If the channel is the message, what are you telling your customers?
How and when you communicate is as important as what you’re saying; the medium is part of the message. Which begs the question, which channels are best for your message, your customers, and/or your product? We compare some popular channels at your disposal so you can send your message the best way possible.
- In-App notifications
Bernadette: In-app notifications are my favorite! I like them simply because your message is received when it is most useful, when your user is in your product. These messages are perfect for onboarding, product announcements, and encouraging users to try features they are overlooking. Messages can be automated and triggered by different page views or actions. It’s effective and scalable but it can require a good bit of planning and iteration to figure out which messages get the results you want. It also requires some development resources to get everything implemented. In-app notifications are a powerful way to speak to your customers when the are most receptive. It’s totally worth the effort.
Cost to implement (1 being least expensive, 3 being very costly): 2
Tech resources required (1 minimal tech resources, 3 heavy tech involvement): 2
Scalable (1 very scalable, 3 resource heavy): 1
2. Live Chat
Betty: Live chat offers a way to provide immediate assistance to users that may be stuck when using your app. 92% customers feel satisfied when they use the live chat over other channels, revealed a recent Zendesk study. When we first launched our solution with a client, users had a lot of questions — and were sending a lot of emails to our client, making it seem like our product was rife with issues (quite the contrary — they just wanted to learn more about the platform!). Once we implemented Live Chat, user emails to our clients were cut by more than 80%, and we were able to address issues in a much more timely manner. An additional benefit — users like interacting with a human, in lieu of phone calls.
Over time, it’s important to review the transcripts and identify common issues to hand off to the product team, and templated answers to speed up the resolution.
Cost to implement: 1
Tech resources required: 1.5
Scalable: 1
3. Phone
Bernadette: Phone often gets a bad rap as disruptive, time-consuming and not particularly scalable. But when it comes to building relationships with your customers, there is no better way to connect. Picking up the phone is the best way to manage a delicate conversation, get customers excited about a new functionality, and understand any remaining questions in your customers in mind. I find that the time-spent in quality conversations during onboarding pay off in the long run. This definitely should not be your sole method of communication but if the email chain starts getting too long or if you don’t know how your email might be read, just give them a call.
Cost to implement: 1
Tech resources required: 1
Scalable: 3
4. Instructional videos and/or knowledge base
Betty: Most companies have a knowledge base that users can reference when they have a question. My own personal experience/research — no one reads voluntarily these days, especially not lengthy descriptive how-to texts!
I do find that it’s helpful to provide links to the knowledge base or to short 1–2 min videos whenever questions are prompted via one of our other support channels. That way, the content is specific to the issue at hand, the answer is readily available, and it cuts down on the back and forth/lengthy explanation.
I’ve also created (very) simple instructional videos via Keynote. The challenge is keeping the content fresh and updated, particularly if your product is new and there are frequent releases and updates as you get more feedback from your users. To ensure your videos don’t look to amateur, use these tips from Kissmetrics when writing your script (no, you can’t just wing it no matter how much you know your product), and make sure your audio and images are crisp!
Cost to implement: 1.5
Tech resources required: 1.5
Scalable: 2
5. Webinars (not just for sales!)
Bernadette: Webinars are great for communicating complex ideas in a one-to-many format. I’ve used webinars for new feature announcements, especially if it’s major functionality that will require users to change their habits. Webinars are also great ways to position your company as thought leaders and help your customers think outside the box. Webinars aren’t just for marketing and sales, the more engrained your product is in your users’ lives, the stickier your product becomes. When it comes to getting users to adjust their daily workflow or expand their product usage, don’t assume they’re going to read through your email. Seeing is believing.
Cost to implement: 1.5
Tech resources required: 1.5
Scalable: 2
Word of Caution: There is no one-channel-fits-all. You’re likely already using a combination of channels for different purposes. Whatever channels you choose — make sure that you keep your user’s experience in mind. A few tips:
- Using too many channels or switching different channels too often can make it confusing for your users
- Make sure your language/terminology is consistent across channels, particularly with frequent updates of your product (if it’s new).
- Cross train your team across multiple channels
What are your favorite channels for supporting your users?
