How to Streamline Customer Support in the Shortest Time — 5 Common Challenges and 6 Solutions

1. Five Challenges in Streamlining Customer Support

To efficiently manage customer support (the contact point for customers), it is first necessary to understand what the problems are. Let's look at five common challenges.

1-1. Overwhelmed by a Flood of Inquiries

When a new product is released or a service experiences trouble, customer inquiries can suddenly increase all at once. In such cases, responses may be delayed, or the quality of answers may decline due to the rush to reply.

For example, on the release day of a new smartphone model, if inquiries flood in saying "I don't know how to use it," and the phone lines are busy or email replies are delayed, customers will become worried, thinking, "Is this company okay?"

1-2. Work Processes Are Dependent on Specific Individuals

"Personalization (Zokujinka)" refers to the situation where tasks become increasingly dependent on specific individuals.

For example, when only a veteran like Mr. A can answer difficult questions... this is such a situation. If Mr. A takes a day off or leaves the company, it causes major confusion. It is necessary to create a system where anyone can respond in the same way.

1-3. Inconsistencies in Responses and Support Content

Even if the same question is asked, if the answers differ depending on the staff member responding... in such cases, customers become confused and wonder, "Which one is correct?"

For example, if someone asks, "Can I return this?" and Staff A answers, "Yes, you can," while Staff B says, "No, you can't," the customer will be troubled. It is important to establish clear rules and procedures so that all staff can respond with the same level of quality.

The three issues mentioned so far are common challenges in customer support settings, but we also often hear about the problem of "being in a situation where inquiries are prone to occur in the first place." For example, cases like the following.

1-4. Manuals and Instruction Guides Are Hard to Find and Understand

Manuals (work procedure documents) and instruction guides are cluttered, making it difficult to quickly find the necessary information… this causes delays.

For example, if a textbook has no table of contents and it takes 10 minutes to find the page you want, that would be frustrating. As a result, customers think, "I don’t understand, so I’ll contact support," leading to a vicious cycle of increased inquiries.

1-5. FAQ is not well developed

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions and Answers) are a convenient tool that allows customers to solve problems on their own. However, if the content is outdated or does not include the truly common questions, it becomes meaningless.

For example, if it is now 2025 and the latest model has been released, but only instructions for the 2020 model are provided... customers will end up contacting support anyway. It is necessary to update regularly and include the information that customers really want to know.

2. Four effects gained from streamlining customer support

What benefits can be gained by streamlining customer support? Let's look at four effects.

2-1. Cost reduction in handling inquiries

By streamlining customer support, you can significantly reduce costs.

In one company, as a result of efforts to improve efficiency, the average time spent handling a single inquiry was reduced by 15 minutes. Additionally, the number of inquiries decreased from 500 to 350 per day, allowing the required staff to be reduced from 20 to 15. This led to a substantial reduction in labor costs.

Cost Reduction Effects

・Average Handling Time: -15 minutes per case
・Number of Inquiries: 500 → 350 per day (▲30%)
・Required Number of Operators: 20 → 15

But this is not simply to reduce staff. The time saved through efficiency improvements is used for staff skill development training, developing new services, and enhancing support quality, thereby leveling up the entire service. It's like using the money you saved to buy something better.

2-2. Improvement of products and services

The information obtained from customer support is very useful for product development and service improvement.

At a certain manufacturing company, by utilizing customer feedback in product development, the number of customer opinions reflected in product improvements increased from 50 to 200 per year. The percentage of products actually improved also significantly rose from 30% to 70%.

Effects of Product and Service Improvements

・Number of customer feedback items reflected: 50 → 200 per year
・Rate of product improvement realization: 30% → 70%

There are also significant effects in the development of new products. Customer support provides essential information needed for product development, such as quickly identifying what customers truly want, clarifying differences from competing (rival) products, and understanding market trends.

By establishing this improvement cycle, you will be able to develop more competitive products and services.

2-3. Enhancement of customer satisfaction

Efficiency improvements have also led to a concrete increase in customer satisfaction.

In terms of response speed, the call connection rate improved from 75% to 95%, and the rate of resolving issues on the first contact increased from 60% to 85%. Additionally, email reply times have been drastically reduced from 24 hours to 4 hours. When waiting times decrease, customers are happier, right?

These improvements have also impacted the quality of support. In customer satisfaction surveys, the score rose from 3.5 to 4.5 out of 5, and the repeat purchase rate (the percentage of customers who buy again) improved from 45% to 65%. Furthermore, the percentage of people who said they would recommend this company to friends increased by 15 points, demonstrating long-term effects as well.

Improvements in Customer Usage

・Connection Rate: 75% → 95%
・First Contact Resolution (FCR): 60% → 85%
・Initial Email Response: 24 hours → 4 hours
・CSAT: 3.5 → 4.5 (out of 5)
・Repeat Rate: 45% → 65%
・Recommendation Intent: +15 points

Through these accumulated improvements, the customer's lifetime value (the amount a single customer spends over their lifetime) has increased by 20%, and complaints have decreased by 40%. Additionally, positive posts on social media have increased, contributing to an improved company image.

2-4. Increase in operator motivation

Staff job satisfaction also increases.

In satisfaction surveys, the score significantly improved from 3.2 to 4.3 out of 5, and the annual turnover rate (the percentage of people leaving their jobs) improved from 25% to 10%. Additionally, the rate of taking paid leave increased from 50% to 80%.

In terms of career development, the percentage of employees obtaining in-house qualifications has increased from 30% to 70%, and the promotion rate to senior positions has also risen from 15% to 25%. The participation rate in skill-up training has reached 90%, ensuring ample opportunities for growth.

In terms of work style, the average monthly overtime hours have decreased from 20 hours to 5 hours, and the rate of taking proper breaks has improved to 95%. The results of stress checks have also improved by 40%, creating a healthier workplace.

Effects of Operator Environment Improvements

・Satisfaction: 3.2 points → 4.3 points (out of 5)
・Turnover rate: 25% → 10%
・Paid leave usage rate: 50% → 80%
・Certification acquisition rate: 30% → 70%
・Overtime: 20 hours/month → 5 hours/month
・Break time usage rate: 95%

These improvements have created a positive cycle where experienced personnel can be secured, knowledge and know-how can be shared, and the overall team performance is enhanced. As a result, the overall quality of support has also improved.

3. Six Solutions to Achieve Customer Support Efficiency

So, what exactly should be done to improve the efficiency of customer support? Here are six methods.

3-1. Automate Responses to Standard Inquiries by Introducing Chatbots

A chatbot is a tool that automatically answers users' questions on PCs or smartphones. When you ask a company a question on LINE and receive an automatic reply, that is a chatbot.

By using this, you can answer customer questions anytime, 24 hours a day. For common questions like "I forgot my password" or "I want to know the delivery status," AI will automatically provide the answers.

It’s fine to start by handling only simple questions and gradually expand the range of inquiries the system can handle. Having a mechanism to connect complex questions to human staff provides peace of mind. Companies that have actually implemented this have been able to respond promptly to inquiries during late nights and holidays, resulting in increased customer satisfaction.

3-2. Implementation of Efficiency Systems (Inquiry Management / FAQ / CRM)

Using convenient systems is essential for efficiently managing customer support.

By using an inquiry management system, you can manage all inquiries in one place. You can immediately see "who responded to this customer, when, and how," which helps prevent missed responses and mistakes like handling the same issue twice.

By linking with an FAQ system, you can use pre-prepared answers for frequently asked questions, eliminating the need to write responses from scratch each time and thereby reducing response time.

When combined with a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, you can provide tailored support by viewing the customer's purchase history and past inquiries. For example, if you know that "this customer had trouble with this product last month," you can offer more precise assistance.

Furthermore, by analyzing the data obtained from these systems, you can understand "which questions are most common" and "which issues are taking the most time." Using this information, you can continuously improve the support system and FAQs.

3-3. Establishment of Operator Training Systems

It is also important to create a system where operators (customer service staff) can be properly trained.

In new employee training, we start with the basics of product knowledge and manners, and through practicing actual inquiry responses (role-playing), they acquire practical skills. It's just like new club members starting with basic training.

Also, by conducting regular refresher training, staff can firmly retain what they have learned. It is effective to learn how to handle difficult inquiries and how to deal with complaints by using real-life cases.

3-4. Creating Manuals for Operators

A clear manual is necessary to smoothly carry out operations. By clarifying the procedure of "if this kind of inquiry comes in, respond like this," anyone can respond with the same quality.

The manual should include not only the basic ways to respond but also various cases and their response examples. Be sure to write detailed instructions on how to use the system and the procedures when cooperation with other departments is required. The idea is similar to a cooking recipe, so that anyone can follow it and produce (respond) the same way.

By reviewing it regularly and adding information about new products and improved procedures, you can always keep it up to date.

3-5. Improving Product Manuals / Instruction Guides for Customers

Product manuals and instruction guides for customers are also extremely important. Avoid using difficult technical terms, and by using plenty of diagrams and photos, anyone can easily understand them. Enhance the table of contents so that users can quickly find the information they want.

In particular, showing the initial setup and basic usage through videos allows users to understand just by watching. It's the same as watching a "How to use 〇〇" video on YouTube to learn.

If you clearly include solutions for troubleshooting, customers will be able to resolve issues on their own.

3-6. Enhancing FAQs (Continuous Improvement Driven by Data)

To create an effective FAQ, it is important to analyze actual inquiry data. By investigating "what questions are frequently asked" and "which issues take a long time to resolve" and adding those to the FAQ, the likelihood that customers can solve problems on their own increases.

Regularly review the content of the FAQ and continuously add information about new products and new solutions. Also, analyze "which pages are frequently viewed" and "what keywords are being searched" to keep improving so that customers can quickly find the information they want.

Achieved a reduction in call center inquiries by improving the usability of the operation manual

Among the customers I have handled in the past, there was a case where organizing manuals and FAQs for operators and making it a habit to refer to them during work successfully reduced the frequency of escalations to supervisors and the workload involved. Even implementing just one of the six solutions introduced here may yield effective results.

4. Consult Human Science for CX Improvement

4-1. Introduction of Services

At Human Science, we offer a variety of services for the customer success department. In particular, we believe that the quality of the content provided by the customer success department is key to achieving customer success. Necessary actions include improving and creating manuals, enhancing FAQs, and producing training content. Attempting to handle these in-house can be costly, and the quality must also be clear and understandable. Human Science has extensive experience in creating clear manuals and e-learning content. We offer the following services.

・Improvement of the quality of manuals and training texts

We propose user manuals, technical documents, help, and FAQs optimized for the customer's environment. Starting with an evaluation of the current manuals, we provide consulting services ranging from establishing multilingual support systems to CMS construction and operation. We can also undertake the production of video manuals.

Human Science | Manual Creation Services

・Production of educational content and support for LMS (Learning Management System) implementation

Similar to manuals, we propose educational content optimized for your environment. Starting with an evaluation of the current content, we also offer LMS optimization and multilingual support.

Human Science | e-Learning Services

・Chatbot Implementation and Construction Support

Many companies are advancing the introduction of chatbots to improve the efficiency of customer support. We propose the chatbot best suited to your environment. We can provide one-stop support from chatbot system implementation assistance to content creation.

Project Achievements

The following are achievements for the Customer Success Department.

WingArc1st Inc.: Content evaluation, improvement consulting, and content production services for the Customer Success Department

We provide a one-stop service for creating easy-to-understand manuals, video manuals, and e-learning content necessary for customer success, so please make use of it.