The age of personalization is here and you are either matching demands of consumers or encouraging them to do business elsewhere. According to a new study from Accenture Interactive, more than 9 in 10 companies are struggling to deliver digital customer experiences that exceed their customer expectations. Further, only 7% say their companies actually do accomplish that goal. So where is the disconnect between what brands are doing (or not doing) and what customers expect?
The answer to meeting customer expectations online does not lie in live chat or extensive FAQ sections. Rather, the key is focusing on personalization, treating customers as individuals, and empowering them with the right information at the right place and time.
Here are three key focus areas to create a stand out digital experience:
1. Keep customers on your website
57% of web users will abandon a site the moment they have a question without a ready answer. Consumers do not want to waste time calling customer service or sifting through various website pages to find what they are looking for. Every page of your site should have answers to questions that your customers might ask based on the page they are on. For instance, let’s take the pricing page. Here are some questions and answer examples that would be wise to make readily available directly on the page:
How much does (Your Service) cost?
We are a non-profit, do you have special discounted pricing for non-profits?
How do I know if I already have an account?
Are your plans annual or monthly?
If not, you risk sending your clients to a “help island” the term we use for a separate FAQ or help desk where consumers get stranded among heaps of information. Typical use of knowledge base content is < 1%. If customers take the voyage to “help island” they are significantly more likely to abandon ship and leave your web page.
SEE ALSO: WHY YOUR HELP ISLAND KNOWLEDGE BASE SOFTWARE ISN’T HELPFUL FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS
2. Focus on better experience rather than better content
Many brands have extremely helpful and relevant content but do not present it in a way that the customers demand. The good news? You don’t have to devise entirely new content you just need to improve the discoverability of support content.
Predictive Q&A technology is a key to creating a frictionless online experience. AnswerDash's Predictive Q&A Engine dynamically serves up the most popular questions on a page based on your visitors’ most common inquiries. This way the most relevant questions on the page are always featured. AnswerDash considers what your visitors are doing, in context, sparing them from being presented with annoying, random answers.
3. Self-service is key
According to a study by Forrester, 72% of customers prefer to use self-service support rather than phone or email support. Self service is crucial and customers want the ability to be self-reliant.
Just think Google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average. Having grown up with technology, customers are able to be resourceful when it comes to finding information online. The idea is to be helpful in giving them ways to find the information they are looking for. Aim to empower rather than frustrate with your digital experience. It is also a benefit for brands. With self- service you deflect support tickets and benefit from lower support costs. Talk about a win-win!
Conclusion
More information is not always better. By shifting your mindset from information overload to personalized customer experience you are better able to meet the demands of customers. Aim to understand what questions your customers have, exactly where they have them, and what answers were valuable to them.
AnswerDash uses a Predictive Q&A Engine to serve up the right information in the right place at the right time. To learn more visit answerdash.com or check out our free eBook that dives deeper into customer service study results and findings for successful self-service.
Written by Jennifer Spencer