8 | | NOVEMBER 2025By Janie Frank, CX Partner Communications Manager, Hunter Douglas, Inc.IN MY OPINIONThink about the last time you tried to get help online. Did you complete numerous searches using different keywords, or read through multiple help articles that didn't exactly match your problem? Did you attempt to interact with a chatbot that provided unnecessary information that you didn't ask for? Maybe you spoke to a representative who asked you to try troubleshooting methods you already attempted, but to no avail.If you can relate to any of these experiences, you know that, too often, companies leave it up to the "user" to best figure out how to resolve their issue. These companies are stuck in the SPECIFY, SIMPLIFY AND SATISFY: THE FUTURE OF ONLINE HELPpast instead of using technology to provide specific, tailored solutions for the user. The future of customer support is a highly personalized experience, guiding visitors through a step-by-step set of options. For many of us growing up, Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books were commonplace. In fact, CYOA is one of the top five bestselling book series of all time, beating out Nancy Drew, The Hunger Games and Star Wars! There is a reason this series is so successful - it empowers readers by giving them authority over the unique choices they make from the selections being provided.Customers of today want troubleshooting steps specific to their exact concerns, not a list of results that may or may not answer their questions. Interactive web solutions are able to provide this, much more so than unstructured documentation, such as a static PDF user manual. Even a search bar does not help customers as much as a web-based interactive solution can; search bars require the user to guess appropriate keywords, select from an abundance of ensuing results and understand the usage of company jargon. If instead the user was directed to a website where answers to a series of questions quickly pinpointed their product, concern and the possible root cause and then suggested solutions, the customer experience would be magical!Picture this. You open the website. It asks you which product you have, a few relevant details about the product and a question or two about the issue you are having. Within a few clicks, you have the option to read an article or watch a video that tells you Janie Frank
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