Nearly nine out of ten businesses lose customers during onboarding. It’s no surprise, really—adjusting to new things can be stressful for anyone. Similarly, when you update an existing product and introduce changes like a new interface, you risk disrupting your users’ routines and pushing them out of their comfort zones. The impact might not be as strong as if you launched a completely new product, but it can still pose a significant challenge to your customer relationships, potentially increasing the churn. So, how can you prevent customers from leaving simply because… you've improved your product?
That’s where hypercare support comes in. This article will guide you on how to implement hypercare effectively. But first, let’s start with the hypercare definition. What does hypercare mean?
What Is Hypercare in Customer Support, and When Do You Need It?
Hypercare (or hypercare support) is a focused period of enhanced customer service designed to help customers adapt to product changes. These could include critical phases like the launch of new features, rebranding, user flow updates, server relocations, or shifts in business ownership. With hypecare, businesses support new customers during onboarding and transitions to higher subscription levels, keeping churn low and adoption rates high.
Hypercare typically involves 24/7 support, prompt issue resolution, and a closer focus on individual user needs. Agents often study each account in-depth to offer expert advice and solutions.
How is it different from regular customer care?
For simpler transitions, hypercare might last just a couple of weeks, while more complex rollouts, like large-scale software implementations, may require several months. For example, HubSpot offers a 14-day hypercare period for new users of its CRM software, while Salesforce extends its hypercare support to 90 days.
This might involve contacting customers proactively, providing training materials tailored to their needs, and monitoring systems closely in real time. In other words, hypercare support goes beyond resolving issues—it’s about building trust and ensuring customers feel supported throughout the transition process.
However, it’s critical to implement it right.
How to Properly Implement Hypercare Support
An effective hypercare plan builds on the best practices of customer support: quick responses, fast issue resolution, being available across multiple channels, consistent communication, and personalized interactions. However, simply following these practices isn’t enough to make your hypercare strategy truly effective.
Here are some additional considerations to keep in mind:
Analyze your change and its impact
To create an effective hypercare plan, first analyze the nature of your change and its potential impact.
Suppose your “change” is a new product feature that will be available exclusively for customers on premium pricing tiers. The price tag of these tiers is also expected to go up. In this case, analysis should revolve around these questions:
1. What is the event?
A new product feature.
2. Who will be affected?
Customers on premium pricing tiers.
3. What are the consequences?
Changes in user experience (detail what exactly will change) and an increase in pricing for premium plans.
4. What are the potential concerns?
Customers may struggle to locate the new feature within the interface and understand how to use it (break this down into specific potential requests like, “I don’t understand what this button does”). They might also question the value of the new feature and whether it justifies the price bump.
By answering these questions, you will predict the scope and the nature of potential requests. The answers will also inform your next steps.
Assemble your team
Hypercare usually involves 24/7 agent availability, so assembling a separate team dedicated to hypercare support is a common practice. The setup can vary based on the nature and scope of your changes. For example, your team might include:
- A hypercare manager to oversee and coordinate the entire process
- Support agents to handle change-related customer requests
- Communication specialists to keep customers informed
Some customer requests may need input from IT, product management, and finance teams.
Prepare your customers
There is nothing worse than an unexpected change. If you don’t want to challenge the loyalty of your customers, make sure to communicate upcoming changes well in advance, clearly outlining the scope of changes and the expected benefits.
Here’s a quick example of how you might structure an email-based communication campaign for a new product feature:
- Step 1: Initial announcement (4-6 weeks before launch). Send an initial announcement email newsletter to all premium tier customers announcing the upcoming feature. Highlight its benefits, such as improved user experience and enhanced functionality. Include a clear timeline for when the change will occur.
- Step 2: Follow-up communication (2-3 weeks before launch). Send a reminder email with more detailed information about how to access and use the new feature. Include links to training materials or resources that will help them get started. You can also encourage customers to share their thoughts or concerns about upcoming changes.
- Step 3: Launch day communication. On the day of the launch, send out an in-app notification and another email announcing that the feature is now live. Include a step-by-step guide or how-to video. Remind customers that your support team is ready to assist with any questions.
Again, this is a very basic outline. Feel free to adapt your communication campaign to your specific case and use all kinds of communication channels—email, social media, in-app notifications, or a live chatbot on your website. Be sure to customize the messaging with content that resonates with your target audience.
Develop support materials
Many customers are keen to avoid direct interactions with a support agent when navigating changes. In fact, 67% of customers favor self-service options over speaking with a representative. Make self-education materials readily available to prevent frustration from customers searching the internet for information and coming up empty-handed.
Consider using a range of content formats to accommodate people’s preferences. If you provide a written guide, include a few screenshots and other visuals for clarity. Incorporate videos, webinars, and presentations to enrich the learning experience. This will also cut down on the number of inquiries your team will get, saving valuable time for other tasks.
Your reps should also have all the necessary knowledge base materials at hand.
Be prepared for unforeseen challenges
Product changes are seldom straightforward. Even when it feels like you’ve accounted for every possible scenario, there’s always a risk that something slips through the cracks.
Establishing clear escalation workflows is a smart way to prepare for the unforeseen. These workflows will ensure that unexpected issues are addressed quickly and efficiently, minimizing disruption of customer experience and your team’s work.
Collect customer feedback
Another great idea is setting up feedback loops using surveys, which can be integrated after each interaction, and analyzing the complaints you receive. This approach will help you improve on the go throughout the process. And should you notice recurring complaints about a specific issue, think about creating training materials to address it.
But, of course, anticipating every customer complaint or hiccup isn’t the only challenge you might run into during the hypercare phase.
Challenges in Hypercare Customer Support
A hypercare setup is distinct from a typical customer service model. It pushes you out of your comfort zone. Be prepared to face some challenges along the way. Here are some of the most common ones you might encounter:
Stress is inevitable, period
We humans naturally gravitate toward routines. Any change, even a positive one, can create stress for your customers. Your goal is to make this transition as smooth as possible, finding ways to simplify the process.
Here are a few key strategies to consider:
- Anticipate as many requests as you can
- Prepare your customers for the upcoming changes
- Be available for support whenever and wherever your customers need you (ideally offering omnichannel support 24/7)
- Provide effective self-help
- Approach every interaction with empathy
Shifting focus from the customer
A hypercare phase often follows significant product changes, which can already be a source of stress for businesses. Ensuring that everything works seamlessly is a top priority. However, in the rush to perfect the product, it’s easy to lose sight of the customers’ perspective.
Take self-service resources. Businesses often bring in technical specialists to create training materials that end up being jargon-heavy. While these experts understand the content well, customers may find the wording confusing and reach out to the support team for clarification. These “unplanned” hiccups in customer journeys generate tickets that could have been avoided.
Burnout
Hypercare often means extra attention to every customer, a surge in requests, increased customer frustration (change always brings some), and sometimes even 24/7 availability. On top of that, new features are new not just for your customers but also for your support team. They must quickly master them to assist customers effectively—which only adds to the stress of the hypercare period. All these factors can take a toll on your agents, leading to burnout.
Self-service options, as mentioned earlier, can also play a key role in reducing pressure. Also, consider using platforms that provide real-time insights into your system’s performance. These tools allow you to monitor how new features are functioning and respond quickly to any hiccups before they escalate into critical issues.
Measuring the Success of Your Hypercare Process
Assessing customer support success is crucial during the hypercare period when minor problems can quickly escalate into critical issues. Keep a close eye on these key metrics:
- Response and resolution times. If these are too long, your team might be struggling to keep up with the volume of requests. This could be due to poor task prioritization, insufficient staffing, inadequate automation, or a combination of these factors.
- Customer satisfaction score. A low score suggests that your support team might not be handling requests effectively. It’s important to identify areas for improvement to keep customer dissatisfaction levels as low as possible.
- Ticket deflection rate. This metric measures how well your self-service options prevent filing support tickets. If it’s low, review your knowledge base to ensure it contains all necessary materials and confirm that it’s easily accessible and user-friendly.
- Escalation trends. High escalation rates indicate that too many customer issues are passed to higher-level teams. A sudden spike in escalations could signal underlying systemic issues, such as software glitches, which require immediate attention from specialized teams.
As an extra step, analyze the subjects of customer requests to glean valuable insights. You can then update your internal knowledge base and customer self-help materials based on these insights, equipping agents and users with the necessary info to resolve issues efficiently.
Conclusion
Any change, even if it’s an improvement, pushes both your customers and support team out of their comfort zones. Customers need to adapt to new product features, while your team must ensure everything runs smoothly and users fully benefit from the upgrade. That’s why the hypercare period is essentially all about crisis management, which sets it apart from regular customer support and calls for a tailored approach.
A robust customer service solution is key for delivering excellent hypercare. This kind of tool helps manage assignments efficiently, automates routine tasks, assists agents in resolving issues, provides self-service options, and collects vital data. If your current tool doesn’t have such features in place, Help Desk Migration is happy to assist you in making the transition, transferring all your data automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hypercare
Hypercare helps customers adapt smoothly to changes, reduces frustration by addressing issues proactively, and builds trust in the brand. When customers know they have immediate support, they feel valued and are more likely to have a positive perception of the company.
- Faster issue resolution: Problems are identified and fixed quickly, minimizing downtime.
- Increased customer confidence: Customers feel reassured knowing support is readily available.
- Reduced churn: Proactive support prevents dissatisfaction that could lead to customer loss.
- Stronger brand loyalty: A smooth transition fosters trust and long-term relationships.
- Smoother adoption of new systems or products: Customers receive guidance, reducing confusion and resistance to change.
- SaaS and tech: Ensures seamless software rollouts and cloud migrations.
- Healthcare: Supports transitions in patient management systems and medical technology.
- Finance and banking: Helps customers adapt to new digital banking tools and security updates.
- Retail and e-commerce: Improves post-implementation support for new platforms or payment systems.
- Telecommunications: Assists in network upgrades, billing changes, and service transitions.
By providing personalized, hands-on support during critical transitions, hypercare prevents customer frustration and increases satisfaction. Quick problem resolution and proactive communication show customers they are valued, making them more likely to stay loyal.
- Help desk and ticketing systems (Zendesk, Freshdesk) for issue tracking and resolution.
- Live chat and AI-powered chatbots to provide instant responses.
- CRM software to track customer interactions and ensure personalized support.
- Monitoring and analytics tools to detect issues early and measure customer sentiment.
- Automated workflows to escalate critical problems efficiently.
The duration depends on the complexity of the change. It can range from a few days for minor updates to several weeks or months for large-scale system migrations or enterprise-level implementations. The phase usually ends once customers are comfortable and support demand returns to normal levels.
Businesses can automate hypercare using:
- AI chatbots for handling common questions and troubleshooting.
- Automated alerts and notifications to inform customers of issues and resolutions.
- Self-service knowledge bases with FAQs and troubleshooting guides.
- Predictive analytics to anticipate issues and prevent disruptions.
- High resource demands: Requires dedicated teams, increasing costs.
- Scaling support effectively: Managing support volume spikes without overwhelming teams.
- Managing customer expectations: Ensuring customers know what support is available and for how long.
- Seamless team coordination: Aligning customer support, IT, and operations teams for smooth execution.
