Benefits of Customer Portal Service
Customer portal software, also known as customer access software, CRM (customer relationship management) software, or partner portal software, enables consumers to handle and record business transactions, purchases, and interrelations on their aspects.
Consider these advantages and elements of customer portal solutions when evaluating your options, whether you’re just starting in construction or have been in the industry for years.
What is a customer portal?
A customer portal is an online platform designed to empower customers. It provides them with access to vital information such as FAQs, knowledge bases, community forums, and support requests 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It serves as a one-stop shop for customers to check the status of their tickets and view previous ticket details. It can even track payments, deliveries, product updates, and refunds. If they have questions about the product or service, they can quickly refer to optimized FAQs and a thorough knowledge base.
A customer portal is a centralized information program that gives customers proper access to critical information when needed.
Benefits of Customer Portal Service
1. Assists customers before they contact you
Customers prefer to solve problems independently now that technology has created a “Do It Yourself” culture. They want to rely on you as little as possible, at least for simple issues they can handle themselves.
So why not? Who wants to hear the response, “Thank you for contacting us. We will respond within two business days.”
You are a customer and understand how inconvenient this response can be when you require immediate assistance. A customer support portal assists your customers proactively, reducing the need for them to contact your support team regularly.
With an increasing number of customers (88%, according to studies) expecting brands to provide self-service solutions, a customer portal is an excellent way to meet this growing demand.
For example, if you run an online store, you could use the customer portal to:
1. Assist customers in managing their orders
2. Keep track of deliveries, payments, and refunds.
3. Quickly update information
4. They can obtain product information and resolve these issues on their own.
If a customer needs to reschedule a delivery, they can do so through the portal rather than calling, emailing, or messaging your agencies.
2. Customers are engaged through community learning
A customer portal combines the best of both worlds for your customers: self-service knowledge and understanding and community learning.
It is a central access point for customers to use the knowledge base to obtain the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on a specific topic. Simultaneously, they can directly interact with other customers, learn from their life experiences, and receive helpful advice.
For example, suppose a customer who has used your product for a long time quickly runs into a problem. They can discuss this topic in the community forum to receive prompt responses from others who have gone through the same thing.
3. Customers become self-sufficient, and agents become more efficient.
Customers will always have an infinite number of questions. However, there is a time limit on how many times they can email, call, or text you. There is also a limit on the number of requests your support staff can handle.
Your team may be skilled at handling customer inquiries, but remember that humans have limitations. Answering multiple questions at once increases the likelihood of an incorrect response, resulting in agent discontent and customer distress.
A customer support portal is an ideal solution to these issues. While it empowers customers by providing them with information 24 hours a day, it reduces the number of tickets that reach your support staff.
Typically, tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. This means a severe customer concern could be buried beneath a heap of common customer issues. When the ticket load decreases, you can shift your attention to customer concerns screaming for your attention.
Furthermore, customer portal software ensures that customers do not have to search for your contact information. Thanks to an embedded support form, customers can raise tickets without having left the customer portal experience.
4. Provides Valuable Insights
How can you keep your support portal the same as your company grows and customer expectations rise?
The customer portal is intended to be an evergreen resource with the most up-to-date and relevant content. You must collect customer feedback and performance insights and use them to improve the portal’s content.
For example, data about failed searches or poorly performing articles can be used to modify existing content or add new content to the portal. Check which article links do not produce any results and fix them to provide a better customer experience.
Track the “likes” and negative votes on articles, customer comments, and community forum posts, in the same way to better understand problematic areas.
5. Maintains your readiness to deal with growing consumer issues
As your company grows, so will its customer base. There will be an increase in customer issues as more customers become a part of your family. That’s where a customer portal comes in.
It balances your support system as the number of customer issues grows. Any number of customers can use the portal to address their concerns, raise tickets, and even stay updated on essential product developments or process changes.
With a promising future, customer portal software is becoming increasingly crucial for self-service.
You must be at the top of the self-service game to tap this large customer base. Using a customer portal provide customers with a single source of truth, pleases them with instant service, and reduces support costs.
Best customer portal service
Suppose you want to find an excellent, dependable tech partner to construct portal software for business needs. In that case, you should look for a company with the necessary knowledge and experience.
Consider how long the company has been in business, what services they provide, whether they have cases for your business requirements in its portfolio, and if they have experience working with firms your size. Qode Maker can offer a tailor-made portal service with any level of complexity.
