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The Advantages of Customer Self Support in a Downturn EconomyCopyright © 2008 Anne SychWith today’s economic challenges forcing management to tighten spending, companies are looking for effective ways to sustain excellent customer service while maintaining or reducing overall expenses. The implementation of a customer “self support” model provides an excellent means to optimize customer support spending. A survey published by the Association of Support Professionals revealed that the average cost to resolve a support issue by telephone was $27.78, to resolve by email was $28.78, while to resolve by web self support was only $3.75. Calls managed through a self-help tool can reduce manpower and build to huge savings fro your company. Help Desk Software with an integrated Knowledge Base allows website owners to provide a web based communications channel allowing clients to resolve their own issues. Self Help content is placed into “articles” which are readily available for retrieval through the portal. The customer can simply go to the website and search for an answer to his issue. Search relevancy displays search results with the most relevant articles listed first, making it easy for the customer to quickly find what he is looking for. A web based version of the software can allow implementation within hours/ days of installation. Shifting the mindset of your customers to a self-help scenario need not be a scary endeavor. The following are a few of the recommendations highlighted in a report published by the “Association of Support Professionals”.* Encourage customers to search the Web first: Web support should be emphasized in company publications as the preferred method of support. Customers using telephone support can often be coaxed to try web support through “on-hold recordings” recommending the speed and simplicity of this Web service. Fine-tune your Web navigation: Often small changes in your current website navigation can result in huge gains for self service. For example, replace typical support contact email addresses with prominent links such as “Ask a Question” or “Find Answers” that link directly to the knowledge base. Duplicate the links in multiple locations throughout the site. Post new knowledge base content quickly: When your telephone support staff gets issues that are not addressed in the knowledgebase, create a system where they promptly send an alert to knowledge base administrators. Some knowledge base systems allow end users and/or telephone support staff to create new articles on the fly, which get sent to admin for approval. This keeps the knowledge base constantly updated. Look for new ways to leverage support site investments: The infrastructure of a Web support site can sometimes handle other customer-related tasks such as downloads and the distribution of beta information. The architecture is in place and the interface is already familiar to the customers. Security can be set by administrators as desired to manage permissions. Soon your customers will be empowered to find answers to their own questions on your website, all-the-while saving your company money. About The Author:
*** Digital Reprint Rights *** *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Anne Sych can be reached at: marketing@novosolutions.com *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: marketing@novosolutions.com
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