From clay tablets to call centers: evolution of customer support for mobile apps
Customer support tools have come a long way since the era of the dial tone, and the ecosystem for support solutions is now vast and specialized. To understand how we got here, we’re exploring the evolution of customer support tools, focusing on how these advancements have transformed how support teams handle tickets for mobile apps. We’ll also take a look at where we’re going, touching on AI-driven solutions, but also exploring how quality people-driven support is more of a luxury (and necessity) than ever.
Customer support (a quick history)
First, let’s go back. Waaaaay way back.
(1750 BCE) Clay tablets
The earliest recorded customer service ticket was filed in the 18th century BCE by a guy named Nanni against Ea-Nasir, an shady Mesopatamian copper merchant dealing in inferior product.
Nanni complains:
“I have sent as messengers gentlemen like ourselves to collect the bag with my money (deposited with you) but you have treated me with contempt by sending them back to me empty-handed several times, and that through enemy territory.”
Poor Nanni, forced to send his service request inscribed in cuneiform on clay, through enemy territory no less! His complaint (unresolved, presumably) was discovered among a trove of similar messages.
Fast forward three and half thousand years, the customer service format has (slightly) evolved.
(1960s-2000) The phone-a-friend era
Call centers: Traditional call centers became the primary means of remote customer support, with agents handling questions on the phone. The call center is still alive and well today, although with some modern upgrades.
(2000-2010) The Internet era
Transition to digital, email support: As the global marketplace went digital at the turn of the 21st century, companies added email as a channel to provide a more flexible support option. However, for many, response times were slow.
Web-based support: Companies shift to multi-channel support tools, including FAQ pages, live chat, chatbots, ticket systems and trackers. The customer support and service ecosystem grows in size and breadth.
“With the rise of XaaS and product-led growth, customer support began playing a fundamental role in product adoption — and a company’s success.”
Mobile support: The smartphone era brings new demands. Support centers must often troubleshoot mobile apps without having direct access to the specific phone type and OS of the customer. As needs evolve, support platforms are forced to recon with the rise of unique mobile app support needs.
Multi-channel support: Companies offering multi-channel services now need to field multiple teams, with skills sorted either by ticket type, or with teams covering multiple tickets, multiple platforms, and multiple channels.
Companies’ success now lies at the intersection of support, self-service, and constant product optimization. How can companies meet that standard?
It’s a challenge, according to a CS survey by Hubspot. “66% of customers said they would switch brands if they felt they were being ‘treated like a number, not an individual.’” Multi-channel service is also crucial, but often poorly implemented. “71% of customers say they want a consistent experience across channels, but only 29% say they get it.”
Looking ahead: modern mobile customer support solutions
A wealth of solutions have cropped up to meet the demands of the XaaS era. Here are some of the most popular:
Chatbots: While these are no match for in-person help – or at least not yet – they can respond instantly, deal with common questions, and gather preliminary information so human agents can focus on dealing with more complex requests.
In-app support: Mobile-friendly companies often choose to integrate their support directly within apps. The user experience is smooth, and there’s no need for customers to switch from one channel to another when seeking help. For example; Companies like Zendesk and Cobrowse.io offer mobile SDKs to embed support directly into apps.
Mobile device management for the workplace: MDM tools play a vital role in ensuring that support teams can efficiently manage and secure the mobile devices used in their operations. For example, NinjaOne provides remote management capabilities that allow IT teams to support a wide range of devices across different platforms. Rippling IT integrates MDM with HR functions, streamlining device provisioning for new support agents. Other solutions focus on securing mobile devices and ensuring compliance. Overall, these MDM solutions enable organizations to deliver faster, more reliable support for their mobile apps, enhancing customer satisfaction and trust. However, they’re all dependent on physical devices, which are costly and require IT maintenance and support.
Zendesk: A comprehensive support platform that offers mobile SDKs. Zendesk provides mobile app customer support through an integrated help desk system, allowing users to submit tickets, access FAQs, and chat with support agents.
Intercom: Improves mobile app customer support by offering in-app messaging, automated chatbots, and a hub for managing user questions and interactions.
Drift: Focuses on AI-driven chatbots for instant customer interaction. Drift is useful for real-time customer support in mobile apps via live chat and AI-backed messaging.
AI in customer support
In 2024, AI is an unavoidable topic. It’s impossible to write a piece like this without mentioning it. AI-powered solutions are myriad: many classic solutions of the last decades are tacking on AI integrations, value adds, or even standalone products.
The biggest benefit of AI in CX: It reduces response times and operational costs, is available day or night, rain or shine.
AI-driven chatbots are the most commonly implemented solution (as mentioned in the section above). While they can’t handle complex requests, they can take a lot of grunt work out of support requests by suggesting basic troubleshooting.
Keeping things personal: For interactions that can’t be automated
Consumers increasingly expect near instant responses that resolve their issues on the first try. First call resolution rates and time-to-resolution are key indicators that determine whether or not customers rate their support interactions highly, or poorly.
The research also backs this up: even with AI and self-service proliferating, personal interactions still reign supreme:
“Separate research suggests that these leaders are right to stay focused on direct personal interaction, even when many of their customers are young digital natives. In a recent McKinsey survey of 3,500 consumers, respondents of all ages said that live phone conversations were among their most preferred methods of contacting companies for help and support. That finding held true even among 18- to 28-year-old Gen Z consumers, a cohort that favors text and social messaging for interpersonal communications.”
So lay aside the jokes about Gen Z not knowing how to pick up a phone – in the younger cohort, a personal touch isn’t just an option – it’s a value-add.
“Premium-segment customers of all ages also prefer the phone, with many saying that live phone support is part of the premium service they are paying for.”
Meanwhile, support tickets for mobile apps often perform worse than tickets for non-mobile channels. Mobile apps were intended to deflect tickets from support teams, but they ended up becoming the channel with the most difficult tickets to solve. AI and chat integrations for mobile apps are not cutting it when it matters most.
Building personalized support experiences is still crucial for success, but a new approach is needed for customer support for mobile apps in particular. While tools like MDMs solve part of the issue, teams are still limited by physical devices. When customer support teams need to scale, these devices become more of a hindrance than a help.
There are solutions that confront the hardware issue, and help customer support teams scale their operations. For example, in-browser mobile emulators offer a modern, cloud-based solution for teams struggling with technical debt and inefficient processes. They allow both developers and support teams to simulate mobile environments directly within a web browser to test apps and websites. To learn more about the business benefits of switching to browser-based mobile emulators, check out this infographic.
With this next jump in customer service and support solutions, teams can troubleshoot issues without needing physical devices. Agents can easily replicate customer issues in real-time to provide more accurate solutions – without delays.
Conclusion
From the early days of call centers (and the even earlier days of clay tablets complaining about shoddy Mesopotamain copper) to today’s AI-driven chatbots,in-app solutions, and browser-based app emulators, customer support tools have significantly evolved.
At the current CX crossroads, it is clear that investing in personalized support experiences is crucial for the success of any company with an app offering. For the mobile app support space, solutions need to offer efficiency, personalization, and tooling for support teams that actually helps them do their jobs.
Success means investing in a toolkit that combines the automated and the personal, especially in customer support for mobile apps. To uplevel your mobile app support approach, consider implementing an easy to use, integrable solution for in-browser mobile app emulation.
Meet your customer where they are, in their preferred OS –> Check out Appetize’s comprehensive support for mobile apps.
