Helping customers without contact.
WHAT SELF-SERVICE PROVIDES
Answers at the moment of need Lower support volume Availability outside hours
WHAT IT REQUIRES
Documentation matching actual questions Search that works Placement where confusion occurs
WHAT TO WRITE FIRST
Answers to the questions support receives most.
WHY
They are proven to be needed.
HOW TO FIND THEM
Categorised ticket topics, ranked by volume.
WHAT TO AVOID
Documenting features rather than tasks Writing what you assume people need
WHY TASKS RATHER THAN FEATURES
Customers search for what they want to do.
WHAT TO MEASURE
Whether articles are found Whether they are read before tickets What is searched for and not found
WHAT THAT LAST ONE REVEALS
Gaps, precisely.
WHAT TO PLACE IN THE PRODUCT
Links to the relevant article, from the relevant screen.
WHAT DEFLECTION SHOULD NEVER MEAN
Making it hard to reach a person.
WHY
It produces anger, and the contact happens anyway, worse.
WHAT TO ALWAYS PROVIDE
A visible route to a human.
WHAT TO SUGGEST BEFORE THE FORM
Relevant articles, based on what they typed.
WHAT TO MEASURE ABOUT THAT
How many proceed anyway.
WHAT A HIGH NUMBER MEANS
The suggestions are not useful.
