Reimagining Customer Support Communities - SWARM 2015

@CATYKOBE REIMAGINING CUSTOMER SUPPORT COMMUNITIES
REIMAGINING CUSTOMER  
SUPPORT COMMUNITIES
CATY KOBE | @CATYKOBE

THE CASE FOR REIMAGINATION

WE SAVE SO
MUCH!
OUR
CUSTOMERS SAVE
MONEY!
WHAT DO
WE GAIN?
Software 
Vendor
Vendor’s
Customer
Customer
Community
Members

HOW CAN WE ENSURE CUSTOMERS
GET AS MUCH VALUE AS WE DO?

CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
LET’S RETHINK THIS
CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT
Are our
customers
happy with their
experience?
Are we
hindering
activity and
participation?

LET’S RETHINK THIS
Tips to try out
as soon as you
get back online!
Ideas to encourage
thinking about future
of our communities.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

ISSUE 1: RELEVANT CONTENT  
IS HARD TO FIND

Self-service only works if the right
content can be found in the right
timeframe.
TAKE HOME TIPS
• Find out which content works
• Archive/ ‘unlist' irrelevant content
• Optimize titles for search
ISSUE 1: RELEVANT CONTENT IS HARD TO FIND
Screenshot: AT&T Wireless Community

Self-service only works if the right
content can be found in the right
timeframe.
TAKE HOME TIPS
• Find out which content works
• Archive/ ‘unlist' irrelevant content
• Optimize titles for search
• Ungate useful content — or at least leave a CTA
Screenshot: Oracle Topliners Community

Can you use previous customer behavior to proactively showcase or hide content
based on relevancy?
IDEAS:
• Established members shouldn’t see the Welcome Guide after a certain amount of
activity, or number of community logins
• Customers who have already purchased a product should see educational/ best
practices content about that product
FUTURE THINKING

ISSUE 2: CORRECT ANSWERS  
AREN’T EASILY IDENTIFIABLE

Waiting for customers to mark an
answer as ‘resolved’ causes pain for
visitors in the meantime.
• Mark threads as “answered” on
behalf of the author if the thread
remains unresolved after a defined
period of time
ISSUE 2: CORRECT ANSWERS AREN’T EASILY IDENTIFIABLE
TAKE HOME TIP
Screenshot: Apple Support Communities

Even with peer answers, some
customers still want confirmation
from the brand.
IDEA:
• Implement a custom badge only
awarded by employees to verify
peer-authored answers
ISSUE 2: CORRECT ANSWERS AREN’T EASILY IDENTIFIABLE
FUTURE THINKING

ISSUE 3: NO ‘RELIEF VALVES’

What happens when a customer
isn’t able to quickly or easily find
their answer?
• Add a link to email, or click-to-call
button to your platform
• If gating contact information, use
a CTA to prompt logins
TAKE HOME TIPS
Screenshot: Mailchimp Knowledge Base

FUTURE THINKING
For every 1 person that complains, 26 remain silent. Deflection is not the same as
resolution. How can we help the folks who fall through the cracks?
IDEAS:
• Include a pop-up to contact support after certain actions, or elapsed time
• Proactively reach out to someone who has read a lot of content, but not taken an
action to resolve their issue

“Deflection does not equal resolution.”  
- @jessicamalnik

ISSUE 4: PROACTIVE SUPPORT
OR EDUCATION IS RARE

2013: 73% receiving a proactive
service call had a positive change in
perception about the brand.
TAKE HOME TIPS
• Block out part of your week to
focus on proactive actions
• Leverage existing content
• Start small & measure the value
ISSUE 4: PROACTIVE SUPPORT OR EDUCATION IS RARE
Screenshot: TechSmith Community

ISSUE 4: PROACTIVE SUPPORT OR EDUCATION IS RARE
FUTURE THINKING
Is it possible to align behavior in your product with actions or triggers in the
community?
IDEAS:
• Customer begins using a new feature in your application. Can you automatically
send a getting started guide through the community?
• Customer reaches a new milestone in your app - can you reward this with a
special badge in the community? Encourage them to write a guide?

ISSUE 5: WE DON’T OPTIMIZE
FOR VISITORS (LURKERS)

Visitors are a primary audience of a
support community - don’t write
them off!
• Audit your community for
distracting elements
• Enable features that enhance the
reading experience
TAKE HOME TIPS
ISSUE 5: WE DON’T OPTIMIZE FOR VISITORS (LURKERS)
Screenshot: Folksy Forums

FUTURE THINKING
How can we better optimize our platforms to support the logged-out  
visit experience?
IDEAS:
• Remove arbitrary pagination in favor for full scroll on threads
• Use APIs to pull in relevant knowledge base articles at the end of key threads
• Create a “next steps” module which tells logged-out users what to do next
• Use CTAs to encourage visitors to participate
ISSUE 5: WE DON’T OPTIMIZE FOR VISITORS (LURKERS)

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

ISSUE 1: IRRITATION LEADS  
TO HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

ISSUE 1: TENSIONS PROMOTE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS
Tensions run high, which leads
to an intimidating or challenging
experience for members.
TAKE HOME TIPS
• Overemphasize your tone
• Provide clear & consistent
moderation
• Move escalations offline quickly
Screenshot: Lantern Community

ISSUE 1: TENSIONS PROMOTE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENTS
We should constantly evaluate the experience from the perspective of multiple user
types. What does it feel like to go from newbie to super user?
IDEAS:
• Automatically place newcomers in an special area until they complete X actions
• Automate the on-boarding process; build up a robust buddy program
• Build in rewards for those who continuously work to improve the sentiment
FUTURE THINKING

ISSUE 2: LOW COMPANY PRESENCE
IN THE COMMUNITY
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Support communities are
predominantly used to reduce costs,
and an active presence costs more.
TAKE HOME TIPS
• Take an active role in sharing
content or spotlighting members
• Set clear expectations of when
your team members participate
ISSUE 2: LOW COMPANY PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY
Screenshot: Get Satisfaction Community

THE INTENT OF BUILDING A COMMUNITY  
IS TO GET CLOSER TO YOUR CUSTOMERS —
NOT PUSH THEM FARTHER AWAY.

Begin to show the community as a revenue driver; showing revenue uplift will offset
and justify the cost of active participation.
IDEAS:
• Integrate a “buy now” button into your community platform
• Track click throughs, and future behavior, on specific product links
• Develop programs that encourage product reviews, which then link back to the
eCommerce site
FUTURE THINKING
ISSUE 2: LOW COMPANY PRESENCE IN THE COMMUNITY

ISSUE 3: RELATIONSHIPS ARE  
HARD TO NURTURE
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Transactional nature of support
communities does not lend itself
well to relationship building.
TAKE HOME TIPS
• Create an off-topic area, and encourage
personal stories
• Use emojis or funny GIFs to remind
members that you’re human too
ISSUE 3: RELATIONSHIPS ARE HARD TO NURTURE
Screenshot: Get Satisfaction Community

FUTURE THINKING
Most customers in our support communities
are elsewhere online, so why not build out
channels to connect with them there?
IDEAS:
• Periscope: impromptu Q&As
• Native video on Twitter or Instagram
• Host local user groups or meetups
ISSUE 3: RELATIONSHIPS ARE HARD TO NURTURE
Screenshot: @BeatsSupport

ISSUE 4: REWARDS DON’T MATCH  
ADVOCATE TIME INVESTMENTS
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

TAKE HOME TIPS
ISSUE 4: REWARDS DON’T MATCH ADVOCATE TIME INVESTMENTS
• Find out what top contributors would
appreciate by talking to them
• Provide training to ensure answers meet
your standards, and reward appropriately
Badges and virtual points help build
participation habits, but incentives
of actual value are required for
strong advocate programs.
Source: https://topcontributor.withgoogle.com

FUTURE THINKING
Time is money, and access to a company’s roadmap and product team will only go
so far. At some point, compensation of monetary value will have to be introduced
in order to ensure quality of answers and timeliness of responses.
IDEAS:
• Set clear guidelines around which activities drive compensation, and which don’t

Source: https://www.giffgaff.com/index/payback

FUTURE THINKING
Time is money, and access to a company’s roadmap and product team will only go
so far. At some point, compensation of monetary value will have to be introduced
in order to ensure quality of answers and timeliness of responses.
IDEAS:
• Set clear guidelines around which activities drive compensation, and which don’t
• Consider device testing, service credits, or nonprofit donations

Source: http://mobilemasters.koodomobile.com

THE MONEY YOU SPEND PROPERLY REWARDING
ADVOCATES IS LIKELY TO BE LESS THAN THE
COST OF A FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE.

ISSUE 5: PLATFORMS DON’T ALIGN  
WITH CUSTOMER HABITS
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

• Audit member behavior - look at devices & referral sources
• Survey members and ask how they prefer to use the community
• Join and use your community from the perspective of your customer
• Ask low-activity members why they don’t participate via email or phone
TAKE HOME TIPS
ISSUE 5: PLATFORMS DON’T ALIGN WITH CUSTOMER HABITS
Most platform decisions are based upon our our existing tech infrastructure, not
on our community members’ preferences and habits.

FUTURE THINKING
Most people visit the same 5-7 websites every day. To ensure consistent
engagement, we have to place our communities within their existing web habits
IDEAS:
• Use APIs to integrate community threads within your native product experience
• Find ways to extend your community onto existing social networks
• Look in to lightweight automation with IFTTT and Zapier
ISSUE 5: PLATFORMS DON’T ALIGN WITH CUSTOMER HABITS

WE CAN CREATE MEMORABLE, PRAISE-WORTHY
CUSTOMER COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES SO
LONG AS WE DREAM BIG ENOUGH.

Reimagining Customer Support Communities - SWARM 2015

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