Self service has these days become the norm for businesses to remain competitive. Organizations that don’t have high quality tools for this will find their customers either defecting to competition or returning the old and expensive ways of doing things – telephone. So the big question is “What can I do to keep my customers on their toes while using self-service tools?” You might be wondering. Well, here’s how to go about it.
3 Tips How To Keep Customers On Their Toes Using Self Service Tools
Be Predictably Consistent
Perhaps every online business we see promises to provide great customer service, but it can be a constant challenge to be consistent and make a customer fully believe a company lives and breathes customer service. If there’s inconsistency in quality of customer service, the customer slowly loses confidence since they don’t know what to expect. In a nutshell, to make the most out of your self-service tools, you don’t have to be perfect, your customers only want to be sure that they can count on the available tools if there ever is a problem. So, see to it that all your customer experience channels are reliable, seamless and above all consistent.
The ” Findability ” Aspect
Truth be told, if customers cannot locate a self-service area, then the functionality does not exist! This lack of accessibility will not only frustrate your customers but also will increase the use of other more expensive channels. One therefore has to maximize the possibility that customers will find their web self-service features. This can be done through:
* Placing a support/contact us link button prominently on all (or most) of your website.
* Invest in SEO to cater for those who want to bypass other elements of your website while looking to contact you.
* For SEO benefits, make sure your support pages are all indexed, this will ensure that support content features in search results. 
Make good use of surprise reciprocity
According to psychologists the process of giving and taking “fairly” seems to be a central part of the human mind. Surprise reciprocity refers to the art of tactfully creating an emotional bond with your customers such that they feel a subconscious need to reciprocate the gesture. What does surprise reciprocity got to do with self-service tools?
Consider the following scenario:
How would you feel if you ordered a product that will be delivered in 3 to 4 days only for the vendor to upgrade your order to priority shipping – such that you get your order delivered at your doorstep in as little as one day? Ultimately you’ll find yourself developing an urge to pay back for this act of kindness. Maybe you’ll bookmark their page so you visit them some other time (moving forward) or maybe you’ll want to tell your friends about them.
Now this is pretty much what incorporating a surprise factor to your self-service menu helps you accomplish. It helps bring in new customers, increase customer retention and soar your ROI. Only be sure to choose a surprise reciprocity that goes in line with your customers’ expectations.
Tools such as WalkMe, that interactively guide users through the tasks they need help customer support issues get solved quicker and easier and therefore relieving the calls that are made to the agents. Average hold times can be decreased and make the customers happy. The technology that is involved can make the customer very happy and will say “wow”.
There you go – the 3 most sought-after tips that will ultimately help you keep your customers on their toes with self service tools.
