Self-service technical support is financially favorable for companies and when compared to traditional channels of providing support, it can also be more convenient for customers. A good self-service support system can save a lot of money for the company. It can also save a lot of time for customers and can be consulted virtually at any time of the day or night.
What is self-service support about? It started with self-service at retail stores and booking tickets online. Now, when a customer needs advice or has a question about a product, he can go and look it up for himself. He is not limited by the hours which traditional service lines operate. Traditional help-ticket requests are diminishing as more customers go for automated online help, suggests the business2community.com website.
Knowledgebase: The modern hub of technical support
How does an effective way of providing technical support look like today? It is often in the form of a knowledgebase on a firm’s website. Customers can search for quick answers there – they are often assisted by auto-suggest technology that matches their questions to solutions from the database. According to McKinsey & Company the average cost of phone interaction is 6 dollars and e-mail or live chat costs 5 dollars. When 50 % of customers prefer the knowledgebase, there are considerable savings. In addition, customers can always use Google, YouTube and similar tools for additional tips and help.
Moving customers from phone to self-service
Almost every company can set up a knowledgebase to store valuable answers and tips linked to frequently asked questions and offer these answers to customers when they need technical support and help. There should be links displayed anywhere it makes sense. However, don’t get rid of the traditional support methods for good, because there always can be a new problem or question.
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