Customer self-service can boost consumer interest and satisfaction

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The customer support technology as we have all come to view it, is all ready to undergo a massive transformation in the coming years. Several reports have indicated that the future of customer support technology likes in customer self-services models that will provide a win-win situation for customers as well as companies.

Customer self-service – the basics

Self service sign icon. Maintenance symbol.

So what exactly is customer self-service? One can relate it to a buffet spread in a hotel. All the dishes are laid out neatly for the guests who can then fill up their plates with their favorite foods while leaving out the others.

Customer self-service relates to providing making enough useful content about yourself available to your customers. This allows customers to find the information they want on their own instead of waiting for a frontline support agent for help. For instance, some of the common areas where customer self-service is offered include community forums, FAQs, manuals, videos, and step-by-step tutorials, etc.

Benefits of customer self –service

Win win strategy

Self-service offers a win-win situation for both the customer and the company. A customer seeking support can get it extremely fast at any time of the day. This helps boost customer satisfaction significantly. Support companies on the other hand can enjoy reduced load on their support teams which can handle fewer calls. This can also help the company experience reduced service costs. The company can even scale its operations without thinking about increasing the support workforce.

Limitations of Customer Self-Service

24 by 7 service

While customer self-service will allow a customer access to the information he wants 24/7, there are times when the customer will prefer directly to a customer support agent. In some cases, a customer may start with the self-service model, but may want a personal interaction later on. There are also circumstances where self-service may not be enough and other support channels need to be available for the customer.

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Tips to integrate customer self-service modules

customer service

If you are seeking to optimize your customer service by opting to integrate it with customer self-service, here are some tips that can be of some help in the process.

  • Provide an easy to use self-service platform

business icon in form lamp

Make sure your self-service platform offers excellent search capabilities in an easy to use format. Keep the information up to date and offer more than the text only FAQ format. You can choose to add images, screenshots and other kinds of visuals to explain different troubleshooting scenarios in a better way. You can also choose to add a peer to peer forum that will allow users to help each other.

  • Offer personalized possibilities

Businessman Thinking

It doesn’t pay to set up a self-service support module and then forget about it. Monitor the platform closely to see if there are any queries asked by customers in search of answers that are not covered in it. Try to offer more personalized possibilities by connecting the data and channels.

  • Test your self-service platform regularly

honest feedback

Ensure to test your self-service support platform with trusted users and members from inside as well as outside your organization. This will help you remove any glitches that may affect the efficiency of the system down the lane. Ask for honest feedback as this is the best way to find out if your self-service platform is to ideal or not for users.

Organizations have started offering customer self-service support platforms for users. In addition to offering customers the information they want and when they want it, these platforms will reduce the load of the support team in these organizations.

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