Unthread’s Guide to Customer Self-Service

Did you know that, according to a 2023 Gartner survey, only 14% of self-service inquiries are fully resolved, yet 73% of customers prefer self-service options? While it may seem easier to contact the customer support team, sometimes it’s faster to find solutions on our own—if the right resources are available.

This is why Unthread prioritizes empowering companies to offer effective self-service, helping both customers and customer service representatives by reducing repetitive, low-priority tickets and routine tasks. But before diving into how Unthread supports customer self service and shows its best practices, let’s look at the fundamentals.

What is Customer Self-Service?

Customer self-service is the set of tools and resources that empower customers to find solutions independently, without direct assistance from support representatives. By enabling customers to solve issues on their own, companies can ease the workload on their customer support teams and enhance overall efficiency and customer satisfaction in the service experiences.

Objectives of Self-Service Support

The goal of a good self service system is to allow users to resolve inquiries independently, improving response times and customer satisfaction. An ideal self-service setup minimizes support tickets submitted in the help center and service teams, as customers become autonomous and find answers without needing to create new support requests.

What are the key customer self-service channels?

Businesses can implement a range of self-service solutions tailored to customer needs:

Knowledge Bases and FAQ Pages

Knowledge base: A searchable knowledge base offers comprehensive guides, troubleshooting steps, and answers to common questions. Unthread not only promotes the use of knowledge base articles and knowledge base software but also enhances them with AI-powered updates, reducing the time spent on manual content refreshes.

Bonus: Having a knowledge base allows the customer to find answers to simple issues because this will be available 24/7 without the need of a live agent.

FAQ Page: FAQ pages provide quick answers to frequently asked questions, reducing the need for direct support. Analyzing FAQs also helps companies identify common customer issues, leading to continuous improvement in resources.

Customer Self Service Portal

This service support portal allows customers to access their account information, review past interactions, and manage support requests. For instance, a customer portal for a healthcare provider might enable patients to schedule appointments or view test results independently.

Automated Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

Chatbots provide 24/7 responses to basic queries, while advanced virtual assistants use natural language processing to handle complex issues, offering more sophisticated, conversational support.

Community Forum and Social Media Groups

These online communities allow customers to share solutions and engage with each other, fostering a community-driven support ecosystem. For example, digital marketing tool providers often use LinkedIn groups to encourage customer interaction and peer support.

Troubleshooting Guides and Tutorials

Step-by-step troubleshooting guides help users resolve specific issues, while tutorials help them learn to use various product features, reducing the need for one-on-one support.

Mobile Self-Service Apps

Many companies now offer apps with self-service features, like managing accounts or initiating transactions, available anywhere.

IVR Systems

Interactive Voice Response systems help customers address common queries through automated voice commands, eliminating the need for live representatives.

Video Tutorials and Webinars

These provide visual, step-by-step instructions and real-time interaction, allowing customers to become proficient with products.

Unthread’s Self-Service Solutions

Unthread offers several best customer self service options:

Customer Portal (Beta)

• Live view of open tickets: Customers can track the status of their support requests in real time. This feature provides transparency and keeps them informed without needing to reach out.
• Embeddable in dashboard or standalone site:The portal integrates smoothly into a customer dashboard or can function independently as a standalone site. This flexibility allows teams to meet customer needs in their preferred setup.
• Customizable appearance and greeting message: Teams can tailor the portal’s appearance and greeting message to align with brand visuals and tone. A customized setup helps create a cohesive, welcoming experience for customers.
• Requires setup in Unthread dashboard (Settings → In-App Chat): The portal is set up through Unthread's dashboard, making configuration straightforward and accessible. Teams can quickly implement and manage the portal within their existing Unthread account.
• Identity verification for secure access: To ensure privacy, only authorized users can access the Self-service portal with identity verification. This feature adds an essential security layer, protecting customer information.

Slack-based Request Tracker

• Allows customers to track open support requests in Slack
  Customers can view and track their open support tickets directly in Slack, receiving real-time updates without leaving the platform. This simplifies monitoring and enhances the speed of responses by keeping all ticket information in one place.
• Integrates with existing Slack workflows
  Unthread integrates smoothly into current Slack workflows, enabling teams to manage support tickets without disrupting their usual processes. This ensures that support tasks are handled efficiently while maintaining workflow consistency.

In-App Chat Widget

• Enables direct customer communication through website or app:
  Customers can easily reach a support team through integrated chat features on your website or app, streamlining communication. This direct channel improves response times and enhances the overall customer experience.
• Customizable appearance and settings
  The system allows for extensive customization, including adjusting the look and feel to match your brand’s design. This ensures that the support interface aligns with your company’s identity while providing a user-friendly experience.
• Can be configured with assignment and escalation rules
  Unthread can be set up with specific rules for assigning tickets to the right team members and automatically escalating issues based on priority. This ensures that tickets are addressed promptly and efficiently, minimizing delays in resolution.

Email Support Integration

• Relays support emails to Slack for direct responses
  Support emails are automatically forwarded to Slack channels, allowing support teams to respond directly from within the platform. This streamlines communication by eliminating the need to switch between email and Slack.
• Integrates email support with Slack workflows
  Email support is seamlessly integrated into existing Slack workflows, enabling teams to manage email tickets alongside other tasks. This integration enhances team productivity by centralizing all customer interactions within Slack.

Automated Features

• Auto-responder for common queries
  An automated response system is in place to handle frequently asked questions, providing immediate answers to customers. This reduces response times and frees up support agents for more complex issues.
• Assignment rules and SLAs for efficient ticket handling
  Unthread can be configured with assignment rules and service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure that tickets are routed to the appropriate agents and handled within predefined timelines. This improves efficiency and helps meet customer expectations for timely responses.
• Automated tagging based on question type
  The system automatically tags tickets based on their content, categorizing them by question type. This helps agents quickly identify and prioritize issues, streamlining the resolution process.
• Leverages existing Unthread functionality for replies, notes, and more
  Unthread's existing features, such as replies and note-taking, can be utilized for managing tickets, ensuring that agents have all the Self-service tools they need in one place. This enhances collaboration and ensures consistent communication across the team.

AI-Powered Support (Unthread AI)

• Generate AI responses based on existing documentation
  The AI can generate responses by pulling relevant information from existing documentation, ensuring that answers are accurate and consistent. This speeds up response times while maintaining high-quality support.
• Can suggest responses privately to support reps or reply directly to customers
  The AI can either suggest responses to customer service reps privately, allowing them to refine the answer before sending, or reply directly to customers for immediate resolution. This flexibility helps balance automation with human touch.
• Works with Slack, email, and in-app chat support
  The AI system integrates seamlessly across Slack, email, and in-app chat, enabling consistent support no matter the communication channel. This ensures that responses are automated and streamlined regardless of where customers reach out.
• Helps automate responses across multiple channels
  By automating responses across Slack, email, and in-app chat, the AI reduces the workload for the contact center. This enhances efficiency and ensures customers receive prompt, consistent answers across all platforms.

Custom Ticket Properties

• Allows creation of unique properties for different ticket types
  Custom properties can be created for different ticket types, allowing you to capture relevant information based on the specific nature of the request. This ensures that tickets are categorized and managed more effectively according to their unique requirements.
• Property types include short answer, long answer, single-select, multi-select, and checkbox
  A variety of property types, such as short answer, long answer, single-select, multi-select, and checkbox, can be configured to gather the appropriate data. This flexibility ensures that all necessary information can be captured in a structured way.
• Options for required fields and visibility settings (customer-facing or internal)
  You can designate certain fields as required and set visibility preferences, making fields either customer-facing or internal. This customization ensures that agents capture essential information while controlling what customers can see and interact with.

These features aim to enhance customer self-service capabilities, improve response times, and streamline the support process resulting to happy customers. The exact configuration and availability of these features may depend on your specific Unthread setup and integrations.

FAQs

1. What are the benefits of customer self-service?

Customer self-service offers numerous advantages that enhance both the customer experience and operational efficiency. The key benefits include:

• Empowerment: Customers can resolve simple issues on their own, empowering them to find solutions through resources like a knowledge base, FAQ pages, or a self-service portal.
• Convenience: With 24/7 availability, customers can access help whenever they need it, making the support process seamless and quick.
• Reduced customer effort: Customers can quickly find the information they need through search engines, interactive tools, and service portals, which lowers the customer effort score.
• Case deflection: Self-service tools like knowledge bases and community forums reduce the number of support tickets, freeing up support teams to focus on more complex issues.
• Cost savings: By deflecting routine inquiries, self-service reduces the need for human support and enables businesses to streamline their support process.

2. Why and how should one measure self-service effectiveness?

Measuring the effectiveness of your customer self-service strategy is essential to ensuring a positive customer experience. Here are key ways to measure its success:

• Customer satisfaction: Use customer feedback to gauge satisfaction with self-service options and identify areas for improvement. Consider customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) and track customer experience across various service channels.
• Ticket deflection rate: Track the number of support tickets or service tickets that are deflected through self-service portals or knowledge base articles. A higher deflection rate indicates that customers are finding what they need without contacting customer service representatives.
• Customer effort score: Evaluate how much effort customers are putting into solving their issues using self-service tools. A lower score typically means your self-service portal is providing effective solutions.
• Time to resolution: Monitor how quickly customers can solve their issues autonomously. Faster resolutions lead to greater customer satisfaction and happier customers.
• Usage metrics: Track the frequency of visits to the self-service portal, engagement with knowledge base articles, and activity in online communities to assess whether your tools are being utilized effectively.

3. What is the role of AI and automation in customer self-service?

AI and automation play a pivotal role in enhancing the customer self-service experience by making it more efficient, autonomous, and user-friendly:

• Automated responses: AI can handle routine queries via interactive voice response (IVR) systems, live chat, and chatbots, providing instant answers and reducing the need for human intervention.
• Intelligent content recommendations: AI can analyze user behavior and customer feedback to recommend knowledge base articles or other self-service tools, streamlining the support process and ensuring customers can access the right information.
• Ticket deflection: AI-driven systems can proactively suggest solutions or direct customers to relevant service knowledge bases or service portals, reducing the volume of support tickets and improving service efficiency.
• Personalization: AI can offer tailored support by learning customer preferences and ensuring that the self-service portal is optimized to meet their unique needs, enhancing overall customer experience.
• Seamless escalation: When issues cannot be resolved autonomously, AI ensures a smooth handoff to a live agent or customer service representative, blending the human touch with the benefits of self-service technology.