Throughout my work as a customer-oriented freelance software developer, I work on various SaaS platforms. These are used by people from all over the world—which involves providing support. In this article, I've compiled a list of personal lessons I've drawn from this experience.
By now, I've provided support to dozens, if not hundreds, of different customers. Most support tickets typically came through contact forms.
A support request is usually a question or comment from a (potential) customer. Su ch a question might be about whether something is possible with the system or a request to add something to the SaaS app. A comment could be, for instance, a user encountering a bug or simply giving a compliment!
The following 10 lessons are, by the way, my personal opinions based on my experiences. They help me think customer-oriented about software solutions. You might draw different lessons from it.
1. Know the Ins and Outs of the SaaS App
As a developer on web applications I provide support for, this comes somewhat naturally. Still, it's crucial to know what's possible with the platform—and what isn't.
For example, I've had customers who wanted to enable a certain option in the application, but it didn't work. Because I knew the system well, I understood that some settings needed to be adjusted via a different settings page. For such issues, it's essential to understand the system.
As a software developer, you can also look into the documentation for the system's use cases to gain insight into its functionalities. The web apps I work on also have frontend tests from which I can deduce the steps within the system.
2. No Standard Responses
In my experience, customers appreciate it when they see that your response isn't a standard answer. That's why I prefer typing my response myself rather than copying and pasting from a template. This way, you can potentially adapt to the customer's emotional state.
It takes a bit more time, but it pays off. According to Zendesk, 2 out of 3 customers become returning customers if they feel a company cares about their emotional state.
3. Listen Carefully
Ensure the customer feels heard. Avoid at all costs making a customer repeat themselves! According to Statista, some of the most important aspects of good customer support are:
- Resolving the issue in a single interaction
- Ensuring a customer doesn't have to repeat themselves to every support agent
4. Analyze Frequently Asked Questions
If you notice the same questions being asked repeatedly, you can act on it. You can do this by:
- Adding a frequently asked questions section to the site
- Adding or updating help articles
- Adjusting the UX (user experience) & design of the app to make it more intuitive for customers
A good support ticket system can help analyze and group support tickets with the same questions.
5. Take the Customer Seriously
Take every question and comment from a customer seriously. Sometimes a customer might feel uncertain about a question or comment.
For example, consider a feature request that doesn't fit the system at all. Instead of coldly rejecting it, you can handle it tactfully by asking follow-up questions. Perhaps the customer is trying to achieve something with the system that could be addressed with a different, suitable feature.
6. Be Honest
I've often had to respond to questions by saying something wasn't possible. In such cases, I try to communicate as clearly as possible that the system can't meet the customer's needs. That, too, is customer-oriented.
If a potential customer is still researching whether the offered service of the web application suits them, but it doesn't, I point that out. So far, I've only received friendly and positive responses by doing so. Occasionally, the person returns later when they do have a need for what we offer.
7. Address Every Complaint
In the introduction, I briefly mentioned that a customer might give a compliment. On the flip side, some customers are dissatisfied with the service or have a complaint.
I always take these seriously and try to resolve them as quickly as possible.
What I often notice is that people send messages out of frustration or mild anger. In my responses to such messages, I'm always empathetic and friendly, in an honest way. In my experience, customers then respond kindly in return. This builds a stronger customer relationship.
8. Don't Blindly Refer to Self-Service
Just as I prefer typing emails to customers myself instead of using templates, I also don't just send customers to self-service (help articles, knowledge base, etc.).
Of course, some customer questions can be directly answered by an existing help center article. In that case, I do include a link to the relevant article, but I also provide a brief summary. I explain how the customer can solve their issue. For example, if the customer needs to follow a few steps, I list them again.
By minimizing the steps customers have to take to even get an answer, you increase customer satisfaction.
9. Ask for Feedback
Be critical of yourself as a “support agent” and continually explore how you can improve in that area. For instance, I have customers fill out feedback forms about the support provided (not a review of the SaaS platform itself).
In some conversations, I explicitly ask for it at the end, but often I include a link in email footers to rate the support.
10. Take Your Time
No, I don't mean “that support ticket can wait,” but rather be patient and ensure a thorough solution. It's important to track how much time you spend on support tickets and provide a quick response, but don't lose sight of the quality of support. In practice, you'll need to balance this. But never cut a customer off.
Conclusion: Be Customer-Oriented
As a software developer, I find responding to support requests not only interesting but also important. It gives you, as a developer, insight into how customers use the system and how the user experience is perceived. Are there features that are hard to use, or should new ones be added because there's a lot of demand for them?
Many studies on the impact of good customer support are published. It's definitely worth reading them.
On the Customer Relations page, you can read more about my experiences regarding my customer-oriented approach as a software developer.
