Support Tooling: Elev.io
One thing we know in life: you can’t do it on your own. That’s also true in Support.
A fascinating tool we use is called Elevio. It’s self-service, built into our system.
One problem we had—which many other companies have—is our knowledge base (training materials) is segregated from our website. So to find the answer, that means you need to start a new search in a new tab for what you need…you go down that path and frequently forget what you were initially looking for! Not a terrific experience, but one we all accept as “that’s how it’s always been.”
Instead, Elevio lives inside your app. You open it alongside what you’re doing and can read or watch videos alongside your existing process. This has added tons of value for us, seamlessly integrating into our site, allowing the customer to achieve their goals with less friction. Technology should enable, not create friction.
For example, I used August 2017 and May-August 2017 as case studies and found:
Activity
We doubled the amount of hits to our Knowledge Base. Yes, a 100% increase. As a cynic, I didn’t believe that either so I reviewed Knowledge Base hits from a year ago—before we implemented Elev.io—and it still improved relative to the number of onboarding and total customers. Bottom line: I love when sites I use make it easier for me to find what I need so I don’t need to dig or get distracted. This furthers my ability to stay focused and not go down a rabbit hole.
Contextual Answers
Elev.io has taken the next step to contextualize answers. Is your customer on a specific page in your app? Why shouldn’t your suggestions be specific to what they’re thinking? Check it out. Contextualize for your awesome customers.
Ticket Deflection
A lot of help desks already have this, but it’s done in a non-invasive, casual manner so your customers are treated as humans. We just got started with this, so I don’t have any data to share but early reports are promising.
Integrations
But the most important thing of all..? The integrations with our help desk, live chat, knowledge base, and more. No more separate, isolated silos of resources. Your customer deserves more. Delight them.
The Hub
Since our initial 2017 analysis, Elevio has launched other terrific features. We’re now pushing all customer feedback into Slack to be notified of what customers are saying, when, and why. But they’ve also launched the Hub.
Essentially, the Hub is a task manager to ensure all feedback is followed up on, assigned, and completed. No more “did you see that customer comment and update it?” questions. It’s all handled in-app. 🙌
In 2018 we’ve reprioritized how we create content, how we share it, and ensure the highly sought after items receive the amplification they deserve.
We’ve integrated our help desk, live chat, knowledge base, and more. It’s flexible, allows quite a level of customization without cumbersome settings. Imagine simplicity coupled with robustness. Quite the innovative team.
This may or may not work for you. If you’re looking for a full Support system, this definitely isn’t that. It does integrate with major help desks, but they are working to create their own space which includes some features that already exist in other software, and several that do not.
Another piece, they are a smaller company. They’re agile, but aren’t as developed as say Zendesk, TalkDesk, or Help Scout. So while they’re very responsive to me, much of their product roadmap is in the future which is a double-edged sword in that they may not have everything you want and need today.
Overall, if you run a customer-facing team, I highly recommend exploring it. I really enjoy working with their team, they continue to innovate, and are working toward a better experience for our customers. I’m grateful.
And no, I was not paid or compensated in any way for this. It’s because this software is great and I encourage other Support professionals to explore it. Standard disclaimers apply: do not go buy stuff because I wrote about my experiences; read this as my experience and explore ways to better serve your customer without falling prey to fancy buzzwords and sexy marketing.
