Support Services - Definition, Importance & Example
What is Support Services?
Support Services are the activities and processes required for successful execution and completion of a revenue generating core program or process efficiently and within the expected time frame and cost. The support services are managed mostly by a separate department like admin, IT, payroll, customer service, after sales support etc. It is extremely important for any organization to have good support services to succeed in their business. Support services are important for the immediate relief of the internal as well as external customers and clients.
Importance of Support Services
Support services are very important for running an efficient business. The core processes cannot run on their own without support. There are many processes also known as auxiliary processes which are important for making sure that the revenue generation does not stop. One the most important aspect of any business is the workforce. The workforce work on the core processes. The workforce in itself has lots of requirements in terms of wages, insurance, support and other things so there is a HR and payroll departments. Similarly IT, admin, security all these departments make sure that the core processes work as smoothly as possible.
In terms of customer service, the support departments are very critical. The business should offer support on multiple channels to improve their association with the stakeholders. It is must for a business to be ubiquitous in today’s changing environment. Also, the need of the hour is to listen and respond to all the queries in a timely manner.
The customer’s behavior very much depends on the after sales support services. Therefore, all the companies should focus on driving the customer satisfaction through various activities.
Benefits of Support Services
1.The better the quality of the support services higher will be the business growth.
2.The increase in customer satisfaction would lead to repeat purchase and will infuse brand loyalty. This will improve the reputation of the company.
3.Understanding the customer mindset and expectations will help the business develop product as per the customer’s needs.
4.Good support services will help reduce the employee turnover with the profits being shared with the employees leading to higher satisfaction.
5.Support services can serves as an ample source of information that can be used for the evaluation of the product and services.
Example of Support Services
Let us say a company is into manufacturing and selling cars. So the process of making a car, assembling a car and selling a car are the core processes which generate revenue but there are multiple support services which play critical role. For manufacturing a car, extensive use of manpower and robotics is expected. Manpower needs proper management which would include HR, payroll and benefits services which would keep them motivated and secure in order to work on the main assembly line. Also to maintain robotics and all the IT systems a proper IT department is expected who would try to understand the issue and fix them within the right time so that it doesn't affect the core business.
Continuing with the same example, after the car is sold, the car owner might have some queries or issues with the car, the customer service support and the dealership network need to resolve them effectively. All these departments may not be part of the core process of car making but they support the process throughout and make it successful.
Hence, this concludes the definition of Support Services along with its overview.
This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
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