It’s a constant challenge to deliver superlative, memorable customer service. When your agents are swamped with live chats and support tickets to answer the same question repeatedly, your initial response will be to throw up your hands in frustration and make plans to scale your customer support department.
But wait. If you don’t have it yet, you need knowledge base solutions that allow customers to find their own answers.
Some call these solutions “self-service customer service.” Some call knowledge base solutions “customer education.” No matter the moniker, it can take a significant burden off your agents and make your customers more satisfied.
Customers Want Self-Service
Customers want to find their own answers. A Forrester study showed that 70 % of consumers prefer to get answers from a company website rather than email or phone. In fact, a Gartner report suggests that consumers will manage 85 % of their relationship with a company without any human interaction by 2020.
Your company will benefit from knowledge base solutions by saving time on answering the same basic questions repeatedly. Destination CRM found that 45 % of businesses offering mobile or web-based self-service options show an increase in site traffic and a decline in phone calls.
For self-service options, knowledge base solutions are a necessity in today’s competitive marketplace. You have a wide array of solutions from which to choose with features such as self-service portals, FAQs, document management, data management, collaboration, cataloging. These can be deployed across desktop, mobile, and the cloud. Your business is unique, and your knowledge base solutions may need customized features to deliver superior results. Here are several design options that help guide your customers to find answers promptly and conveniently.
Focus on the 3 most important queries. Ensure that your knowledge base solutions are useful to your customer by starting with the three most important queries:
- basics;
- various functionalities; and
- tips for using your product effectively.
This produces a highly useful guide that is well-designed and comprehensive, which will make it an invaluable tool for new customers. Adding some how-to videos will provide a congenial first impression as well as serve as a stealth marketing tool.
Use an “In This Article” design. This lets your customers know what the content contains rather than make them search for the information. Adding a table of contents and in-page navigation is a welcome sight to a customer seeking a speedy solution.
Categorize the categories. If your business offers extensive services or products, you can “categorize the categories” on the front page. It may be impractical to have a conventional FAQ if you have too many varied services and functions. Making each service or functionality its own category with corresponding forms creates an effortless customer experience.
If you are done with reactive customer service, consider investing in a knowledge base solution customized to your needs. Let’s set a quick consulation call so can also reach your business objectives.
