Understand what your users need
After you understand the audience you serve, it is time to think about what your audience needs, which can be questions they need answers to or quests for more knowledge.
Types of knowledge
The three most common reasons why people search for information are:
- Break-fix: The product or service is not functioning as intended and they need help.
- Perform a task: They need a step-by-step guide for how to do something.
- Become an expert: They want to know everything about the product or service.
Understanding the types of questions your users will have will help you identify the correct content to answer those questions via self-service. Break-fix and task-oriented questions are the primary drivers of support calls. The users with expert-oriented questions tend to be the most vocal and high-value customers.
When looking for content, ask yourself, "Will this content be useful for identified audience?" If not, is there another good reason this content should be included?
Gap analysis
The most important component of an effective self-service strategy is to eliminate obstacles for customers.
- Determine when and why your customers need support.
- Find out where customers experience the greatest friction in finding solutions and any related obstacles.
- Evaluate gaps in the content channels that need to be filled.
- Determine if the content you have needs to be updated, or if you need to make cornerstone content available in the channels your customers prefer.
Connect with customers from start to finish
Customers seek content throughout their interaction with your products, from before the purchase to well after the sale is made. They are propelled by timely and relevant content. Your goal is to meet this demand across the entire customer journey.