Impactful Ways Businesses Can Use Customer Self-Service

The autonomous nature of customer self-service is revolutionizing the way businesses operate – and improving the customer experience at the same time. Through innovative technologies such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI), complex algorithms, and machine learning; self-service portals are improving the way businesses engage with customers. In this piece we’ll look at the many benefits of integrating customer self-service into your digital strategy – and how this can be achieved.

What Is Customer Self-Service?

Self-service technology allows customers to find their own solutions to problems without the need for human intervention. Innovative support technologies like chatbots and knowledge bases are able to execute routine tasks so that customers easily access information about your product, service, or topic.

What Are the Benefits of Customer Self-Service?

According to research published by Statista, 88% of US customers expect companies to offer some form of self-service support portal, with 79% of organizations relying on self-service technologies to improve customer service.

It’s evident that implementing self-service customer support is the future of business operations, but here are 9 reasons why you should be considering it today:

1. Self-service Is Simple and Easy-to-Use

Customers appreciate the ability to instantly access the information they require through a knowledge base or engaging with a chatbot. With customer self-service, there are no long delays waiting for a call operator to respond. Rather, self-service streamlines the entire digital customer experience.

2. Self-service Is Convenient for Consumers

Using mobile devices, customers can access self-service technologies wherever they are in the world. Chatbots, knowledge bases, and other tools never "close," meaning customers can access the information they need at any time of the day or night. This convenience significantly improves customer experience (CX) and encourages them to interact more with your business.

3. Self-service Lowers Business Costs

Automated self-service technologies require fewer staff than other customer service processes, thereby lowering business costs. Rather, your existing staff can focus their energy on escalated customer queries and other business-enhancing operations. Self-service technologies ensure you generate a significant return-on-investment (ROI) and can reinvest your budget into other areas of business. 

4. Self-service is Efficient

Customer self-service empowers your customers with the commonly asked information. And, when your customer service teams aren’t having to constantly attend to basic consumer queries, they’re free to deal with more complex concerns. This significantly reduces the workload for your staff and reduces stress, while allowing them to handle a higher volume of consumers and inquiries. 

5. Self-service Improves Agent Satisfaction

With reduced workloads, your agents benefit from more meaningful, constructive customer interactions and more free time to complete other demanding tasks. In this way, customer self-service portals actually improve agent satisfaction and enhance the workplace culture and morale.

6. Self-service Improves Cross-Selling and Up-Selling Opportunities

Self-service technologies actually allow you to cross-sell and up-sell other products and services within your organization. Chatbots, for example, can suggest products when a customer contacts your company with a query, thereby generating more revenue.

7. Self-service Provides Real-time Support

Modern customers demand faster turnarounds and instant gratification. With self-service, your customers are able to solve problems in real-time, rather than waiting days to get an email response from a company. Where self-service portals are unable to assist, customers will be seamlessly redirected to a live customer support team to handle their more complex issues.

8. Self-service Modernizes Your Business Technology

Every company should be implementing digital transformation goals – and self-service tools will help achieve this. Through updated technology, you’re providing customers with multiple platforms for accessing information and offering a modern business solution.

9. Self-service Changes Perceptions of Your Brand

When a customer is able to have a challenge or query dealt with in real-time through a self-service portal, they’re enjoying a more positive customer experience. This can be translated into great exposure for your brand when they share this news with friends or family, or share their experience on social media.

Examples of Ways to Use Self-Service for Businesses

There are several ways you can incorporate self-service portals into your existing business structure to drastically improve customer experience.

Chatbots

A chatbot, which simulates a human conversation, provides the customer with the information they require without input from support staff. For example, if a customer wants to learn whether a retailer dispatched a product bought online, they can use a chatbot on the retailer’s website rather than phoning the retailer and speaking to a service representative. If they do need to be transferred to a representative for more complex issues, they can seamlessly be redirected from the chatbot to live agent support.

According to research by Website Builder, chatbots can answer 80% of routine questions from customers, reducing customer service costs by 30%. This shows the significant impact chatbots can have on streamlining your operations and boosting the bottom line.

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a self-service online library of relevant company information that provides customers with answers to commonly asked questions. Like chatbots, knowledge bases are able to quickly and easily address customer queries without human intervention.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) Page

An FAQ page provides customers with an easily navigable list of commonly asked questions, and simple answers in one centralized source. It’s important to constantly update your FAQ page over time so that you’re providing customers with the most updated and relevant information about your products and services.

Webinars

Webinars are another far-reaching self-service option that give customers the chance to learn more about a business-related topic in their own time. You can post these pre-recorded broadcasts on your website and improve information access for customers.

Start Creating a Self-Service Strategy with Clickatell

By implementing self-service portals, you’re providing your customers with direct answers to questions in real-time. Clickatell's self-service chat solutions allow your customers to engage with your company through the existing communication channels. Built for tech-savvy, mobile-first customers, Clickatell helps you deliver fast service and a better customer experience.

Connect with a Clickatell expert now and enhance your digital CX through self-service and automation.