Situation
Its 2014, the challenge: a subpar online help and support experience for customers. The existing self-service platform was underperforming, with usability scores at 48% compared to an industry average of 80%. Customers were often left dissatisfied and were turning to alternative methods, such as telephone support, due to the website’s poor usability, disorganised content, and lack of mobile optimisation.
Task
The goal was to transform the online self-service experience to build trust, efficiently answer customer questions, provide up-to-date information, and demonstrate the value of using the online platform as the primary method for support. This would reduce the volume of inbound calls, increase customer satisfaction (CSI), and outperform competitors in the online self-serve space.
Action
To achieve these objectives, a comprehensive strategy was implemented, focusing on the following critical areas:
Platform Optimisation: Streamlining the user experience across multiple platforms to prevent disorientation and avoid customer movement from the business to the consumer ecosystem – ensuring a consistent experience regardless of device, building for a mobile-first approach.
Navigation Enhancement: Redesigning the navigation menus to ensure consistency across the business experience, enabling customers to find information more easily without getting lost or frustrated.
Content Improvement: Detailed audit, user-testing and rework of Help & Support content to be more visible to search engines, well-structured, relevant, and up-to-date. Serving content aligned to user needs and making it easier to find relevant information quickly.
Search Functionality: Introducing a configurable and intuitive search engine that provides relevant answers and keeps customers within the business site. With improved indexing to ensure helpful content appears in both on-site searches and external search engines.
Responsive Design: Shifting to a responsive design, ensuring a seamless experience across all devices, particularly mobile.
User Feedback and Analytics: Introducing native user feedback features and a post-visit customer satisfaction surveys to capture insights and continuously refine the online experience.
Result
The self-service transformation resulted in a significant improvement in the online customer experience:
Usability Scores: Improved from 48% to 85%, surpassing the industry average.
Navigation and Search Efficiency: Enhanced navigation clarity and search accuracy led to a reduction in customer reliance on telephone support.
Content Visibility and Relevance: Content became more accessible, structured, and targeted, increasing user engagement and satisfaction.
Mobile Optimisation: The mobile-first approach increased accessibility and customer satisfaction for users accessing the platform from multiple devices.
Customer Satisfaction: Post-visit satisfaction surveys indicated a substantial increase in customer satisfaction scores, aligning with our goal to exceed customer expectations.
The project successfully aligned with key objectives of driving digital transformation, improving productivity and efficiency, and delivering exceptional digital experiences.
It set a new benchmark in the industry for online self-service, positioning the experience ahead of competitors.