How to Improve Customer Service with Shareable Help Docs

Customer service is still the central focus of any business. Today, there are several different resources available that can help companies boost their customer service and improve people’s experience by delivering self-service and support. One of those is the shareable help document, sometimes just called a help doc. These can be written by just about anyone within the organization and can be handed out to clients, vendors, and others who will find the information useful or relevant. 

Customers want companies that are willing to go the extra mile. They want to work with brands who are happy to provide resources like these help docs with no strings attached. After all, if you stand behind what you do, it’s a lot easier to get people to trust your organization. It can be difficult to get your entire team on board with this type of resource, but if you set up a solid strategy, it will be less challenging than you may anticipate. 

Customers want to help themselves 

Despite the growing demand for better customer service solutions, many businesses don’t understand that part of that service comes in equipping people with the resources to help themselves. Self-service is the way of the future and companies that get on board are going to get a lot more attention. If you’re dragging your feet about giving your audience the power, you need to get a move on.

Today’s audience expects a business to have certain resources and tools available. Shareable help documents, or at the very least, a well-written FAQ page, will ensure that people can get support and troubleshooting assistance for anything that has gone wrong. When you are struggling to get your team motivated, show them these interactions and explain how offering these docs can give them their free time back and boost customer retention (among other things) at once. 

The modern Internet user has access to tons of resources and information tools when they are browsing online. Therefore, if they need customer service, they’re likely going to want to learn as much as they can on their own first. This is where these unique docs can come into play and help people get a better understanding of your business, as well as the products and/or services that you offer. 

What are shareable help docs?

Some companies already have a static website section dedicated to FAQs or customer help queries. That’s a good start for any knowledge database, but it’s not nearly enough. If you truly want to deliver the best customer service, you should consider how shareable help docs can make a difference. These are documents that have been created by certain people or departments within your organization that offer a more detailed resource for troubleshooting and other needs. 

Shareable help docs can be everything from network testing guides for an IT company to a document that explains the terms and conditions of a savings account for a bank. Having a document instead of a link or website will allow people to save the information and access it whenever they need from their preferred viewing software. 

The pros and cons of shared documents 

The cloud is making it easier than ever to conduct business and stay connected to your clients and customers. When companies use shared documents and other interactive “help” resources, there are plenty of perks to be had:

• Improved customer satisfaction
• Improved staff satisfaction
• Deeper customer insights 
• Increased efficiency
• Collaborative connections
• Endless opportunities for education

Shared documents are just one small part of your overall knowledge base but they are a great tool that people love to have access to. Instead of bookmarking a website, they can just save the document, print it, and even share it with others in the organization, making a more effective customer service department. 

Document sharing also saves time, eliminates the hassle of multiple versions of files, and can even save your business a significant amount of money. You can use permissions and access rights to ensure that only certain people have access to this resource, too. Bear in mind that these documents may end up in the hands of the public, so you won’t want to save or share anything that contains proprietary business information. 

Some worry that quality can be lost here because people won’t have time to regularly update the documents and keep them in line with the company’s goals. However, if you make document management a part of the job, it will get done. You can even dedicate a team of people to managing and maintaining the database of FAQ pages and help docs to keep things organized and orderly. 

Customer service isn’t going anywhere

It’s an interesting world that we live in, but it’s one that still relies heavily on customers and their appreciation of companies in order for business to get done. Customer service is continuously evolving and has come a long way from decades past. Now, help docs that can be shared are becoming the standard, not the exception, helping everyone get the information and insight that they need. Plus, this ensures that it’s done in the best way possible by delivering quality troubleshooting and assistance information. 

Speaking of delivering quality and assistance…

You’ve got a lot to handle when you’re building a business and you need to focus on the things that need your attention. That includes putting your customer service first and capitalizing on things like shareable help docs and modern tech tools to create a customer service department that’s among the best out there today. While you’re doing all that, though, who’s fielding the calls and handling other admin needs?

When you partner with the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai, you get the assistance of a 24/7 answering service that can also deliver solutions for lead intake, appointment scheduling, live website chat, and so much more. We’ll even help you create the perfect outreach campaigns and lend our outbound sales support teams to assist with your business growth.

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss what the 24/7 virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can do for your business. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.