By Bryan Goldman – Customer Service Manager

Your new association management software just went live… now what? Like with any new technology purchase, there will be a bit of a learning curve. Things might not always work in the way you’re used to.

Fast forward a few years. Things still aren’t working as planned. Your team has decided they’ve had enough frustration and have started the search for a new AMS. This time through the selection process, shift your priorities and find a vendor with a top-of-the-line AMS software customer care team. But give it time, they say. You’ll get used to everything, they say.

There are a handful of things exhibited by the best AMS software customer care teams. Here are the five most important traits to look for.

1 – An Emphasis on Attentiveness

A remarkable customer care team is engaging and interactive with the client. This begins with a customer care portal where communication is simplified and cases are easy to submit.

But, what happens when you click the “Submit” button? That’s when the first key trait comes into play — attentiveness.

A great AMS software customer care team understands the importance of attentiveness. Why? Because a lack of communication and understanding at the outset will prevent the case from being solved promptly.

According to data from Zendesk, that initial communication can make or break a customer support project. Zendesk’s survey found that 72 percent of respondents blame their bad customer service interactions on having to explain their problem to multiple people. With attentive team members and strong communication from the start, all of that can be avoided.

Great customer support even extends beyond the customer care team. Effective communication throughout your association’s AMS journey can deepen your understanding of the software and help connect you with the answers you need. This could be in the form of white papers, webinars, how-to videos and more.

2 – Attention to Detail

Communication is definitely the most important trait of an awesome AMS software customer care team, but documentation elevates that communication to another level.

Precise note-taking is critical from your association management software partner. It helps you stay on top of their work and cuts down the back-and-forth emails. With accurate documentation throughout the customer support process, all necessary members of your dedicated support team will be able to better understand the situation at hand and swiftly find a solution.

3 – Efficiency

For many of us, there’s nothing worse than a customer support team going dark… especially when it’s complete silence for weeks on end.

When that happens, there are two ways the situation can typically go:

• Scenario A: You don’t hear back unless you reach out again for an update.
• Scenario B: Surprise! Without warning, after weeks of radio silence, your question is solved — but not entirely, or as you expected.

One way this can be avoided is through proper communication (see Trait No. 1). Or, your case can be taken up promptly and resolved quickly.

If timeliness is important to you, you’re not alone. According to data from Forrester, 66 percent of adults feel that valuing their time is the top factor in providing a quality online customer experience.

Plus, quick action isn’t only a sign of courtesy, it also demonstrates the AMS customer care team’s level of efficiency and attention to your needs.

4 – Understanding and Empathy

What’s business-critical to your professional or trade association isn’t necessarily urgent for others. It’s important to partner with a technology firm that understands that every association is different. By understanding and empathizing, top-tier AMS support teams are able to prioritize projects correctly.

While assigning cases to consultants, customer service managers need to weigh priority and project difficulty heavily. These decisions need to be made by dependable, experienced staff.

An exceptional customer care team prioritizes its caseload properly and ensure the highest level of support when associations need it most. But exceptional service is hard to come by. Just check out some reviews on ReviewMyAMS.com.

5 – Respect

When you can’t figure out how to use a feature in your new software, it can be frustrating. What’s more frustrating? When the answers aren’t readily available or the customer support team doesn’t think the issue is important.

Many people agree, with 40 percent of folks surveyed by Genesys saying “better human service” is most important to them in terms of customer service. Sure, chatbots are cool, but people want “better human service.”

Better human service is built on a foundation of respect. Respect includes keeping you in the loop throughout the support process so you’re not wondering, “What’s going on?” It means your requests and questions won’t be brushed aside. Finally, respect is shown when your consultant explains the problem, what was achieved and how it was resolved.

These five traits are worth seeking out during the selection process, but great customer support is meaningless if the AMS doesn’t work as needed.