Your business is growing. And while you love talking to customers, there are a few other things you and your staff could be doing instead of answering the same questions, again.
Here’s the good news: it turns out that more than half of us (according to a recent study by Forrester) prefer solving our own problems, rather than contacting a company for support.
It’s quicker and easier than ever to try out a self-service platform like Elevio. But if you’re going to start delivering support content, you’re going to need...support content.
Not sure where to start? These simple steps will put you on the right track.
Check in with your customer-facing colleagues (5 minutes)
You might already have FAQ content – and that’s a great place to start when you’re writing up your first help desk articles. But it’s a good idea to make sure these FAQs really are frequently asked.
Send a quick message to any of your colleagues on the front line of customer communication – support agents, sales and even social media moderators – asking what sort of questions they’re answering that aren’t in the FAQs.
Don’t have FAQs? Check in with those colleagues anyway. The conversation might take a little bit longer, but it’s still a great place to start.
Consider customer feedback (10 minutes)
Customer conversations are a great source of insight. Have a read through the most recent batch of reviews, comments on your articles, or message board threads where people are talking about your product.
Apart from making note of any questions or frustrations that come up, make sure you pay careful attention to the language your customers are using. Chances are, they’re using different words and phrases than the ones you throw around internally. Using customer language in your support content will make it easier and more intuitive for people to find the answers they need.
Check out a competitor's website (10 minutes)
Once you know your own product inside and out, it can be easy to lose perspective. Go to a competitor's website and check out their FAQs or help desk content. (You can usually find a help centre link in the site’s footer.)
Browse through some of their articles and take some notes on what you like, and what you don’t. Here are some questions to think about:
- Is this easy to read and understand?
- Do I feel like I’m being helped, or being talked down to?
- Am I being given all the information I need to take action?
- How are they using images, gifs and video?
- Do these articles give me more confidence in the product or service?
Answering these questions will give you a nice little guide around what to do – and what not to do – when creating your own help articles.
Final step? Never do this again (0 minutes)
Your product or service is going to change over time. And that's great. You know what isn't so great? Out-of-date help articles. Just like those FAQs, support content should be fresh and relevant.
Most support platforms will give users a chance to leave feedback on the support articles they’re reading – providing valuable insight into what’s working and what needs updating.
Here at Elevio, we’ve taken it one step further.
Our platform continually analyses your content and the way your customers are interacting with it. Our very smart system then packages these insights up into recommendations that integrate seamlessly into your team’s workflow.
Your business is going to keep evolving – and your support content should too. See how easy Elevio makes it by signing up for a free 14 day trial (no credit card needed).
