There’s no question the gaming industry is huge
But if you’re part of the gaming world, you also are probably aware of how difficult it can be to appease the gaming audience by keeping your product and customer service high in quality. Here are some of the most common problems companies in the gaming industry face that stand in the way of business growth, and customer service tips for fixing them.
Either way, there’s likely room for improvement, and 2019 could be the best time to make some changes that can make a big difference. Here are a few questions to ask yourself, to find out where your weak areas are so you can start strengthening them.
What are the biggest problems in the gaming industry?
Impatient customers
When gamers get in their zone, they want to play – now. If they run into a product issue, they’re not only going to be unhappy, but they’ll also likely be extremely impatient. There’s no time to wait on hold or search the Internet to find a fix. To deliver the right kind of customer support for this unique group, and keep them from reaching peak levels of distress, start by building knowledge bases that offer self-service options. Make sure all troubleshooting ideas are easy to find on your site and span a wide range of common issues.
But in addition to this, it’s imperative you have 24/7 live customer service. There are always going to be product problems that require human insight and help, and you need to be sure you can offer your customers the promise of instant help for the times when self-service isn’t doing the trick.
Atypical communication channels
While most consumers spend a significant amount of time on social media, posting Yelp! reviews or firing off emails or phone calls when they face a problem, gamers aren’t always cut from this same cloth. In general, the gaming crowd flocks more frequently to forums that are either system-focused or game-focused. These chat rooms are where they often complain about problems, look for answers, and share insights.
So to better reach your users, your business needs to have a presence in these forums. You can’t wait for customers to contact you; rather, your team must be trained in where to go and how to find customers that are in need of help. And one of the best things about the gaming community is that it can actually be quite self-sustainable if forums are accurately tracked and user involvement in solving issues is rewarded. Start by going where your gamers are.
Shifting service needs
It’s likely your company pays close attention to how your games and products are being reviewed by customers and talked about online. But are you doing enough to measure customer satisfaction after each interaction with them? If you’re like most gaming companies, you might not be.
At Conectys, we introduce CSAT in customer service to our gaming clients, which can help measure customer impressions and track whether the gaming fans are happy with the company and product. We also measure NPS instantly after each interaction, producing highly actionable insight that can boost customer service and development as well. After all, the decision to recommend a product to a friend is often backed by several criteria, which users will express when they submit NPS answers. If you’re missing systems like this, your feedback loop isn’t maximized for optimal customer service.
Technically complex and/or specific subject matter
Finally, it’s important to note that not all customer service agents can speak the language of gaming. Not only does the gaming industry have its own terms and etiquette rules, but each company and product has technical and other nuances that can’t be faked without real knowledge. If you set up a customer support team that isn’t adequately trained in these areas, they will be inadequately prepared to help your customers.
This is why we ensure our Conectys agents are fantastic communicators, with solid industry knowledge. They have to already have baseline skills and experience to work with our gaming clients, and we provide them with comprehensive training so they can seamlessly adhere to defined SLAs, deliver appropriate reactions, tone, and more to your customer base. This is a crucial step for customer service that actually results in satisfied, repeat customers.
Does your company need to fix some of these problems to better connect with – and serve – your users? We’re here to help.
Also, check out this article about the benefits of outsourcing customer service.
