Great Customer Support is a Team Sport: Chatting Big League CS/CX with The Athletic

In the ever-evolving world of customer support, staying ahead of the curve is paramount — especially with loyal fans of your company.  That’s why it was my pleasure to chat with Andrew Fennell, a CS industry expert who is currently the Customer Support Manager at The Athletic — a sports media company that was acquired by The New York Times. He was the company's 8th hire and has worn many hats during his 6+ years with the organization. We share in Andrew’s leadership ethos where he’s fostered an organization that places customer-support front and center. HiOp is proud to be part of his strategy.

Our discussion provided invaluable insights into the changing landscape of customer service and the transformative power of technology. We focused on balancing efficiency and quality, embracing technology, as well as fostering a customer-centric ethos within organizations.

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Balancing Efficiency and Quality: A Delicate Act

Efficiency and quality are the two pillars that support exceptional customer service. Andrew's journey and experience shed light on how to balance these two aspects, especially as businesses scale. This is a crossroads that every great CS leader encounters. As customer queries increase, more tickets must be handled swiftly and effectively. Yet, it's crucial not to compromise the quality of support for the sake of efficiency. Providing top-tier customer care is what defines your brand and retains loyal customers.

But how can organizations find this balance? Embracing technology is key for scaling personalized support. 

Andrew emphasized this point during our conversation, as he noted that technology plays a key role in modern customer support. Leveraging the right tools and technology can significantly elevate the quality and efficiency of support operations.

Here are a few points that Andrew made about how any CX/CS team can effectively implement technology in customer support processes:

1. Maximizing Existing Tools: Start by optimizing the tools you already have. Many organizations underutilize the capabilities of their existing customer support platforms. Platforms like Zendesk offer features like if-then statements on request forms, which can help you better understand customer issues.

2. Collaboration with Engineering and Product Management: Building strong relationships with your engineering and product management teams is essential. Ensure they understand the importance of aligning their efforts with the needs of customer support. This alignment helps prioritize and implement features that enhance the customer experience.

3. Democratizing Technology Access: The real transformation occurs when you democratize access to technology within your organization. Empower your non-technical team members to implement essential tools and features efficiently. This streamlines processes, reduces response times, and enhances the overall quality of customer support.

Andrew highlighted that democratizing access to technology is where the most transformational changes can occur. With the right tools and an easy-to-use approach, you can empower your support team to implement essential tools and features more efficiently, reducing the need for extensive coding or engineering efforts.

Cultivating a Customer Support-Centric Culture

Another critical aspect of our conversation revolved around the significance of cultivating a customer support-centric culture within an organization. This ethos is essential for maintaining a customer-centric approach and advocating for the customer's needs, even when faced with competing business priorities.

Andrew emphasized that being the "bad cop" internally is sometimes necessary when advocating for customers, especially when it comes to emphasizing customer needs that may challenge business interests. However, by maintaining a customer-centric ethos, he ensures that the customer's voice is always heard and acted upon.

Here's how you can foster a culture that prioritizes customer support excellence:

1. Empathy and Advocacy: Encourage and empower your team to advocate for customers within the organization. Sometimes, this means being the voice of the customer and pushing for necessary changes, even when it might meet resistance from other departments. This mindset can be the driving force behind all your support efforts.

2. Communication and Collaboration: Foster open lines of communication with other departments, especially engineering and product management. Encourage a culture of collaboration and ensure that everyone understands how critical their role is in delivering excellent customer support.

3. Empower with Technology: After you position your customer support team as customer advocates, empower them with data to back up their requests. When everyone in the company sees customer support as a department that brings unique, data-driven insights into the organization, it becomes easier to rally the company around delivering outstanding customer experiences.

‍The Future of Customer Support: AI and Chatbots

Our conversation naturally led to a discussion about the future of customer support, where AI, chatbots, and generative AI are poised to revolutionize the landscape. These technologies offer immense potential for efficiency and improved customer experiences.

Automation and generative AI are not just table stakes; they are game-changers that will redefine customer support in the coming years. The ability to provide faster, more accurate responses, and the ability to enhance the capabilities of support agents makes these technologies invaluable for businesses of all sizes.

We both agreed that harnessing AI in various ways to help CX/CS teams excel. Some examples include:

1. Understanding Customer Queries: AI can analyze and understand customer inquiries before a human agent reviews them. This can lead to faster response times and more accurate solutions.

2. Proactive Responses: AI can surface answers to customer queries and streamline the support process, providing immediate — and even fully automated — assistance.

3. Enhancing Agent Interactions: For technical agents who may lack strong people skills, AI can help improve their communication by generating empathetic responses. This ensures that customer interactions remain positive and meaningful.

It's clear that balancing efficiency and quality, integrating technology effectively, and fostering a customer support-centric culture are essential for success. Andrew’s insights underscore the significance of maintaining a strong ethos of customer support excellence within your organization.