Customers nowadays don’t rely too much on a business’s customer support. They’d rather do things on their own and try to resolve any issues they might have by finding the solutions themselves. They’d rather not put up with interminable waiting times on customer service phone lines and hearing the same automated ‘your call is very important to us’ answer over and over.
It isn’t surprising then that more than 80% of customers would rather solve their problems on their own before reaching out to customer service. And who can blame them? Customers now have an option to skip all that. They wouldn’t have to explain their problems over and over again to some stranger on the phone and listening to a disembodied voice. (1)
For this reason, many businesses have set up customer service portals. Options like these, if done right, won’t only enhance the customer’s experience but will also lighten internal staff workloads.
An overview of customer service portals
A customer service portal is a software interface provided by the business to help their customers access information about the company and its brands or products. A typical basic customer service portal gives general information like frequently asked questions, some video tutorials, basic knowledge articles, and others. These basic customer portals can be read by any visitor without the need to be logged in.
More advanced portals give customers access to more personalized services and information through a log in. These are more private, secure, and contain information specific to a customer’s account. Customer service portal software like the one offered by Jobber enables customers to avail themselves of the services that they require.
They can request any work they need, confirm details regarding appointments, authorize quotations, and pay invoices. All these can be done online without any interaction with the company staff. This makes work faster, more efficient, and can ultimately build trust between the business and its clients. It’s also more cost effective.
Why should you care?
If you’re a business owner, then you’re aware that leading enterprises all over the world prioritize the needs and convenience of their customers. Their actions revolve around their customers—and they are rewarded for it, as this gives them an edge over their competitors. (2)
If your company is experiencing growth, then your client base is most likely expanding too. That means customer service requests are on the upsurge. If you’re using a computer telephony integration (CTI) system, for example, an increase in customer requests, coupled with customer increase, could present difficulties for your company.
Even if you invest and expand a CTI-based system, there’d still be customers who’d feel ignored or dissatisfied. Furthermore, you’d essentially be throwing good money after bad experiences. In this situation, having a customer service portal is no longer just an option—it’s practically a requirement. Besides, 88% of customers expect a company to have an online customer service portal. (3)
More importantly, businesses that prioritize their customer’s experience, realise an increase in revenue that’s estimated to be around 4%–8% higher than their rivals.
Customer service portal benefits
Most customers prefer to have control over how they address their problems. With a customer service portal, you’ll give them that choice and show that you care. Moreover, this system not only benefits your clients but your company as well. Below are other benefits of adopting this system:
- Simple queries are addressed
A typical customer portal can provide information to customers to help them find solutions to their problems. Some concerns could be trivial, so these could usually be solved without raising escalations to your customer care department. Instructional posts and videos and FAQ pages, for example, can be included by businesses in the service portal.
This way, customers themselves could tackle and find answers to their simple concerns. If customers couldn’t find what they’re looking for, they can always make a query using their account. Customer queries can then be easily handled through emails.
- Improve customer engagement
Another reason you should care is that a customer service portal encourages customers to engage with your business. Customers actively engaging with your company is one sign your business is doing well. With a customer service portal, you can test your marketing ideas and get immediate feedback from your clients, for example.
Additionally, with greater customer engagement, you could easily learn their thoughts on your business policies and decisions. You could also use the portal to disseminate tips and other information about your products. Remember, a business actively engaging with customers can inspire brand loyalty.
- Increase traffic to site
A customer service portal can help to boost your site’s traffic. Customers finding the answers they’re looking for on your portal can make them stay longer and read other entries. In turn, search engines will rank you higher. The higher your rank, the more traffic you’ll attract, which can translate to more leads and, eventually, customers.
Final thoughts
A customer service portal allows customers access to information that they need. It’s a self-service that they can use without having to contact a business’s customer service. After all, doing and finding things out for themselves is a preferred choice in the age of Google. Your company would also receive insight on the right information to provide to your customers to increase engagement.
Besides being cost-effective, service portals can also increase your website traffic. With the benefits that self-service portals give to your customers, it’s easy to see why businesses prefer setting up a customer service portal. Your customers want it, and it’s great for business. And that’s why you should care about customer service portals.
References
- “Kick-Ass Customer Service”, Source: https://hbr.org/2017/01/kick-ass-customer-service
- “100 Of The Most Customer-Centric Companies”, Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2019/06/30/100-of-the-most-customer-centric-companies/?sh=2ce69f8963c3
- “Do you expect a brand or organization to have an online self-service support portal?”, Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/810374/share-of-customers-by-if-they-expect-brands-to-have-a-self-service-portal/
- “36 Astonishing Customer Experience Statistics for 2021”, Source: https://techjury.net/blog/customer-experience-statistics/#gref
