Optimizing Response Times In Omnichannel Customer Service

The number 1 driver of customer satisfaction for accountants: Not: Technical ability Not: Your tech stack Not: Your website aesthetic It's answering the d*** phone. Responding to emails. Following through on [your desired comms channel] within [timeframe your client expected]. It isn’t a high bar these days, but simply being responsive and following through puts you ahead of the pack. 13 tips to standardize comms & align expectations: 1. Communicate a standard turnaround time. Doesn’t matter what it is, it just needs to exist. 2. Not all requests are created equal. Your turnaround time is your *acknowledgment* time. Many requests will take longer to resolve. 3. The only exception is when you’re OOO. So don’t forget your OOO, or pull in a teammate when you’re out. 4. Over-communication beats under-communication. Never be afraid to send a quick update, or a no-update update. 5. Don’t leave turnaround time up to your team to decide. For each role there’s a rule, and we’re all held to our turnaround time rules. 6. Your availability is the most scarce in your firm. If it isn’t, why won’t clients just go to you every time? 7. Design turnaround times to drive client behavior. For example an immediate call with an admin, same-day call with a staff, 72 hour call with the big boss. 8. No channel should jump the line. If you respond to that text, they’ll never follow the flow again. 9. Where possible trade synchronous work - let’s have a quick call to discuss - with asynchronous work - here’s a loom outlining my proposed solution, and a scheduling link if we still need to discuss. 10. In almost no situation should the big boss be taking unscheduled client comms of any kind. 11. Enable self-service wherever possible. Fetching docs from their own portal, paying an invoice online etc. 12. Integrate response times into how team members are incentivized. Be careful rewarding over-responsiveness, but keep a close eye on under-responsiveness. 13. Wrangle rogue channels. You make the rules about how clients can interact with your firm. Any comms outside those channels must be redirected. Clients are no different than mice in a maze. If they can get the cheese by texting you, calling you directly, they’ll never go through your team again.

How we helped a retail client cut response time by 50%—with zero extra headcount. Customer support was drowning: Long response times, manual ticket routing chaos, and agents wasting time on the wrong issues. We stepped in with one fix: AI routing. Here’s what changed: 🤖 Tickets were instantly routed to the right agent 📊 Prioritization based on customer history and intent 🛍️ Peak shopping season? No problem. The result? 📉 50% reduction in response time 🙌 Agents focused on what actually mattered 🧠 CX that felt personal—even at scale The kicker? Not a single new hire. If your support team is growing in noise, not in results—this might be your sign.