3 Top Customer Self Service Platforms

Across different industries a variety of self service platforms have been developed to fulfil businesses’ need for delivering exceptional customer service and ensuring a great customer experience. These platforms are changing how businesses interact and engage with customers, and the benefits to all parties involved are evident. Why are so many different kinds of businesses, across industries that include telecommunications, finance, IT etc, investing in self service platforms as a customer experience management tool? We answer this question in more detail below.

Table of Contents

The benefits of Customer Self service Platforms

You may be thinking, why have self service platforms risen in popularity over the past few years? The answer is primarily a result of digital transformation, as the acceleration of digital technology has changed consumer expectations. Consumers are living in the age of instant gratification, meaning that they want answers to things in real-time and to have more visibility and control over purchased services. Self service platforms fulfil this need. This has made self service platforms an ideal customer relationship management tool. Not only have these platforms answered these specific needs, they also have the following benefits:

Reduce customer frustration and improve customer experience – when customers are empowered to find the information they are looking for on a user-friendly platform, they no longer waste time by calling call centres or speaking to support representatives. Thus resulting in reduced frustration and enhanced convenience.
Increase brand loyalty – when customers are provided with an efficient way to find the answers they need, they have an outstanding customer experience, they remain loyal to the brand or business, ultimately reducing churn.
Lower business costs – self service platforms are incredibly cost-effective. This is because you can reduce the number of support staff while still supporting large numbers of customers through the platform. The automation technology that accompanies this kind of platform also allows for the automation of many customer service processes. In both cases, you are saving costs on resources and time.
Ability to personalise customer experience – self service platforms offer varying degrees of personalisation. This allows you to personalise your customer’s experience to suit their unique needs. With insights and data collected from these platforms, you will also be able to identify customer patterns and trends related to what information customers are searching for and then share content associated with these specific topics with your customers.
24/7 support availability – human-powered support, like that of a call centre, often has time constraints related to the number of hours or shifts employees can work. A self service platform does not have these constraints. The information is available at any time of the day and can be accessed from anywhere.
More efficient and productive support staff – a self service platform not only reduces frustration on the side of the consumer but on the side of support staff as well. If customers can find the information they need to answer their simpler questions, then support staff can work more efficiently to assist with more complex issues.

3 Top Customer Self Service Platforms

From the above, it is clear that there are several benefits to utilising self service platforms. With this being said, every business and industry is different, which means their self service platform needs will be different. These differences have led to the development of a number of innovative self service platforms which aim to cater to specific industries’ unique CX management requirements, goals and objectives. We take a look at three of the top self service platforms making waves in their respective industries below.

Corporate Customer Self Service (CCSS)

Adapt IT Telecom’s Corporate Customer Self Service (CCSS) platform is considered one of the most highly rated self service solution for Mobile Network Operators. This platform has both cloud and on-premise capabilities. It is highly customisable, consolidated and user-friendly to give the Telco’s corporate customers more visibility and control of their IT ecosystems. The CCSS platform enables customers to manage items that include mobile spend, bills, data, enterprise mobility, asset inventory disputes, and unified communications. It can also integrate or interface with any third-party application that the Telco delivers to its customers. This technology is being used to help Telcos create a truly immersive, single-user experience that enhances customer experience.

Benefits for the Telco:

Create additional revenue streams – This solution will allow you as a Provider to offer customers more value-added services, providing you the capability to create new revenue streams that enhance profitability.
Increase brand loyalty – By offering a solution that provides the customer with control of their services with the Telco, will result in enhanced efficiency for the customer, which in turn will increase customer retention and experience.
Reduce administrative costs – The self service capabilities of this solution allow customers to control and manage elements directly on their side. This reduces the number of queries received from customers as well as the administrative burden and costs required by Telcos to support their customers.
Seamless integration with existing solutions and 3rd party applications – This solution has been developed and created to seamlessly integrate or interface with any existing telco solution and/or third-party application and, in doing so, enables the creation of a truly immersive, single-user experience for the Telco customer.
Minimal capital investment required – This technology is structured modularly, allowing you to scale up and down on the services depending on your needs and budget.

Benefits for the customer:

Offer customers more control – Utilise this powerful self service platform for faster access to information without the need for requests or permissions.
Informed decision-making – This technology provides insight and understanding around actual usage and the spend of all Telco services, assisting the customer with the required intelligence to drive strategic business decisions.
Enhanced visibility – This solution offers a consolidated, single-user experience and a single source of truth, providing the customer with an accurate view of their IT environment and information.
Accurately predict trends – This solution allows the customer to future-proof their business by accurately predicting trends and impact on their bottom line and overall business, enabling then to plan effectively.
Effectively manage to spend – This technology provides the insight and data needed to effectively manage and control spend concerning all technology and telecoms services.
Reduce bill-shock – Utilise this innovative technology to identify and eliminate abuses and save on your monthly bills.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow is considered one of the most highly rated self service software solutions for those in the Information Technology and Services industry. This platform aims to optimise processes, connect silos, and create value by utilising a single, unifying platform that can digitise your entire IT business. This is made possible by the following platform features and benefits:

IT workflows – with this feature, you can unite IT risk management and security operations on a single platform. This delivers modern, resilient services aligned to customer-centric priorities while optimising IT service operations, aligning with investment priorities and managing risk, security and cost.
Employee workflows – with this feature, employees can work and collaborate where and how they want to, aiming to improve productivity and agility while boosting operational efficiency.
Customer workflows – allow you to enhance your CX by driving customer loyalty through connected digital workflows. This creates a seamless customer experience.
Creator workflows – this feature enables you to build connected digital workflow apps fast with a low-code platform to deliver on customer expectations and experiences.

HelpScout

HelpScout is considered one of the most highly ratedself service software solutions for omnichannel support teams within the customer service sector. With this software, you can manage all your customer conversations with one powerful platform that feels just like your inbox. This allows you to be available when your customers need you, enhances team collaboration and the automation capabilities enhance efficiency and customer experience. These benefits are made possible by the following features.

Shared Inbox – enables you to bring your team’s email into a shared inbox to work together, boost productivity, and build meaningful relationships.
Knowledge base – allows you to reduce your support volume by at least 30% with a knowledge base designed for customer self service. With this, you will have happier customers and fewer conversations.
Messages – this feature enables you to promote new initiatives, update customers on key happenings, and proactively support those who need it by sending messages.
Customer Management – this platform lists customer data, previous conversations, and app activity alongside every support request so you can deliver faster, more personalised support to customers.

Conclusion

From the above, it is clear that self service platforms significantly impact business and customer experience. These benefits speak for themselves, which is why more and more self service platforms are being developed to meet specific industries’ CX needs. As crucial as self service platforms are set to become, it is just as important to ensure that the self service platform you choose for your business fits your unique business and customer needs. The three examples above highlight how different the features of each platform are. Therefore, it is essential to do your homework when choosing the right self-service platform for your business. This is an exciting space to watch, and we cannot wait to see how these self service solutions evolve as digital technology accelerates.

Find Out How 2500 Corporates and 1.6 Million Subscribers are Benefiting from CCSS

Learn more about how the features and functionalities of CCSS can benefit your organisation.

Download Whitepaper

Deon Hattingh

Entrepreneurial Technologist with a proven track record in IT, Infrastructure and Service Management.Strong focus on solution design, implementation and integration, specifically within the mobile data and connectivity landscape.