5 Things to Help Improve Remote Support Experience for Your Customers

As a managed services provider (MSP), you likely are focused on matters of efficiency and productivity when it comes to your technicians. However, it’s equally important to prioritize customer service to keep your customers happy. Ensuring high-quality remote support will go a long way in making customers’ lives easier. This demonstrates dependability, increases customer satisfaction, and encourages customer loyalty for your MSP. The following practices can help you give customers consistently exceptional remote support experiences.

What is a remote support session?

Remote support is defined as a type of customer support service that allows IT support engineers and technicians to access an end user’s computer remotely. Remote support sessions can be set up a number of ways. For example, MSPs might provide the customer with initial instructions detailing how to enable screen sharing. Alternatively, technicians can use remote support software to take remote control of customers’ computers.

The risks of enabling remote support

There are numerous benefits associated with remote support, including improved efficiency, cost-effectiveness, the ability to work from home and after hours, reduced environmental impact, rapid response, and much more. There are, however, a number of risks that MSPs should also consider. Because remote access involves establishing a remote connection between customer computers and technician accounts, it’s possible bad actors could use these openings to try to gain entry to your system and wreak havoc.

Although the benefits of remote support software tend to outweigh the risks, MSPs should be sure to take advantage of remote support tools that have strong security features in place to mitigate these risks. For example, ineffective remote management might involve using a tool that does not encrypt data. Encrypted data is standard electronic data that has been converted into ciphertext. This ciphertext is extremely difficult for unauthorized parties to understand, which significantly reduces the likelihood of data theft occurring. If bad actors gain access to data that hasn’t been encrypted, on the other hand, it is significantly easier for them to exploit said data for their own malicious purposes.

As an MSP, the higher risk of data breach associated with remote support practices can expose your business to legal liabilities. Fortunately, with the right remote support software you can deliver streamlined and dependable remote support without compromising your security—or your customers’ support experience.

Improving your customer’s remote support experience

In a separate article, we discuss some of the top tips to ensure you’re still prioritizing top-notch security while delivering remote support. As we mentioned, however, there’s more to remote support than just keeping your customers secure. Here are the top five things you can do to ensure you’re delivering high quality service while offering remote support to your customers. Remember that the aim is to keep the process as efficient, simple, and stress free as possible.

1. Document all calls

It is key you maintain organized records of every interaction you have had with each customer. If a customer returns to you with a second support query, recalling what you or another technician assisted them with previously could be crucial to rooting out the issue and saving time. Ensure all notes are dated and thorough.

2. Stay consistent

In all likelihood, you will support each of your end users multiple times. In fact, you may start to recognize the names of customers who repeatedly emerge in your ticket queue. As such, staying consistent in your approach will demonstrate professionalism and inspire confidence in your customers. This will go a long way when it comes to customer loyalty, satisfaction, and brand reputation.

3. Use a reliable connection 

When an end user on a remote session is relying on a poor internet connection, it can be extremely frustrating—and often impedes your ability to provide good service. The same is true in reverse, and customers will expect you to maintain a reliable internet connection. If you don’t, you will certainly look unprofessional and will most likely waste your customers’ time. 

4. Make sure your hands are free

If you’re trying to balance your mobile device between your shoulder and ear, your job will be a lot harder. Ensure all your technicians are using a headset to make remote sessions as easy as possible for them. This may seem obvious, but it will allow technicians to focus on the issue at hand rather than be distracted by elements of their physical environment.

5. Find the right remote support software

This is the most important thing you can do to improve the remote support experience for your customers—not to mention your technicians. With the right tools, all your remote support operations become significantly easier.

Identifying the right remote support tool for your MSP

N‑able^® Take Control is a remote IT support software solution designed for MSPs, which means it was built with customer service in mind. This tool can streamline the customer experience, scale with your business, and offer an intuitive solution for your technicians.

Take Control delivers rapid connection speeds and precise diagnostic tools, allowing your technicians to solve customer issues as quickly as possible. One of the major benefits of Take Control is that it is preconfigured, allowing you to get started straight away—but it also offers you the flexibility of reconfiguring it to meet your specific needs. You can configure workflows and customize reports to suit you, because we understand that every MSP’s needs are different based on the customers they serve.

Beyond being designed specifically for them, Take Control is a favorite among MSPs because it uses advanced encryption protocols to keep your data safe. It is also brandable, meaning it allows you to put your company’s thumbprint on everything, like reports, automated emails, post-session values, and more. This helps reinforce your value as you deliver exceptional service and ensures that your customers are keeping your brand top-of-mind throughout. To learn more, access a 90-day free trial of Take Control here.