SETTING THE STAGE...

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SETTING THE STAGE...

• Jeffrey Tarter is executive director of the
  Association of Support Professionals (ASP), an
  international research and membership
  organization for 1,300 customer support managers
  and professionals. He is responsible for the
  ASP's publications on such topics as call center
  operations, services pricing and marketing,
  support salaries, and online support metrics. In
  addition, he oversees the ASP's annual "Ten Best
  Web Support Sites" competition.

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WEB SUPPORT LESSONS FROM THE MASTERS

• Jeffrey Tarter
• executive director
• Association of Support Professionals
• www.asponline.com
• Parature Users Conference
• April 3, 2008

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THE ASP AWARDS

• 11 Years of operation
• Independent judges
• 500 assessments
• Open scoring system
• Annual Top Ten report

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SO WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO CREATE A WINNING SUPPORT
SITE?
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THE SECRETLISTENING TO CUSTOMERS
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THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SITES ARE NOW BASED ON
EXTENSIVE CUSTOMER INPUT AND INTERACTION

• The old way and the new

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WERE SUPPORT PEOPLE. WE TALK TO CUSTOMERS ALL
THE TIME.WELL, MAYBE YOU NEED TO ASK SOME
DIFFERENT QUESTIONS...
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1. TRAFFIC ANALYSIS
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WHAT TRAFFIC ANALYSIS CAN TELL YOU

• How users actually navigate your site
• Where they get hung up
• Which features matter the most
• Where you should invest more

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A page layout based on intensive traffic analysis
and testing
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Traffic analysis determines priority placement on
the Apple page
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2. EMBEDDED SURVEYS
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WHAT EMBEDDED SURVEYS CAN TELL YOU

• Relative quality of KB tech notes features
• Out-of-the-box suggestions
• Fits and finishes problems

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For higher response rates, share the results
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3. CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS
Listen for broad pain issues--business
vulnerabilities, career obstacles, internal
politics--that may not be directly related to
break-fix support solutions
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KEEP INTERVIEWS OPEN-ENDED

• What do we do especially well?
• What do we do thats especially important to you?
• What else could we do to help you?
• What do we do thats irritating to you?
• What do other companies do that you admire?
• What are your toughest problems?

(Move from safe questions to pain issues)
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4. NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ANALYSIS
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WHAT NEGATIVE FEEDBACK CAN TELL YOU

• Non-obvious site shortcomings
• New service opportunities
• Underserved demographics

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RM customer analysis showed that few individual
users liked the site
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New fee-based services for user who want
hand-holding
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5. ADVISORY BOARDS BETA TESTS
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WHAT ADVISORY BOARDS AND BETA TESTS CAN REVEAL

• IBM Involved 17 key customers in pilot of site
  makeover
• Conversations focused on how customers were
  organized and did business.
• Juniper Networks Beta testing of new site tools

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6. USER COMMUNITIES
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(No Transcript)
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7. OPEN-DOOR COMMUNICATION
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A FEW PARTING WORDS

• The biggest thing going on with U.S. consumers
  is that they want to trust something. They want
  to be understood, they want to be respected, they
  want to be listened to. They don't want to be
  talked to. It's trust in the largest sense of the
  word. ... Businesses and brands that are breaking
  records are those that inspire trust and
  affection and loyalty by being authentic, by not
  being arrogant, and by being empathetic to those
  they serve.
• --Jim Stengel, Global Marketing Officer, Procter
  Gamble

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WEB SUPPORT LESSONS FROM THE MASTERS

• Jeffrey Tarter
• executive director
• Association of Support Professionals
• www.asponline.com
• Parature Users Conference
• April 3, 2008