In a Zendesk report, 60% of business leaders revealed that good customer service is critical to customer retention. Regardless of your sector, that’s what every business wants: more and more customers to stay loyal.
It’s not just the business leaders who think customer experience is essential. 88% of consumers also believe that customer support is just as mandatory as a company’s product or service. As a business, it’s on you to honor your customers’ needs.
The most integral of them seems to be a positive experience. For you to provide exceptional service to your customers, you need a Business ISP (Internet Service Provider) that does the same for you. The better an ISP’s customer service is, the more reliable they are. We explain how an ISP with outstanding customer service can change the game for any California business.
Why Consider Customer Service When Choosing a Business ISP
Mainly because you’ll need it. Every business does.
But there’s more to customer service than just necessity. Let’s look at some reasons you need to choose a business ISP with a top-notch support team.
Resolving Technical Issues
The Internet is a technical subject, especially business connectivity. When subscribing to an ISP, you’ll likely encounter technical issues every so often.
Examples of these issues include:
- Slow connection speeds
- Network outages
- Hardware malfunctions
Depending on the nature and severity of the problem, it could cause significant disruptions to your business operations.
If you work with a business ISP with poor customer service, you might experience delays and challenges in resolving these issues. What does that mean? Prolonged downtimes and monetary losses.
On the other hand, an ISP with swift and responsive customer support will address technical problems in no time. Even better, they’ll try their best to prevent them in the first place.
Ensuring Seamless Communication
A residential Internet user doesn’t typically speak to their ISP on a regular basis. That’s not how it is with businesses. Organizations may have to communicate with their ISPs frequently for various reasons.
For instance, you may need to upgrade or downgrade your subscription plan. Or maybe you’re moving to a new location and need to transfer services. Can you imagine the frustration of implementing these changes if the ISP has unresponsive or painfully slow customer service?
A business ISP with a stellar support staff will make these transitions a breeze for you. The best part is that good customer support usually comes with multichannel communication. So, you can get in touch with the support team through email, chat, call, in-person, or social media.
Take GeoLinks as an example. Our customers can call us to speak to a real person immediately whenever they need assistance. Have a non-urgent matter to discuss? You can also submit a ticket, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. You can contact us through LinkedIn and Facebook, too.
Keeping Your Business Running Smoothly
One of the most important things for every business is smooth operations. In today’s digitized world, the Internet has become a prerequisite for ensuring that.
Suppose you’re an online store. There’s a sudden Internet outage, and your ISP’s support team is MIA. How does that affect you?
- You won’t be able to respond to support queries you get from your own customers throughout the day. Delayed customer support is known to frustrate clients and turn them away.
- You’ll miss important emails from suppliers or partners that need to be addressed urgently. Imagine losing a critical supplier due to delayed responses. It’s not just a monetary loss but also a reputational one.
- You won’t be able to process any online orders, leading to a loss of sales and potential revenue. In some cases, this can also result in unhappy customers and bad reviews.
All of this could be avoided by selecting a business ISP that focuses on customer support. Such a service provider will have dedicated technical support teams that can quickly respond to outages. Additionally, they will also have reliable backup mechanisms to ensure minimum disruption to your business operations.
Again, GeoLinks is at par in this regard. With an uptime of up to 99.999%, you can enjoy seamless business connectivity and operationality. The fixed wireless Internet from GeoLinks, ClearFiber™, also comes with unlimited bandwidth and speeds reaching 10 Gbps.
Customer-centric Innovation
An ISP with good customer service will likely be committed to innovation. After all, they want their clients to have the best experience. What better way to provide a better experience than by constantly improving their services?
Every other day, we hear about new advancements in Internet technology, be it fiber optics or 5G networks. When you have a customer-centric ISP, you can expect them to be on top of these trends. That means your business won’t be the last to hop on the bandwagon. You’ll remain competitive in your industry and enjoy all the benefits that come with staying up-to-date in technology.
Speaking of advancements, GeoLinks received the Central Coast Innovation Award for the ”Most Disruptive Technology” in 2018 and 2023. Combine that with our industry-leading Service Level Agreement, and you can be sure that your business will always have the latest, most reliable technology at its disposal.
Customer Support Features to Look For in a Business ISP
When you’re in the market for a business ISP, it’s important that you understand your unique customer service needs so that you can find a provider that matches them. Some of the features to consider include the following.
Multichannel Availability
In its Global State of Customer Service survey, Microsoft found that 57% of customers view brands providing customer support through social media more favorably. Consumers are also increasingly liking the idea of self-service customer support and chatbots.
Now that customer service is no longer limited to phone calls, you should select a business ISP that is not stuck in the dark ages regarding communication channels. Make sure you can reach them through multiple channels, from phone support to email.
Real-Time Support
24/7/365 availability is a must for businesses these days. You can’t afford to wait until the next business day if your Internet goes down at midnight.
Let’s say you’re a healthcare facility. You don’t follow the 9 to 5 schedule. So, you need uninterrupted Internet connectivity for electronic medical records and appointment scheduling.
Even if you’re a retailer, you need to be connected at all times. Your business itself will have a customer support team that must be available 24/7 for your customers. How will you ensure this availability without the Internet?
An ISP with real-time customer support will have a team ready to assist you, irrespective of time and day. That’s precisely what a modern business needs.
Self-Service Options
Sometimes, you don’t have to get on an hour-long call to resolve an issue. The troubleshooting tips suffice. But that’s only if these tips are readily available.
A good business ISP will have an extensive knowledge base on their website, complete with step-by-step guides and videos to help you fix common issues.
Positive Reviews
If an ISP’s past or current clients have had good experiences with them, it’s likely that you will too. Before signing up with an ISP, check out their reviews on reputable websites like Trustpilot or Google Reviews. Look for comments that mention customer support specifically and see if others were satisfied with the service provided.
You may check the ISP’s website for reviews, too. But most of these are handpicked and only show the positive side of the company. So they won’t show you the complete picture.
Many ISPs also provide case studies or testimonials from their satisfied customers. These are beneficial because, in addition to the feedback, they also give you insights into the ISP’s support procedure. You can also ask for recommendations from other businesses in your area or industry. They likely have similar Internet needs and can provide valuable insight into their experience with different ISPs.
Invest in a Customer-Centric Business ISP
Customer support has become the defining feature of reputable companies today. Many businesses require good customer support from their vendors and service providers to provide further reliable assistance to their customers.
Your ISP is one such service provider. Don’t overlook the importance of customer experience in your decision-making process. The better an ISP’s customer support is, the more connected you will be. Plus, you won’t have to worry about frequent disconnects or slow internet speeds.
Choosing a business ISP like GeoLinks, with award-winning in-house customer support, can take your business to the next level. Get started today.
