We live in a world of one-click checkouts, next-day shipping, and many other forms of instant satisfaction. So, when it comes to customer service, web self service tools like help centers and community forums are no longer optional — they’re expected.
Sure, there will always be a need for immediate, hands-on support. But many times, the best way to help your customers is simply to get out of their way.
Buyers want a friction-free process that allows them to research and select what they want all on their own. As a result, they’re more open to using bots and artificial intelligence to answer their questions and direct them along the buyer’s journey — as long as their problems are addressed quickly and accurately.
The question for you is, are you helping them?
Self-service tools are tools or interfaces on a website that allow users to find answers to their questions and configure their own buying experience. This helps your prospects identify on their own what product, level, plan, or type of service they’ll be purchasing.
According to Gartner, 33% of all buyers desire a seller-free experience. In other words, they'd like to complete their purchase without having to speak to a salesperson.
For buyers who identify as millennials, the number is even higher: 44%. Yet only ⅓ of small companies offer customer self service tools on their websites.
In short:
Self-selection tools on your website can help buyers self-educate as they move closer to a purchase. The key to it all is keeping your buyer's needs in mind — and providing the information they need to make the right purchase.
Deploying a variety of self service options is one of the best ways to help customers and to take pressure off your support agents. But before you can decide which combination is best for you, your team, and your customers, you must understand what each one offers.
There are five kinds of web self service that are commonly used, are popular among users, and likely to bring your support team value.
A knowledge base is software that makes it easy to organize and share content with your agents, customers, and the general public. Think of it as a support hub of helpful articles for three potential audiences:
To build your knowledge base, you’ll first want to determine what core topics or categories you’ll focus on. This will help guide your content planning and creation. Your articles should also have a consistent structure — how will you format the problem, solution, and step-by-step process. What sort of visuals do you use? Are you able to feature videos and photos?
A customer portal is a separate entry point where customers have exclusive access to self service support. Think of it as an easily accessible hub with helpful resources that requires a customer login. It may also exist through an app or a particular type of software.
Compared to a knowledge base, which is public, a customer portal is private. It also provides exclusive resources that may not be relevant or beneficial to the general public.
In a portal, customers can do the following:
A customer portal can be very technical and complex, so it’s helpful to use software to create your portal.
Imagine a unique channel where your customers can gather and discuss similar interests and areas of expertise. That’s a community forum. It’s a place within your website or portal where customers can congregate and engage in relevant discourse.
Sometimes it’s about you (your business), and sometimes it’s not. They may share ideas, feedback, and their own tips and tricks. If issues become complex, your agents can get involved and lend a hand. All in all, it’s a place to further establish brand affinity and ensure your customers’ voices are heard and valued.
You’re also learning how they use your product while you earn their trust and loyalty. That’s a win-win-win!
Once you have a development team or software to help you build the forum, there are several important steps to take:
Perhaps the most popular or well-known self service solution is bots, a form of artificial intelligence. In its simplest form, a chatbot is a computer program that can answer customers’ questions. Some are capable of live chatting, which can also include the process of qualifying leads. You can also book meetings, share helpful articles, connect a user to a support agent, and more.
The benefits are monetary, too. Using chatbots can free up your agents for more impactful work. This can help save money in the long run as it allows agents to work efficiently with their time. This form of self service is a fast and effective way to offer help, raise your sales, lower wait times, and increase customer happiness.
The next step in this process is integrated customer support, which means combining multiple self service tools into one, unified system within your existing support environment. This connectivity empowers agents to deliver seamless, personal, and efficient interactions.
To build integrated customer support, spring for software that is powerful enough to be used immediately. Most software, like Zendesk’s integrated support, is easy to set up. It integrates with your existing infrastructure, and no technical skills are required nor a specialized development team. This allows you to spend time helping customers rather than managing a system.
