Your IT department just received the computer equipment list for the new facility, which is scheduled to go live in a couple of months. As you scan the list, you realize there is no way your three-person team will need to know the ins and outs of the new hardware and software by opening day. You also suspect there will be additional issues when the facility's computer networks try to integrate with your company's current one
Fortunately, there's a way to avoid this brewing headache: capable tech support from your equipment supplier. Today's article addresses what technical support is and why it's crucial. The article then rounds up with what to look for in good technical support from any company you deal with.
What is Tech Support
Technical or tech support is a form of service provided by product-centric companies to purchasers of their products. "Service" is usually in the form of technical assistance or advice and ranges from resolving login errors to successfully installing new hardware and software.
Tech support is different from customer support. The latter also called the help desk, is set up to resolve fundamental questions and issues on your product or to deal with "break/fix" problems. "Where is my new rugged industrial tablet," "Why do I have to pay extra for that feature," and "Where do I insert a CD into my enterprise computer again" are just a few of the requests dealt with by the customer support/help desk. Most are handled over the phone, chatbots, or remotely accessing the purchaser's device.
Tech support handles the technical problems with the company's product. These require high degrees of technical expertise and experience to resolve. The login errors and installation issues mentioned earlier are common challenges. Others include connectivity problems, network conflicts, and recovery of deleted files. Issues that the help desk can't deal with are usually escalated to tech support to deal with as well.
Tech support, like customer support, handles customer issues via the phone, chatbots, or through remote access. Technicians may also be sent to the customer's location for complex problems.
Support levels are another difference between customer and tech support. Customer support usually has two: the customer service agent and the customer support manager. Tech support varies and can be as high as five support levels or tiers.
- The Pre-support level includes search engine results, online forums, social media, and website comments.
- Self-service like self-help wikis, Frequently Asked Questions or FAQs, tech support links on the homepage, and knowledge databases.
- Tier 1 is essential technical support, which may include issues from customer support.
- Tier 2 which deals with complex issues like file recovery.
- Tier 3 is the highest tier, which may involve subject matter experts like product engineers who work directly with the product in question.
Importance of Tech Support
Businesses, from small and medium-sized to Fortune 500 companies, offer and use tech support. The service especially plays a vital role in the effective use of technology.
A solid tech support team can bring:
- Good customer relationships could lead to higher ratings on sites like Yelp.
- Greater profitability as happier customers will be more likely to continue buying your products and services.
- Provide various methods to address consistent bugs and issues in your products, which can assist your company's R&D in developing upgrades and future products.
- Offer ways to upsell and cross-sell company products like upgrades or higher service tiers.
Without adequate tech support, businesses suffer:
- They endure longer and more frequent system downtime.
- Systems needing to be updated, i.e., legacy devices.
- Greater vulnerability to cyberattacks.
- Lack of productivity while offline.
- They have to deal with the high cost of reactive maintenance or only deal with devices after they've broken down.
- Suffer payment loss in time and money for loss of service or data.
What to Look for In Excellent Tech Support
Good tech support can bring assurance and peace of mind if an issue arises. Even when the product works flawlessly, tech support can offer other services like software updates or additional training.
Buyers of a product should always review the original manufacturer's support for it. So, what should you look for in excellent tech support?
- Easy-to-find contact information. Is the tech support information on the product, packaging, and company site apparent? Means of contact should include phone numbers and email addresses at a minimum.
- Hours of operations. At the very least, someone should be available during your business's hours of operation. If you must reach someone after-hours, you should be notified of a response time (e.g., within 24-48 hours).
- Support material. As mentioned above, tech support usually comes in numerous levels. Lower ones provide lots of on-site information to aid users, like forums, PDFs, and how-to videos. They may help you and your IT team resolve the issues without speaking directly with a representative.
- Product experts. When you finally have to contact tech support, the technician(s) should be knowledgeable enough about the product to resolve your issue.
- Have a calm, courteous, and polite staff. It is vital as you may be under stress caused by the original manufacturer's product (e.g., shut down your entire network).
It should be noted that some manufacturers may outsource or use a third-party company to provide their tech support. How this affects you may vary. The third party may not be as familiar with the product as the manufacturer's technical personnel, and there may also be a language barrier.
Unfortunately, you may not learn about these crucial differences until you've purchased the product and made your first call to tech support. Discuss them during the purchasing stage if they may affect your business practices.
Resolve Issues with Cybernet Manufacturing Tech Support
Tech support is a service companies provide to help customers get the most out of their products. Unlike customer support, tech support primarily focuses on the technical aspects of a product, like resolving login issues.
Contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing about our on-site tech support. Learn how they and our engineers work hard to ensure your satisfaction with our products. We also provide online resources like a media library and knowledge base as part of our desire to offer the best customer experience.
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