When customers use a self-service portal, they have more power, options, convenience, and their digital experience with the company improves as well.
The Middle East has undergone a significant digital transformation and a shift in customer behavior in recent years, and this revolution has accelerated in the previous year. Businesses are continually adopting new digital platforms across the board, from retail to healthcare to banking and financial services. Thanks to instant access to information everywhere, customers have become more self-sufficient and empowered than ever before.
Furthermore, as a result of the rapid expansion of digital customer-facing channels and touchpoints, businesses are attempting to fulfill the expanding demands of their customers. As a result, strategic customer experience leaders are increasingly turning to self-service client portals. These customer portals can satisfy the modern customer’s need for autonomy while simultaneously lowering the staff’s time and effort dedicated to each customer interaction.
Self-service is a long-term commitment to improving the customer experience. Long-term ROI can be gained with a well-implemented digital self-service programmed with a machine learning algorithm. That further helps reduce support calls, increases traffic, reduces response time, a reduction in total support expenses, and an improvement in customer satisfaction.
Clients’ digital experiences with the company are also improved by self-service portals, which provide them greater control, choice, and convenience.
To improve the user experience, self-service portals can be used in four ways.
Self-service should be deployed in accordance with the organization’s goals and client needs. Before implementing specific ways, businesses must first identify the aim of self-service and its effect on the overall customer experience.
Customer experience teams can employ the following four fundamental tactics for self-service client portals:
Make a profit center out of a cost center
According to Hubspot, customer support professionals perceive their department as a cost center. Over the last few years, this number has been steadily increasing. On the other hand, companies can use self-service to gain a competitive advantage and create new revenue streams, turning customer service into a profit center. Thanks to its self-service client portal, a large telecoms company, for example, was able to produce four times more internet traffic, resulting in a five-fold rise in new customer sign-ups and a seven-fold increase in monthly revenue.
Businesses can also use self-service to boost income by introducing new products and services based on contextual suggestions generated by machine learning.
Buyers should effortlessly navigate a company’s website, locate what they need quickly, and feel confident in their purchase. This shortened approach is even more critical for B2B buyers, who spend only a small portion of their time buying.
Create a centralized help desk
Self-service portals can help organizations improve the customer experience by bringing all customer complaints, account information, and tasks together in one location. Customers may get the information they need from a single digital location by creating a self-service customer portal with FAQs, knowledge bases, chatbots, and virtual assistants.
Communities should be organized
In some circumstances, self-service may lead to forming a digital hub where customers can assist one another. Customers can volunteer to answer others’ inquiries and share information utilising this business-to-customer community-building method. As a result, there is a higher level of interest and dedication across all channels. Firms could also try providing self-service through external channels like social media to engage customers wherever they are. Digital self-service options provided through these external channels include automated answers, message chatbots, and FAQs, to name a few.
Proactively respond to situations
Data can assist firms in making self-service an active rather than reactive strategy. Rather than waiting for individuals to ask questions, use self-service to address issues before they arise. Businesses can achieve this by exploiting data gathered through AI technology and IoT technology to have real-time situational and contextual awareness or by applying predictive consumer analytics to gain insights into customer behavior and model anticipated customer behavior.
Assist clients in self-help situations
Consumers are moving toward a fully connected, technologically empowered environment. They want immediacy, connectivity, and simplicity in every purchasing process. Companies that build relevant and adaptable consumer experiences will stand out from the crowd.
Conclusion
Most organizations currently enable self-service because they have the requisite skills and services. To bring everything together in a consumer-friendly manner and give the best possible customer experience, they need a focused approach and the AI technology. By merging what already exists into a unified customer portal, businesses can establish a greater self-service experience sooner while positioning themselves for future development.
