In today‘s experience economy, businesses must provide seamless and satisfying self service options to align with evolving customer expectations. A survey by Gartner found that 70% of consumers now expect companies to interact on their terms and resolve issues quickly via digital self service. Customer self service tools provide immense value in this context – by one estimate, every $1 invested in self service yields $4 in cost savings from deflected inquiries.
But with a growing array of solutions now available, it can be challenging for organizations to select the right tools tailored to their specific needs and business goals.
In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the top 7 customer self service software platforms of 2023. We will explore their key capabilities and benefits, along with tips for getting the most value out of self service technology investments.
The Evolution of Customer Self Service
Before exploring individual tools, it‘s helpful to understand the broader self service landscape. Customer self service originated in the 1980s with basic automated phone-based IVR systems. Since then, self service models have evolved significantly to provide consistent omni-channel experiences.
According to research firm Technavio, the global customer self service software market is poised to grow by $5.49 billion between 2022 and 2026. Key drivers include:
- Increased use of digital self service during the pandemic
- Customer demand for instant access to information
- Advancements in AI and natural language processing
- Trend toward efficient service models and cost optimization
With self service now considered a must-have, companies are prioritizing investments in chatbots, virtual agents, knowledge management systems, and community forums. When well implemented, these tools deliver quantifiable benefits:
- Up to 80% decrease in call volumes handled by agents
- 40% faster resolution of common customer issues
- 33% increase in first contact resolution rates
However, companies must have a customer-centric strategy to maximize value from self service – as one review found, only 15% of customers are fully satisfied with current business offerings in this area.
Key considerations include:
- Integration across channels for unified experiences
- Personalization with contextual recommendations
- Ease of use through intuitive design
- Seamless escalation to live agents when needed
Now let‘s explore popular categories of self service solutions.
Key Features and Capabilities
Self Service Portals
Customized portals offer a streamlined, user-friendly environment for customers to access support resources. Portals typically enable:
- Account management
- Order status tracking
- Knowledge base search
- Ticket submission and management
- Personalized promotions and recommendations
Example of a customer self service portal (Salesforce)
Portals should provide deep personalization based on customer data, transaction history, and behaviors. Integration with communities also fosters peer-to-peer support.
AI-Powered Chatbots
Intelligent chatbots help automate customer interactions across channels, providing instant access to information or rectifying issues through natural conversation.
The most advanced chatbots employ natural language understanding (NLU), sentiment analysis, and machine learning for human-like conversations. Key capabilities include:
- Understanding free-form questions
- Conversing in multiple languages
- Recognizing intent and emotional state
- Providing voice and text responses
- Seamlessly handing-off conversations to agents
Chatbots can handle ~80% of repetitive customer inquiries to significantly reduce call volumes.
Knowledge Bases & FAQs
By centralizing troubleshooting guides, tutorials, product documentation, and FAQs in easily searchable knowledge bases, companies enable swift self service.
Structured content using tags and categories provides:
- Targeted search results
- Faster resolution on common issues
- Lower escalation rates
Knowledge bases should emphasize findability – using clear taxonomies, consistent formatting, and SEO optimization. Integrating community Q&A enhances existing repositories.
IVR Systems
Interactive voice response systems allow customers to use natural language or touch-tone prompts for self service via phone. Key applications include:
- Account balance and order inquiries
- Address changes and information updates
- Payment processing or refund requests
- Reservations and appointments
- Transferring to agent for complex issues
IVR provides hands-free operation and 24/7 automated availability. Integration with other self service touchpoints provides flexibility.
Virtual Assistants
As an AI-powered evolution of the chatbot, virtual assistants simulate human interactions with enhanced natural language capabilities. Combining NLU, deep learning, and emotional intelligence, they deliver highly contextual experiences.
Virtual assistants can understand specialized vocabularies and colloquial language, providing the right information or recommendations based on customer history and needs. Top providers like Aivo or Ada achieve 80%+ self service rates.
Community Forums
Discussion forums foster customer engagement while providing peer-to-peer support. Users can exchange experiences, find solutions, and provide product feedback.
Forums should be facilitated to maintain relevance and civility while promoting organic engagement. Integration with knowledge bases gives customers access to official documentation.
The Top 7 Customer Self Service Platforms
Now let‘s explore the leading software solutions for enabling comprehensive self service experiences:
1. Salesforce Service Cloud
With its full suite of capabilities, Salesforce Service Cloud dominates as the market leader. Key features include:
- Knowledge – Detailed articles with commenting + ratings
- Web portals – Tailored self service environments
- Chatbots – Salesforce Einstein bots with NLU
- Communities – For peer sharing and crowdsourced data
Service Cloud enables multi-channel delivery and seamless agent escalation when needed. Drag-and-drop tools simplify administration and modification.
Ideal for – Large enterprises seeking maximum end-to-end customization
2. Zendesk Support
Zendesk delivers integrated self service across knowledge base, chat, and community capabilities.
- Help Center – Fully customizable knowledge portal
- Answer Bot – Smart chatbot with NLU
- Forum – Online community tightly integrated with knowledge base
Zendesk simplifies creating, managing, and optimizing knowledge content at scale. If specialized AI chat is not required, Zendesk provides a streamlined solution.
Ideal for – Growing SMBs with large, multi-lingual knowledge bases
3. Freshdesk
Freshdesk offers a suite focused primarily on knowledge management and AI chatbots. Key features:
- Knowledge Base – Hierarchical, searchable content
- Bot – Contextual conversations with natural language
- Community – Allows for customer postings and discussions
While it lacks portals, Freshdesk provides strong knowledge and chat capabilities for deflection and faster resolution.
Ideal for – SMBs that want easy content management and AI automation
4. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk brings self service, automation, and context together through:
- Portals – Customizable portal builder with role-based access
- Knowledge Base – Hierarchical layout with internal suggestions
- Conversational AI – Advanced natural language conversations
Zoho also enables integration across sales and marketing. It‘s cost-effective for growing organizations.
Ideal for – SMBs seeking integrated self service, sales, and marketing
5. Intercom
Intercom specializes in chatbots and messaging for conversational self service.
- Bots – chatbots handling live conversations
- Articles – Knowledge base integrated with chat
- Resolution Bot – Helps instantly solve issues 24/7
While it lacks portals and phone support, Intercom delivers streamlined conversational experiences across web and mobile.
Ideal for – Digital native brands who favor messaging
6. Help Scout
Help Scout focuses solely on email-based customer support, paired with AI automation.
- Knowledge Base – Organized, searchable content
- Bots – AI assistants suggest content to users
- Mail – Custom email templates with automation
For email-centric teams, Help Scout combines bots and templates for efficient resolutions over email.
Ideal for – Support teams highly reliant on email
7. LiveAgent
LiveAgent offers simplified live chat, knowledge base, and contact center capabilities.
- Knowledge Base – Base templates and content importer
- Chat – Team chat with bots and screen-sharing
- Ticket Forms – Custom forms and workflow automation
LiveAgent is cost-effective for SMBs primarily needing real-time chat support and flexibility.
Ideal for – Cost-conscious SMBs needing good ticketing and chat
This overview shows the diversity of strengths across top platforms. Conducting in-depth evaluations is key to choosing the right tool mix for specific requirements.
Realizing the Benefits of Self Service
When thoughtfully implemented, self service tools yield transformative benefits:
Increased Efficiency
Automating repetitive inquiries with bots and knowledge bases reduces resolution times from days to minutes. Customers get answers immediately instead of waiting on agents.
Lower Support Costs
Forrester Research estimates companies can lower support costs 15 to 30% with comprehensive self service. Volume reductions also decrease hiring and training overheads.
Improved Customer Satisfaction
By quickly resolving issues anytime, self service drives higher first-call resolution rates and Net Promoter Scores. Customers also appreciate 24/7 convenience.
Increased Loyalty & Engagement
Community forums that connect customers foster greater engagement. Knowledge bases demonstrate the business cares about helping customers learn.
Enhanced Personalization
Advanced tools apply AI and data to tailor interactions to each customer‘s specific needs and history for more meaningful experiences.
More Self Sufficiency
Surveys show 60% of customers prefer solving simple issues themselves. The right self service models empower customers to independently find solutions.
Scalability During Growth
AI tools and knowledge management scale cost-effectively to handle surges in traffic. This supports business growth without proportional increases in staff.
Better Data for Insights
Analytics from self service usage provide invaluable data on customer behavior, pain points, and emerging trends – insights that can drive product enhancements and marketing strategies.
Key Recommendations and Best Practices
For companies looking to maximize value from self service investments:
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Audit customer journeys to identify key interaction points and pain points that self service can alleviate.
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Set objectives tied to efficiency, costs, satisfaction, conversion, or other KPIs.
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Involve stakeholders from support, product, marketing, and CX early in planning.
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Evaluate leading vendors to determine the optimal platform mix based on strengths, weaknesses, and existing solutions.
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Build omni-channel consistency while allowing customization across web, mobile, phone, and other touchpoints.
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Simplify navigation through clear IA, optimized search, and visual cues.
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Target quick wins first by tackling repetitive cases like password resets or order lookups.
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Continuously optimize knowledge and bots based on queries, usage data, and customer feedback.
With the right strategy and technology partners, self service can transform customer experiences while providing a valuable competitive edge. Reach out if you need help with vendor selection or planning your self service roadmap.
