UX Research & Strategy
Unlocking Help Content Availability: Investigating User Support Amidst Service Changes
CONTEXT
In a cost-cutting measure, C2FO opted to discontinue offering personalized 1:1 assistance to the lower revenue segment user group. Consequently, these users now rely on static help content, such as FAQs and articles, to resolve their queries or reach out to the support center through the chatbot.
What is C2FO’s FinTech Product?
My objective was to investigate whether our existing help content effectively resolved user’s issues
As we delve into this investigation, our focus was on understanding how lower segment users navigate our support ecosystem without direct 1:1 assistance. With the recent shift away from personalized support for this user segment, it's crucial to grasp their self-service behaviors. We aim to address the following research questions:
1
How can we enhance self-service options for users without Relationship Manager support?
2
What role does customer support play in guiding users through offer placement and product usage?
3
What are the utilization patterns of Intercom's live chat features, and how can we optimize their support?
RESEARCH
Identifying the points of friction
To comprehensively understand the interaction between users and help content, I examined various touchpoints across the entire user experience. This involved researching all channels where our help content was engaged.
Marketing Website
Supplier Relationship Manager’s
Mobile App
Opportunity - How might we ensure mitigation of revenue loss due to removal of Relationship manager support?
DATA GATHERING
What are the different data points?
Once we identified our problem area, we analyzed various data points to understand user expectations. Due to resource constraints, we conducted this investigation internally within the company instead of a full-fledged UX research project. Our approach involved internal interviews, tool analytics exploration, and the review of yearly reports. Predominantly sourced from Intercom, supplemented by data from the supplier support team, these efforts provided valuable quantitative and qualitative data.
With a focus on facilitating supplier autonomy in completing offers without dedicated support, we prioritized identifying areas where self-service solutions could preempt the need for human intervention.
Most Viewed FAQ Article in 2022:
36,237
People
People viewed FAQ articles in 2022 on C2FO's intercom chat
1554
Views
The most viewed FAQ article was “HOW DO I CONTACT SUPPORT”
Users are asking for:
Overview of Supplier Support Team:
After learning about what users wanted we dove into the 8 people comprising support team who are responsible for all of the accounts that doesn't have SRM support and for answering all the questions that come on intercom.
data collected for the year of 2022
Breadth of Support Requests:
A typical workday of a supplier support team member involves:
They answer around 50-80 calls per day collectively
Team members refer to google docs repository for information and cheat sheets to answer questions
Most callers are from low spot accounts that don’t have access to Relationship Managers
Guiding users to locate available help information takes up most of their time as users cannot find FAQs or articles
Time being spent to resolve issues:
500hrs
Of total talk time spent by the supplier support team on calls in 2022
2min15secs
was avg. response time globally in 2022, with a 76.8% satisfaction score on Intercom
There is a big opportunity in strengthening in-app help, because when content is available at the right time no person’s active time is used to resolve issues
DATA ANALYSIS
What is the data saying?
Key Finding 1
32% of the chat support issues are regarding change in account passwords or not being able to login
Chats related to login in 1 day | April 20, 2023
How does this impact business?
If users encounter login issues, the company faces direct revenue loss from potential offers that could be placed. As a Fin-Tech product, maintaining trust between the product and users is imperative for sustained business success.
Solution
Published a FAQ article on Intercom that breaks down the steps to follow for resetting the password.
Rectified a gap in documentation, information inconsistency about users being locked out of their accounts due to 30 days of inactivity and rectified that in the new FAQ article.
New FAQ article on Intercom
Key Finding 2
37.5% of the total chats that come in a year are in Spanish
Approximately 28% of chat requests in a week are in Spanish
TOTAL CHATS
Data collected from manually going through Intercom chats
Average number of Spanish Chats via Chatbot
1464 per year
122 per month
30 per week
6 per day
How does this impact business?
The lack of Spanish-speaking support team members results in longer resolution times for support tickets in Spanish, highlighting the need for localized help content. Offering multilingual support is essential for enhancing customer experience as the company’s biggest acquired client in 2023 was Walmart Mexico.
Solution
Top 4 most viewed articles are now published in Spanish
To address the issue of longer resolution times for Spanish support tickets, we identified the top four most viewed articles in our Intercom repository and translated them into Spanish. The supplier support team efficiently completed this task within a week. These translated articles collectively garnered over 50 views
in the last month.
Identified Design Opportunity -
We prompt users explicitly to set their language preference beyond registration so that we can collect better data to enhance their experience via personalization.
What happened to the project?
As the primary UX researcher supervised by my product manager, I conducted extensive interviews and data analysis across departments to understand user support dynamics. I synthesized findings into a comprehensive report, which was presented to the Chief Technology Officer. This report jump-started a flurry of new ideas and initiatives, leading to tactical updates in our processes. As a result, churn in our users' core experience was reduced, driving positive outcomes for our company.
Reflection
Business Needs > Users Needs
During product scaling, business needs often take precedence over user needs. However, prior to this research report, the executive team was unaware of the impact on user needs after discontinuing relationship manager support for the lower segment group. This experience highlighted the importance of advocating for user-centric decisions even in times of business restructuring.
Internal Documentation Upkeep is Primal
During discussions with various teams, I identified gaps and inconsistencies in the transfer of policy information to end users. Maintaining comprehensive and consistent internal documentation is crucial for efficient company operations.
Linguistic diversity promotes inclusivity
Promoting linguistic diversity in digital interfaces plays a crucial role in fostering inclusivity and accessibility for users from diverse linguistic backgrounds. By offering multilingual support, businesses can cater to the needs of a wider audience and provide a more personalized and user-friendly experience. This approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also strengthens brand loyalty and engagement, particularly as companies expand into new markets with diverse language preferences.