Senior people add up to about 9% of the entire world population. Like everyone else, they like to stay connected and implement the latest technology into their everyday lives. 73% of those aged 65 and older are active internet users. About 53% own a mobile phone. Like everyone else, they can come across technical issues and may require talking to a customer support team.
The difference is — they may need additional explanations, more time to process the information given to them, or even everything to be done for them with the help of co-browsing or screen sharing tools.
What are the best practices for providing support for the senior customers?
In this article, we'll cover:
Support for the Senior Customers: Best Practices
Adjust Your Tone of Voice
73% of customers say friendly support representatives are the reason they turn loyal to a brand. Senior customers, on the other hand, are more likely to expect support representatives to be more formal in their communication. A support team can show respect towards the elderly customers by:
- Implementing active listening techniques.
- Speaking slower or louder if needed.
- Using formal titles (Mr. and Ms).
- Remaining patient, not rushing the customer
Senior customers might have different expectations and habits when it comes to customer service and support. Satisfying and acting in accordance with them will elevate their satisfaction level and help provide a better service.
Jot Down a Summary of the Resolution
In our experience, senior customers tend to come back with the same inquiries more often. Making a note with clear instructions for them would be a good practice. It will help them figure out the process on their own and solve their problem faster without reaching out to the support team.
Sending an additional explanation of the problem’s solution to their email will ensure they have everything they need, should they face the same issue all over again. Just make sure a customer knows how to use their email and warn them about the upcoming letter beforehand.
Implement the Best Communication Techniques
Support teams need to make sure they implement the best and special communication techniques while talking to senior customers and helping them resolve their issues.
Among the best approaches are:
- Talking slower and a little louder than usual (if required).
- Providing the most detailed answers.
- Using the simple, slang-free language and adapting your vocabulary and terms for the customers who are less tech-savvy.
- Leveraging video calls and co-browsing.
- Being flexible and adapting the conversation towards their pace and style of the conversation.
These techniques will make conversation with the senior customers pleasant and helpful.
Be Patient
Patience is a virtue. More so when it comes to communicating with senior customers. They might need repetition and longer and more detailed explanations. They may call several times in regard to the same issue, as well as get overwhelmed by the amount of the information given to them. Being patient and providing a consistent quality of service is the best approach to communication with senior customers.
SupportYourApp and Senior Customers: Best Practices and Approaches
SupportYourApp provides Support as a Service services to more than 180 tech businesses around the globe. Some of these companies have senior customers as their primary target audience. This means our support teams communicate with 60+ customers almost on a regular basis.
What are the most common issues our support teams face, and how do we deal with them to ensure the highest customer satisfaction?
1. 💻 Supported software doesn’t work properly
One of our clients is a B2C photo editing platform that requires customer’s soft- and hardware to be up to standard. Sometimes, senior customers might not know how to reach said standards to utilize the entire scope of software functionality.
SupportYourApp standard practice here is to connect with customers via screen-sharing software. This allows our teams to:
- Resolve minor bugs.
- Install additional plugins or software drivers if needed.
- Clear cache and make sure everything runs smoothly.
Our customer-centric approach makes sure we do everything needed for customers to be satisfied and get the service they need, even if it means fixing something beyond the software we support.
2. 🔄 Software or data need to be transferred from one device to another
Everyone knows how frustrating transferring data from one device to another is. It might be even more frustrating for senior customers.
Our team offers the customers special written scripts that describe the issue’s solution. It also comes in handy if the issue repeats itself. This way, a customer does not need to call the support team every time they are confused and can come back to the explanation whenever needed.
A good tone here is to note the customers who have received any of the instructions and follow them up in case any changes occur. This will better display a customer-centric approach and make sure the customer satisfaction KPI grows.
3. 🖥 A customer does not want to provide a consultant with access to their machine
Screen-sharing is often the only way a support team can make sure a customer gets the most out of the software they use. Giving a support consultant access to their machine might not be the most comfortable solution. Sometimes, they even refuse the support team the access, thus either prolonging the time of the resolution process or hindering it altogether.
In this situation, all our training comes together. Our primary task is to ensure a customer feels respected, heard and gets the help they need fast. We can offer a customer a video recording of the resolution process performed by one of our consultants on their own machine. We can offer text resolutions. No matter what, we stay patient and listen to a customer as long as needed.
Our teams know how and what to listen to, which helps us deliver the best service to customers in different age groups. They know how to adjust their communication style to customers from different segments and with different needs.
💛 Providing customer service and support for senior customers requires segmentation and deep understanding of the group’s communication specifics. Staying patient, adapting to their pace of speech, and making sure everyone is completely comfortable are the keys to a perfect communication flow with the senior customers.
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Anna started out in financial markets, diving into daily research on bonds and stocks. A passionate reader with a love for historical literature and international cuisine, she’s now all about mastering customer communication. She writes in-depth about customer support, backed by extensive research, and has become an expert on the topic.
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