Five tips to create an effective self-service portal

We live in an era of empowered customers and the rise of digital channels has paved the way for their increasing demands. For this reason, many companies are now investing in new technologies to deliver positive customer experiences. They now recognize the value of customer self-service channels.

Customer self-service is an important part of customer engagement in the digital era. Being a support model in which customers have the tools that allow them to solve their issues, it is no longer a nice-to-have. For many businesses that serve a large client base, it is a strategic tool to survive and grow in an increasingly competitive landscape.

An effective self-service portal must provide a comprehensive knowledge base that can cover the most common customer concerns, whether simple or complex.

There are many advantages that customer self-service technologies offer, and more and more businesses believe the long-term benefits outweigh the hefty price tag of setting up a self-service portal.

Here are some of them:

• It helps acquire new customers: Some tools have the power to show new customers how the product or service features can benefit them.

• It reduces support cost: The more you grow your customers, the more support you need to service them. Thankfully, self-service tools can tackle the increasing needs of your growing customer base.

• It improves customer retention: Customers seek immediate solutions to their problems. If they can't find what they want or are simply not satisfied, they will find business elsewhere.

• It delivers positive customer experiences: Customers who are delighted by well-built, innovative portals have the potential to become brand advocates. Reviews have become a major deciding factor for many purchase decisions.

These benefits have driven many companies to invest in customer self-service solutions such as FAQs, how-to videos, chatbots, IVRs, and other more advanced portals. But just like anything new, these are only effective when the tools are easy to use and help customers find what they need in the shortest possible time. Here is an essential guide to help you set up efficient, more customer-friendly self-service channels.

1. Use visual aids like screenshots, infographics, or video demos

Instructional guides are valuable content to ensure customers are using your product right. Make sure instructions are legible and easy to follow, and images or icons are recognizable. Screenshots are helpful if your customers need to learn to navigate a webpage or an app. Or do an instructional video so you can do a step-by-step demo. In Asia, here’s an example of a great how-to - Tonik digital bank’s onboarding video.

2. Update your knowledge base content regularly

Any updates on your services or products must be immediately posted on your self-service tools. Irrelevant content turns off many customers. It also helps to gather feedback from the users and know what features in the portal are too complex or difficult to understand. One good example of an updated knowledge base is Asian airliner Flyscoot’s help page.

3. Feature top FAQs on your home page

While it’s great to cover all possible topics, there’s more value in highlighting the most popular frequently asked questions on your home page. It helps to know the top reasons customers need support. It makes your self-service portal relatable and easy to navigate. Check out Singapore’s Agoda FAQs page.

4. Optimize the search field

The search function is one of the most helpful features used by customers. But no customer would want to waste time and go through hundreds of pages looking for a solution. One way is to tag pages with keywords typically used by customers. So it always helps to monitor the searches and then use these keywords as tags to relevant content.

5. Make your portal mobile-friendly

A study conducted among global users shows that 68% of website visits came from mobile phones. So an effective self-service portal is mobile optimized. Some of the most urgent customer concerns happen when they are on the move. Citi India has a self-service solution for situations of this kind.

Self-service technologies provide customers with more power, choices, and freedom. As companies strive to service massive customer bases, self-service portals, knowledge bases, and other digital solutions have become valuable tools to respond to customers’ demands, and delight them.

To implement efficient self-service support, companies must think carefully about the customer journey and invest in disruptive solutions relevant to every touchpoint. Only then will they enjoy long-term benefits such as increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved customer experiences.

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