The bad news is that it is definitely hurting organizations and their costs because while customers are using newly added self-service channels, they haven't stopped using more expensive live channels.. Regularly review and update your self-service resources. Simplify how they get service, support, and information so they can do their best work from anywhere. Business benefits of a customer self-service strategy Self-service channels can save organizations money while improving CX -- if done right. Once implemented, closed loop feedback using data-driven analytics should be incorporated into evaluating and refining the self-service strategy. Unfortunately, only 9% can fully resolve their issues via self-service channels. When appropriate, include For companies such as telcos, insurers, consumer electronics suppliers and utilities providers, these common scenarios typically account for 40-50% of overall contact center volumes. Reduce risk and lower costs while accelerating cloud adoption. After all, even the most comprehensive self-service strategy will be redundant if the structure of your organisation doesnt support it. Be aware that customer journeys are often broken by non-technology factors, such as the lack of processes, polices, procedures, people and metrics. Unlock worker productivity by streamlining and digitizing standard operating procedures and enabling shared knowledge across the enterprise. With today's self-service tools, self customer service isn't relegated to one platform. The desktop computer is no longer the primary device for accessing information online; employees and customers often prefer to use mobile devices. Given that the effects of the pandemic continued through most of 2021 and into 2022 already [this paper was published in March 21], IDC expects many businesses will find their customers normalized around the convenience and safety of contactless commerce.. 5 Steps For A Successful Self-Service Strategy Step 1: Set clear goals Step 2: Define and enhance customer journeys Step 3: Choose the right engagement channels Step 4: Place self-service at the core of a Customer Engagement Hub Step 5: Evaluate self-service engagement Delivering Self-Service With The Customer In Mind This, in effect, is a strategy in its own right, encompassing people, processes and technology. The ideal trend is for customers to self serve on the easy answers, while your contact center uncovers bigger problems and builds long-lasting customer relationships. Include calls to action throughout your main site, linking to the self-service portal. Speed ROI with ServiceNow Impact. does mean that self-service is now widely recognized as a faster, easier Todays contact centers are made up of complex combinations of humans and virtual assistants using both natural and artificial intelligence, operating over multiple channels and using a wide range of tools to solve customers issues. Key steps to developing a winning self-service strategy A poorly executed self-service strategy will only result in customers contacting your service agents anyway or giving up entirely and going elsewhere. This is called a self-service portal. Based on studies of more than 8,000 customer journeys, Gartner finds that 70% of customers are using self-service channels at some point in their resolution journey. These results should then translate into repeat orders, more referrals and lower churn. Organizations need to provide their users with the right resources, and the software to access them. They do all the hard work on an awesome resource and wonder why the numbers are not proving favourable. 3 key elements to include in your customer self-service strategy. Differentiate your business with the secure and resilient delivery of technology. Why not ask your service agents to list what they find more frustrating about the current system? Instead, focus on reducing live channels. The following graphs show that in 2020, there was a strong uptick in customers using SST, although there was a lag in the ability to resolve these. Additionally, customer-service portals benefit your business by educating your customers. Digitize and automate workflows to enhance the customer experience, online and in-store. Since its inception, self-service has had the potential to handle the vast majority of live calls. The platform for digital business delivers unmatched opportunity. Sorry, No data match for your criteria. The key, however, is to go forward with a good self-service strategy that is customer centric and clear approach. An adoption strategy should also include a full and detailed assessment of the user enterprises needs. Top self-service options include the ability to analyze and improve virtual-agent performance. Insightful article by Neil Davey. Self-service business intelligence (BI) is a data analytics method that allows business users (e.g., business analysts, managers, executives) to access and explore datasets without any experience in BI, data mining, and statistical analysis. Steps toward continuous improvement can be achieved by creating a broad knowledge base from the right blend of synthetic data, agent expertise and existing resources provided by customers, such as when they describe issues and experiences on the companys social media channels. Developing your customer self-service strategy To create your self-service strategy, build a model of your customer service experience, and identify places where technology or processes could be inserted to save time and effort. Evolve talent management practices for a self-service dominant strategy. Clients receive 24/7 access to proven management and technology research, expert advice, benchmarks, diagnostics and more. Any business seeking to create a successful self-service strategy should ensure the technology is straightforward and intuitive. Improve resilience and uptime with a single system of action. . Yes, it might be an obvious point, but its one that too many companies skip. Together, these advantages translate into cost savings in terms of both time and efficiency. Deliver legal services for your enterprise at the speed of the business. 8 a.m. 5 p.m. GMT Prevent self-service abandonment through confidence-building design. Does your technology include a knowledge management and a customer engagement platform for consistent answers and context continuity across various self-service and assisted service touchpoints? Privacy Policy. An employee self-service portal is designed inward facing. And, for those who need more one-on-one assistance, consider including other contact options on the page. Resolution in self-service is a win-win for customers and for companies. For the dollars part it could be either the cost of doing the project or the cost of not doing the project, says Hall. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. I have read, understood and accepted Gartner Improve service operations and engage customers. September 25, 2019 The world works with ServiceNow. But self-service that is poorly managed can be almost as harmful as not giving the customer the option altogether. A poorly executed self-service strategy will only result in customers contacting your service agents anyway or giving up entirely and going elsewhere. Whatever measurable you choose, it is vital to have a good foundation of objectives that your business can work through.. Download eBook: Does Your Digital Customer Service Strategy Deliver? Right this second, youre at the end of a blog that you may have read in depth or skimmed in order to fill the gaps on this topic. Self-service portals give users the opportunity to find their own answers without outside help. Consumers are happy to embrace innovation, but their priorities are dependability, consistency and simplicity. Improve productivity by streamlining the employee service experience with intelligent workflows. SMB Pro Tip #1: Integrate self-service into support strategy. Figuring out when self-service is appropriate and how it should be best executed is more important than quickly implementing a self-service option in order to reduce staff workload. Providing them with self-service options is likely to be the perfect solution, explains Jeremy Payne, international group marketing director at Enghouse Interactive. In other words, consider online self-service channels on the same level as phone and email support channels. The quality of the customer journey defines their relationship with the organization. Connect your employees across digital channels. Real knowledge management is a collection of best practices and processes for leveraging the know-how that exists in your organisation to better engage with customers, notes Mennie. Build digital workflow apps fast with a low-code platform. For those issues that necessitate help from a living agent, the virtual-agent conversation and history can be seamlessly transferred over. Contributor:Jordan Bryan. Digital self-service or just "self-service" is a collection of marketing and customer service tactics that allow clients or customers to resolve issues or answer questions on their own through digital channels. Separate Consent Letter Research shows that companies that eliminate inefficiencies along the customer journey increase revenues by as much as 10-15%, while simultaneously lowering the cost to serve by up to 20%. "Implementing self-service will be a win-win for most organisations. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. They are invested in their own customer experience. The results found that web self-service can reduce costs by as much as $11 per call! With common, repetitive issues solved and a shorter backlog of the exact same issues to follow up, you free them up to focus on more high-priority, important issues. Self-service is increasingly important to businesses and their customers, and so a properly executed project, which requires a robust strategy underpinning it, is supremely valuable. The Strategy: outlines the current policy landscape that relates to data. And, in the event that a customer is still having trouble finding a solution, portals allow users to create cases and contact living support agents. Knowledge management is not a part-time job. The self-service revenue growth framework cuts across these 5 essential stages: Acquisition Activation Retention Monetization Metrics and Measurement Table of Contents Fundamental self-service SaaS workflow Unbounded Acquisition in a Self-service SaaS World Get the product right, and it will sell itself or your customers will help you sell it. personnel. Here are several important features and tools to look for when choosing a self-service solution for your business: In addition to giving users a central location from which to locate solutions and access self-service options, service portals can also be personalized to specific users across every channel. Unfortunately, only 9% can fully resolve their issues via self-service channels. A good Knowledge Management solution should have full reporting suites and integrations to any channelwhich greatly help in pulling together intel for new CX strategies such as implementing a new self-service offering. Cormac Twomey, managing director EMEA at Convergys, summarises some of the key elements: As with any strategy that has the potential to transform a business, it needs strong leadership, measureable goals, a consistent plan and full commitment from the top. The customer self-service portal is usually hosted on the companyswebsite andis available 24/7. 2023Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. And with these last pieces signed off, you now have the outline of an actionable self-service strategy. Explore valuable resources to drive business outcomes and achieve success faster. Be clear on what should be achieved in terms of positive impact on customer experiences and how this could translate to business performance. At the same time, systems will be up-to-date in terms of the technology implemented - and its also much cheaper for the business to allow its customers to serve themselves, emphasises Payne. And what are the most appropriate channels to serve those needs at each stage in the journey? To do that, you should start tracking your current customer-support But it turns out that not all self-service options are created equal. The support channels you use would be based on what type of resource makes the most sense for the types of questions customers ask most often. They can access tools designed to help them find the right solutions to their issues, quickly and easily. Companies like Kochartech, can help the contact centers to improve their customer experience and achieve great response from customers by providing them their self-care solutions. As they become more familiar with the ins and outs of what you are offering, they will be more likely to want to do business with you in the future. When creating a search function for your self-service portal, make sure that you are focusing on user experience, first and foremost. Its not just about putting it on a customer portal and expecting customers to stumble upon it its about making it available within all processes offering contextual information during the customers journey rather than merely at a central portal.. Create effortless experiences that bring customers back again and again. Make the most out of your ServiceNow investment. The goal of managed self-service BI is to find the right balance, leaning toward relatively few datasets and creating new datasets when it makes sense to do so. Gartner Terms of Use To ensure consistency and accuracy, the knowledge should be drawn from the same library that agents usethis way, not only are customers able to obtain the correct answer no matter the channel on which they choose to ask their question, your organisation is employing a single source of truth. Also, because others can use self-service options for simple questions, this reduces wait time for them if they need to speak to a customer service agent. Let us help you turn your agents into instant experts so they can provide the best answers the first time. This creates a costlier, more complex network of channels to manage without improving the . Virtual agents offer a more personalized, intuitive experience than static resources. Gartner research finds 56% of service leaders are adding new channels or features within their existing channels, but customers are still calling for live support adding cost and complexity to service operations. Provide resilient services that increase productivity and create amazing experiences wherever your employees work. This Gartner article says that live service (reaching out to a physical person), should be treated like a precious resource. Instead of expecting customers to go to service agents with every problem, wherever possible empower them to find their own solutions. ChatGPT Knowledge Management is the secret source. Surveyed service leaders report that as much as 40% of todays live volume could be resolved in self-service channels. The good news is that channel switching does not appear to be hurting customer loyalty as much as it did in the past, says Devin Poole, Senior Director, Gartner. A tactical standpoint often represents the opposite: the tool is implemented with a single case in mind, rather than a long-term approach that doesnt take into considering self-service as part of a comprehensive approach to multichannel customer engagement.. That said, before you can deliver exceptional customer service, you need to outline your self-service strategy. Manage self-service capabilities like a product, not an IT project. Not necessarily. While there will always be live service, that type of service should be treated like a precious resource and reserved for opportunities that significantly move the dial on outcomes the customers and the company care most about, says Poole. They should be accessible from your website, viewable on any device, and easy to navigate. 8 a.m. 7 p.m. 1. Provide insightful, helpful resources, make your portals easy to search and navigate, and make sure that you are optimizing for desktop and mobile use. This kind of portal likewise provides relevant resources and solutions to common problems, but also gives employees a place where they can manage their payroll, access the employee handbook, review benefits, read up on policies, update personal information, and more. An experienced business journalist and editor, Neil has worked on a variety of newspapers, magazines and websites over the past 20years, including Internet Works, CXO magazine and Business Management. Breaking Departmental Silos with Connected Workflows, Forrester TEI of ServiceNow Customer Service Management, Artificialintelligence andintelligenttechnologies. The more relevant your self-service options for your target customers, the more likely they are to use them and return to you as their provider. During interactions with customers, they can suggest using the portal for self-service. A strategic approach to self-service. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. They are typically happy to work out their own answers to questions they have. This person needs to elevate the importance and success of the project and its strategies to the c-suite so communication is paramount.. A self-service strategy should consider convenience and speed, since todays customers require real-time responses, personalization which builds trust and loyalty, efficiency in order to reduce the administrative burden on the company, and automation that delivers effortless interactions. Safeguard operational technology (OT) systems with digital workflows that respond quickly to threats. Why not go to our own Web Answers page to learn more about what we do? See what your ROI will be by using livepro to cut contact center costs. Self-service portals enable users with the resources and support to find their own solutions, improving the user experience. Customers can schedule a time that works with a technician when in-person service is necessary. If you get the balance right, the result will be an optimised customer engagement process and reduced cost for the business at the same time., To help you put yourself into your customers shoes, you are recommended to map the end-to-end customer journey. Customer self-service is the process by which customers resolve their own problems without help from a support agent. Does that mean that the average Embrace speed and agility through automation. Remind them that self-service will help customers get answers to the common and repetitive questions, freeing up agents to handle more interesting requests or interactions that truly need a personal touch. Not only does this free up agents time to deal with more complex issues, it provides customers with a level of service that they have come to expect. Modernize learning to create amazing experiences for all. When designing a self-service strategy, its vital to ensure that each channel is matched with the right approach or technology. Finally, make sure your customer service agents know about the portal and how it works. support back in the hands of the users, arent businesses offering less To achieve this, it's important to have a value enhancement strategy. This needs to be a very hands-on rather than theoretical exercise.. Your FAQ pages should provide succinct answers to common questions. To build a successful self-service strategy, enterprises should set clear goals for themselves, understand and enhance customers journeys, choose the proper engagement channels, make self-service a central part of its infrastructure, and use the right metrics to evaluate success. Two years on, it stands to reason that the general population has become more tech-savvy, which results in higher resolution rates. Self-Service Design Criteria. great coffee at other times and in other places as well. In designing the self-service capability there are five key enablers we have observed about successful self-service models: Findability - Findability is driven by three things (all of which are enabled by KCS): context, structure, and rich environment statements. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Do you have the helpline for Telstra in your mobile contacts? Automate end-to-end process flows, integrations, and back-end systems. Self-service is a form of support through which users can access information and perform tasks over the internet without having to interact with a human employee of the company. Get the support and tools you need for every step of your upgrade journey. As a result of pandemic conditions over the past two years, contactless service and work from home trends are resulting in customers bypassing companies that do not provide self-service 24/7. Benchmarking is a great way for uncovering current weaknesses in the way customers are served, but just as importantly, will highlight where your current contact strategy is working well.. DON'T take a "set it and forget it" approach to Walmart axed its Mobile Express Scan & Go self-checkout experience due to negative feedback from customers. At the same time, they are less willing to wait on the convenience of customer-support personnel and service agents. Examples of digital self-service include, but are not limited to: Knowledge bases On-demand training Chatbots Remote sales rep interactions A comprehensive knowledge base for your customers. Increase agility across the organization. But the not so obvious, if the main strategic avenue for the project is cost reduction, is that your biggest selling element is going to be the increasing cost to the business by not doing this project. Click here to learn more about successfully rolling out your self-service platform. Boost customer satisfaction with efficient field service management. Get the latest on Customer Service Innovation in a brief occasional email. Fill out the form to connect with a representative and learn more. Therefore, it is critical that a robust strategy is in place to ensure that all the component parts are coordinated. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". The success of your implementation depends on designating a knowledge worker, who for best chance of success may be redeployed from another function such as the contact centre, whose function is to populate and administer the knowledgebase content, ensuring that the service is relevant and constantly updated.. The key to improving customer experience while reducing live call volume lies not in adding or updating channels but in a distinct shift in service strategy in which live service interactions are specifically prioritised for high-value, urgent and complex contacts. With the vision, buy-in and people all in place, the remaining components of an actionable strategy are the budget and the timeline the dollars and dates. Companies therefore need to plot every conceivable customer flow, including call defection from the contact center to self-service, initiation of self-service sessions from all channels, and the potential need for a warm transfer between self-service and live agent service. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. The good news is that channel switching does not appear to be hurting customer loyalty as much as it did in the past, says Devin Poole, Senior Director, Gartner. Create seamless experiences for customers and agents with compliance. Privacy Policy. provide users with a quick, uncomplicated guide that they can follow Strengthen common services and meet changing expectations for global business services and ESG impact. Gain the insights you need to move from strategy to business outcomes in a constantly changing world. Make sure you have an expert and owner identified for self-service and one who can work collaboratively with other departments, notes Hall. path to customer support. Include filtering and advanced search options. Connect processes end to end. Often, that means they want self-service. A self-service IVR system is an automated contact center solution feature that interacts with your callers to solve their queries and carry out simple tasks like bookings and cancellations. A successful self-service strategy will result in improved Customer Experience Metrics such as higher satisfaction scores, improved Customer Effort Score, higher Net Promoter Score (NPS) and greater loyalty. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We expect the barista-style experience even when serving ourselves (which is why it would have been judicious to buy shares in digital coffee machines!!) Your action plan must include a way of tracking your progress leading up to and following implementation of your strategy. What problems are they regularly needing solutions to? Barista-quality coffee at the touch of a button. When Deliver answers by livepro, through any of your trusted Customer Service or Collaboration apps. Include the last updated date in the resources themselves, so users can see at a glance how recent the information is. It As you establish your self-service portal and its underlying self-service channels, be sure not to skip over mobile usability. See how. Sixty-four percent of customer service and support leaders report "growing the business" is their most critical priority in 2022. Once youve identified recurring questions and problems, you next They can visit service forums or talk to AI chat bots. Above all, it must be obvious to the customer that its designed to make their life easier. This builds confidence and employee satisfaction. Streamline order management to accelerate revenue and deliver personalized experiences, all while capitalizing on everything-as-a-service (XaaS). separate need; it provides faster gratification. Of course, its also vitally important to factor the customers needs and wants into your objectives after all, the customer is the single most important component of the self-service process. Develop innovative solutions with a modern service provider platform. their customer service while reducing cost and strain on support Self-service analytics requires a strong operating model and enlightened leaders who excel at communicating across departmental and corporate boundaries. Automate and streamline work across the enterprise.