell is critical, especially when it comes to merging customer service conversations with upsell opportunities.

Jun 28, 2016 Read more

5 Phrases Every Customer Service Rep Should Know (and Use)

To build trust with customers, arm your team with these key customer service phrases they should remember on a daily basis.

Jun 21, 2016 Read more

How To Effectively Survey Your Customers

Your customer survey only works if it’s written well, people complete it, and you learn something from it. We’ll cover those points today.

Jun 14, 2016 Read more

How To Measure Customer Service

How do you assess your customer service efforts? There’s no perfect science, but we have a few ideas to help evaluate if your service is driving new and repeat business, along with long-term engagement and brand awareness.

Jun 7, 2016 Read more

Cut Support Requests in Half by Optimizing Navigation in Your SaaS App

An increased amount of support requests, especially repeating ones, is a big warning sign that you need to pay attention to your UI/UX.

Jun 7, 2016 Read more

Understanding “Tone” & Its Impact On Conversations

In today’s post, we cover what tone is, why it’s so important, and how tone can dramatically shift how a conversation proceeds and a message is received.

May 31, 2016 Read more

5 Little Apps For Better Customer Service

If you've been working in customer service for a while you have probably found a few go-to apps that make your day easier. Today, I'll highlight a few apps that I've found especially helpful!

May 23, 2016 Read more

Who Are You Supporting? Defining Buyer Personas

Understanding buyer personas, and being able to quickly identify which segments new customers fall into, is critical to offering the right product or service to them. It’s a key part of the initial sale. It’s also incredibly helpful for customer support, as well.

May 17, 2016 Read more

The Big “S”: Adapting to Stress in Customer Support

As a customer service and support professional, stress is part of your job description. Let's look at the origins of stress and how you can adapt in the workplace.

May 10, 2016 Read more

From Complaining Customer to Loyal Customer

No, getting a complaint doesn’t feel all that great. But complaints have tremendous value. The actions you take in response to a complaint can be the building blocks of a long-term relationship. Here's how.

May 10, 2016 Read more

Meaner Behind A Screen: Exploring Customer Behavior In-Person and Online

Today, we’ll review some thoughts behind why people are “meaner” on the Internet - and what it means for your customer service efforts.

May 3, 2016 Read more

3 Ways to Personalize Your Customer’s HelpSpot Experience

Adding a personal touch to your support experiences is extremely important. Personalization can make your customers feel extra cared for and supported.

May 2, 2016 Read more

The Top Personality Traits for Successful Customer Service Associates

Building a reputation for great customer support requires having employees who reflect the key characteristics necessary to be excellent customer service associates.

Apr 26, 2016 Read more

The Preferred Methods of Customer Interaction: Survey Results

In a previous post, we sought to answer the questions on how people felt about the use of various automated, digital and traditional customer service mechanisms. We asked a few questions recently, and you answered. Here are the results.

Apr 19, 2016 Read more

Don’t Wait For The Complaint: Proactive Customer Service

Providing a great customer service experience doesn’t just start when you pick up the phone to answer a client question, or when you respond to a live chat message. It’s proactive. How?

Apr 12, 2016 Read more

Good, Great, Excellent and Exceptional… And The Emotions They Evoke

Let's talk words today. Consider if you asked "What does great customer service mean?" to fifteen people you know. Fifteen of your customers.

Mar 29, 2016 Read more

A Guide to Support Ticket Categorization

Categories are the basic building blocks used to organize your help desk. Choosing the wrong categorization strategy will have repercussions throughout your help desk, from inefficiencies in assigning requests to inability to accurately report on the types of requests you’re receiving.

Jan 20, 2015 Read more

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