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5 Best Practices for a Smooth Remote Support Experience

5 Best Practices for a Smooth Remote Support Experience

May 17, 2021 | Marketing

In the last 12+ months, remote support has been elevated to a whole new level of importance. The pandemic forced everyone indoors and transformed corporate offices into ghost towns, while employees all worked remotely.

During this time, remote support was often the only way anyone could get hands-on computer assistance.

Some MSPs and IT business owners were prepared for the increase in remote support requests, others weren’t. Those that didn’t do much remote login work, found that they needed to become an expert fast to survive and continue providing vital IT support services to clients.

And it doesn’t look like the newly remote workforce is going anywhere anytime soon (or ever). 67% of businesses say they expect their work-from-home policies to remain in place for the long-term or permanently.

This means that remote support for remote teams will continue to be a need that many businesses have and one that can be one of the main revenue drivers for IT businesses.

Best Practices to Follow for a Great Remote Support Experience

When providing remote support, it’s important to have things go as smoothly as possible so the work is time-efficient for you and a good experience for your customers.

Have a System in Place for a Fast Response

Remember how automotive shops used to advertise the “30-minute oil change?” Now it’s the “10-minute oil change!” People expect support services fast these days and despite having tons of technology tools to make life easier, they seem busier than ever.

When customers request a remote support session, they will expect it to happen fast. In minutes, not hours.

You must respond quickly, otherwise, you can end up losing that customer to a competitor.

Using remote software, like Instant Housecall can allow you to handle more than one support request at a time. Technicians can connect to as many as 10 customer computers concurrently, allowing faster response time without needing to hire additional staff.

Implement & Advertise End-User Privacy & Security

People are generally very aware that anything they do online can put their information at risk. Allowing someone to connect to their computer can leave everything they have on that hard drive exposed, so it takes a lot of trust on a customer’s part.

It’s important to have strong end-user privacy and security systems in place to reduce the risk of a breach of sensitive customer data and to reassure your client that their remote session will be safe.

Some of the standard security practices to have in place are:

  • Notification to users before accessing their system
  • A disconnection when work is complete, and the inability to reconnect without permission.
  • Use multi-factor authentication to secure your remote support account.
  • 256-bit SSL encryption to keep data secured

Make sure you’re marketing your remote support services while placing an emphasis on privacy and security.

Chat with Clients While Connected

As a small business owner, you know that there are all types of customers. Some will want you to “just fix it” and they don’t have time to know what you did. Others, want to know all the details and exactly what you are doing to fix a problem.

Having a remote session chat that allows you to connect with the customer directly while you’re attending to their system is important. It allows you to gather more information about the person’s needs and you can also explain what you’re doing to those people interested in knowing more.

A session chat with your remote software also allows you an important audit trail to refer to later if needed.

Unattended Access & Reboot Ability

If you’re using an older remote connection system, you could end up having to call a user that’s stepped away from their computer because the system has disconnected, rebooted, or otherwise locked you out.

This can be a real inconvenience for both you and the customer, and it makes a remote support session take much longer than it needs to.

You want to make sure to use software that gives you the ability to reboot a customer’s computer, even in safe mode, and connect automatically when the PC boots back up. For those customers that have given you unattended permission, you also want to have the ability for unattended access. This provides a level of convenience to customers that can help you stand out over your competition.

Keep an Audit Trail of Everything You Did

Even if you’re connecting remotely and the customer isn’t present, it’s important that you keep a detailed audit trail of all the actions that you took. This can then be emailed to the customer after the session is complete, so they are fully informed of what you did to solve an issue.

This is also an important cover for you should something else unrelated go wrong with their computer later. You’ll have the paper trail to show exactly what you touched and what you didn’t touch.

Try a Remote Support Software With Best Practices Built In

Instant Housecall is a powerful yet easy-to-use remote support software that has multiple best practices built right in for security, multiple connections, and much more.

Try Instant Housecall risk-free for 15 days and experience it for yourself!

Clever Ways to Market Your Remote Support to Gain a Competitive Edge

Clever Ways to Market Your Remote Support to Gain a Competitive Edge

May 10, 2021 | Marketing, Small Business

Pre-pandemic, remote support was a helpful option to save an in-person visit. But since the lockdowns during the time of COVID, it has been elevated to a whole new position.

Contactless solutions are now being advertised for everything from grocery shopping to pizza delivery, and remote IT support is the ultimate no-contact solution for getting much-needed computer help.

65% of surveyed U.S. consumers like contactless services and say they align with their current health and safety priorities.

Are you taking full advantage of the features of your remote support service in your marketing?

Many IT providers haven’t changed how they advertise remote support since the pandemic began. It’s still just a tab on their website menu, easily overlooked by someone looking for computer repairs or help with work-from-home employee devices.

If you’re not pushing remote support in new and exciting ways, you can easily miss out on sales opportunities and a chance for recurring remote support business from companies.

Here are several ideas for clever ways to market your report support.

Remote Support for Remote Teams

It’s expected that in 2021, the number of permanent remote employees will double. The work-from-home (WFH) approach is just getting off the ground, and as companies navigate how to make it work at full efficiency, the cost savings will drive this transition.

60% of surveyed executives plan to increase spending on remote team virtual solutions.

Position your firm as a full-service IT partner that can support a WFH team through your remote support services. People more easily remember something if it has a name, so give this particular solution for virtual workers a snappy name (i.e.“Virtual Team Tech Package”).

Create a special page on your website for the service and emphasize things like:

  • Use of encryption for security
  • Use of multi-factor authentication
  • Audit trail for all work done
  • X minutes response time
  • Boost in productivity when employees don’t have to struggle
  • Improvement in the firm’s remote team cybersecurity

Fast, Safe Home & Family Support

The last thing a busy family wants to do is try to schedule a time to drive to a computer shop to have a system looked at. The pandemic has meant more PC activities are happening at home and virtually (work, school, HOA meetings, etc.).

This means more computer problems are also happening at home when something goes wrong.

Position your remote support for home and family needs and highlight areas such as:

  • Fast help for student computer issues
  • Set up of computer & parental safety
  • The convenience of having a “computer guru” come to them virtually
  • Note all the things that can be done remotely
  • Return to normal faster by having their system fixed quickly
  • Cost savings from no service call

Remote Support for Freelancers

Freelancers now make up about 35% of the global workforce, and that number is expected to continue to rise.

This is a largely untapped market when it comes to computer support services because freelancers live in that hybrid residential/business world for most IT providers. Not really a company, but most do rely on their computer for their family income.

Position remote support as an affordable insurance policy for keeping their business running effectively. For freelancers, often every minute counts. If they charge a project based upon it taking 3 hours, and a computer problem causes it to take 6, then they’ve just halved their income on that project.

Market Freelancer Remote Support with some of the following emphasis points in mind:

  • Affordable options
  • Convenience, no visits to the computer shop
  • Protection of their livelihood
  • Offers security protections for their data.
  • A remote tune-up can boost their efficiency, allowing them to complete work faster, thus earn more in a week.
  • With their income riding on their computer, it makes sense to protect it
  • Fast help when it’s needed to get past a software or system stuck point

One additional option you may think about adding is the ability for remote managed IT customers to get a “loaner” laptop for a week if they have a major issue that puts their computer of commission for a while.

Create Remote Support 1-Service Options

Some people may not take advantage of remote support because they don’t know how much it’s going to cost for what they need. They might also be confused about what can be done through remote support.

You can cut through that confusion by coming up with 4-5 common remote support services and pricing those separately, like an á la carte version of your remote support with a flat rate.

Ideas for your remote support menu could be:

  • Remote virus removal
  • Remote PC tune-up
  • Remote Microsoft 365 setup
  • Remote setup for social media account security
  • Remote device cybersecurity review
  • 45-minute software/email support or training session

Try a Remote Support Software That Can Support Any Client Needs

Instant Housecall is an all-in-one remote support tool that gives you everything you need to support multiple remote client needs, along with “extras” that give you a competitive edge.

Try Instant Housecall risk-free for 15 days and experience it for yourself!