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Self Service Technologies

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Subject:  Self Service Technologies
Author:   stephfox:   view profile | all posts by this author | add to favourites
Date:   15:30:16 26 June 2008
 
Hi Evet,
There are a couple of recent trends for customer support we've seen recently which stem from modern development techniques:

1) Q & A style websites: Users support users - often backed up with support representatives from your organisation. See:

http://answers.yahoo.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/answers

Creating a system like this is simple and easy BUT relies on a body of queries and a community of users.

2) Knowledge Management systems. Knowledge managment tools require a dedicated content management resource within your support team, however. See:

www.kana.com

3) Forums: And you can always go very Web 1.0 and have a standard message board/forum structure. People are used to these sorts of functions and forums can get very busy. Of course, if it's a support mechanism, you need your own support people to be part of the conversation on these forums to provide answers and support.

All of these solutions rely on a few things:
1) A critical mass of knowledge
- Work hard to produce a depth of knowledge based content, be honest about the short-comings of your products, acknowledge faults, propose work-arounds and solutions. Yes it's a competitive risk, but your customers will appreciate knowing that your company actively engage with the issues and are prepared to resolve them - If you DON'T do this, or have enough content then it's not self-help, it's a waste of your customer's time...
2) An active user base - You must allow customers to post issues and respond to others. Sending a complaint into the ether with no promise of a reply or a resolution is not customer service
3) Good customer communications, such as email or DM to let them know where to find support - Invite your customers to participate, they won't just stumble across it. This means you need good customer data, and they need to opt-in to participate

We have experience in developing these sorts of integrated campaigns tosupport online comminities and development, so if you need any assistance or advice, we'd be happy to help. Just get in touch via our website: www.bplmarketing.com

Good customer service online is not easy but should significantly boost your ecommerce returns...

Good luck with it,

Stephen Foxworthy
Digitial Director
BPL Marketing


 
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  • Self Service Technologies, Evet, 25 Jun 15:09
    Hi Guy's I have been handed the task of developing the service & Support department. We are a Global manufacturing buisness and my question is with regards to the website. I ...
    • Self Service Technologies, DenisK, 25 Jun 19:31
      Hi Evet, I have not come across any websites giving information on specifically the concept of self-servicing, but generally speaking I think it all starts from the business ide ...
      • Self Service Technologies, Evet, 26 Jun 08:49
        Hi there Denis Thanks for the reply Yes i agree the infrastructure has to be in place first within the business its self, but i just really want to know at tis point what sel ...
        • Self Service Technologies, Db, 26 Jun 09:03
          That is a very broad question. As Evet said, usually you would start by determining what you want to do and then look into the various options available to you. I work for a US ...
    • Self Service Technologies, BrandenFaulls, 26 Jun 10:39
      Online self service is a tricky area.  I don't know of any specific websites that relate to self service, but you should bear in mind all the key principles of user-centric design. ...
      • Self Service Technologies, Evet, 26 Jun 12:04
          Hi Branden Really useful websites for inspiration, which gets the old brain ticking and good advice in general to ponder over. Yes the customer journey is important,so  ...
        • Self Service Technologies, stephfox, 26 Jun 15:30
          Hi Evet, There are a couple of recent trends for customer support we've seen recently which stem from modern development techniques: 1) Q & A style websites: Users support us ...
          • Self Service Technologies, Evet, 28 Jun 17:40
            Hi stephfox Loads of useful information for me to read over and consider, thanks again  for the web links cheers  On 15:30:16 26 June 2008 stephfox wrote: Hi Evet, ...
            • Self Service Technologies, nickwilson, 29 Jun 09:47
              Hi Evet I have some material that you should find useful on online customer solutions including interactive virtual assistants and online chat  solutions, I will put it together ...
              • Self Service Technologies, Evet, 30 Jun 08:41
                Hi Nick Thanks for the information and i look  forward to reading the other material that you will be forwarding me, which i am sure will be useful and helpful. I have come acro ...
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