1 | Self-Service Your Customers Will Love

SELF-SERVICEYOUR CUSTOMERS WILL LOVEwith Johan Jacobs

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TABLE OF CONTENTSUnderstanding Self-Service………….…….…....……3

Effectively Supportingthe Self-Service Transaction……………………….….7

Knowledge Management:The Heart of Self-Service………….…..…………....10

Delivering the SeamlessCustomer Experience.….................................14

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UNDERSTANDINGSELF-SERVICESelf-service is not a new concept. It’s really become quite ubiquitous. We are all used to pumping our own gas, checking ourselves out at the grocery, getting money out of ATMs, choosing our flights and ordering goods online.

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The Web presents the perfect platform for self-service, and companies have invested heavily in promoting its convenience, offering incentives to encourage use.

But despite the huge amount of time and money that have been poured into Web self-service, customer satisfaction scores are not increasing and abandonment rates are still high. Why is self-service not more successful?

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In many cases, companies have invested heavily in transactional self-service, but have neglected those aspects of self-service that must be there to support the transaction.

What happens? When customers have questions or need help to complete a transaction, they can’t easily get answers. So their answer is simple: Opt out of the transaction and don’t bother with self-service again. The typical pattern shows a sharp drop in use within a year.TOTAL CUSTOMER BASE THAT ADOPTS SELF-SERVICE

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On average, nearly half of your customers know about your self-service capabilities and have used them once or twice. These are the people you want to focus on, supporting all aspects of their self-service interactions in order to encourage greater use. Let’s look at how to deliver self-service your customers will love.

Customers who will never use Web self-service due to age, bandwidth constraints or personal preference

8%

Customers who know about your self-service and have used it once or twice 45%

Customers who are regular users 27%

Customers who do not know about your Web self-service capabilities 20%

CUSTOMER USAGE OF SELF-SERVICE

Based on data presented during webinar, “Self-Service Your Customers will Love,” with Johan Jacobs, November 12, 2013

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EFFECTIVELY SUPPORTING THE SELF-SERVICE TRANSACTION

When implementing self-service, it is crucial to support the interaction as a whole, not just the process of filling the shopping cart and checking out.

This requires equal investment in the support side of self-service, which includes both unassisted and assisted self-service channels. The goal is to answer customers’ questions within the context of the self-service interaction.

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Many companies implement FAQs as their unassisted self-service solution. But FAQs are notoriously ineffective, delivering “answers” that bear little relevance to the question the customer asked.

So skip FAQs in favor of the many unassisted channels that can do a far better job such as:

EMAIL RESPONSE MANAGEMENTProvides relevant auto-response within one hour or less

VIRTUAL ASSISTANTCreates stickiness and entertainment while delivering relevant answers

HOW-TO VIDEOSKeeps the customer in self-service with visual guidance

SMS & MULTI-MODALIntegrates SMS/Texting with the Web to provide relevant links and encourage self-service use

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When improving self-service, start with really good unassisted support, then enhance your offering with assisted Web channels. These can include:

WEB CHAT*Text engagement with a live agent

EMAIL RESPONSE MANAGEMENTAuto-preparation of responses for service representatives to review and edit before sending to the customer

COLLABORATIVE BROWSINGScreen sharing for problem resolution and an interactive experience

SOCIAL CUSTOMER SERVICESupport delivery via social channels

PEER-TO-PEER COMMUNITIESCustomer-to-customer support, often leveraging social channels

* For an in-depth discussion of Web chat, read our eBook, The Dos and Don’ts of Web Chat

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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT:THE HEART OF SELF-SERVICE

No matter which channels you choose to implement, a knowledgebase must lie at the heart of every unassisted and assisted channel, providing a unified repository of all the knowledge needed to answer customer questions.

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With a knowledgebase, you can be sure responses are consistent across both unassisted and assisted channels—regardless of the channel the customer uses, the answer will be the same.

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It is very important that your knowledgebase uses sophisticated search techniques, like natural language search, semantic search and decisions trees so that it delivers only the most relevant answers. This eliminates bombarding your customers with pages and pages of potential “answers” that bear little resemblance to the question.

You can measure the effectiveness of the knowledgebase through “relevancy of response”, which equates to first contact resolution in the contact center.

Knowledgebase Service Level Agreement Answer have 85%

relevancy to the question

No more than 3 answers per inquiry

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When you address the total self-service experience, there will be an impact on your business in terms of the competencies you will need. Keep in mind that the new channels will require different skills such as the following:

KNOWLEDGEBASETechnical writing & fact-finding skills

EMAIL RESPONSE MANAGEMENTBusiness writing skills; word processing

WEB CHATBusiness writing skills; multi-tasking

COLLABORATIVE BROWSINGMulti-tasking; speaking and writing skills; product knowledge

VIRTUAL ASSISTANTGraphical and video editing and design

MOBILE SERVICESMulti-tasking; text typing; SMS authoring

VIDEO SERVICESFace-to-face persona; friendly; stress management

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DELIVERING THE SEAMLESS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

The final step to delivering a great self-service experience is to make sure that your unassisted and assisted channels are easily available throughout the self-service interaction.

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This requires embedding self-service support within the transaction. Every page on your site should make it easy and simple to get help—and offer multiple ways to do so, enabling customers to pick the method that works best for them at that moment.

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Investing in the support side of self-service by providing multiple unassisted and assisted channels and embedding these within the transaction can result in higher rates of adoption and use over time, leading to the ultimate prize—greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.

TOTAL CUSTOMER BASE THAT ADOPTS SELF-SERVICE

++

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Finally, a comprehensive approach to self-service enables faster adaptation to the approaching world of the omni-channel, which will integrate online and offline interactions.

More and more, customers expect seamless experiences that can cross the online and offline worlds without a hitch. By making unassisted and assisted self-service an integral part of the customer’s journey, it becomes easier to build bridges between the logical and physical world, enhancing the offline world with the channels and techniques used online.

CREATE SEAMLESS EXPERIENCESTHROUGHOUT THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY

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Meet the authorJOHAN JACOBS

Johan Jacobs is a former research director with Gartner, Inc. Based on his 13 years of experience, Johan has developed a depth of knowledge about best practices for web chat, including implementation techniques, ROI, required agent skills sets, contact center processes and the impact of knowledge management on agent productivity and customer satisfaction.

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LEARN MOREIf you’re interested in learning more about Moxie Software’s solutions for self-service, contact us today:

info@moxiesoft.comNA: +1-800-474-1149

Int’l: +44-870-904-1122www.moxiesoft.com