We’re officially in the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Era. At any time of day, you can endlessly stream home improvement shows helping you fix up your house, repair your car, or even troubleshoot electronic devices. The DIY era brings endless possibilities. And when it comes to signing up for service, customers expect to do that themselves too.
According to Statista, a staggering 88 percent of customers expect brands or organizations to have a self-service portal. This means that a vast majority of customers who visit a broadband provider’s website want to be able to view and select services themselves. A solid customer self-service tool can make or break both new customer signups and current customer retention.
Also, it needs to be easy.
In 2012, the Harvard Business Review determined that keeping customers long-term came down to one thing: simplicity. Fast forward to 2023 and providers are finding that simplicity is not only the key to keeping customers but gaining new ones as well.
Providing existing customers with a way to add or upgrade services goes a long way. If a customer needs to upgrade their internet speed, calling your office to make a change can be prohibitive. The same goes for new customer signups. If the process is complex or takes too long, customers will turn away, likely to a competitor.
In the DIY era, customers want to learn what you have to offer and sign up quickly. Your website, and more importantly, your customer self-service solution, is critical to signup success. Most of the time, this is your introduction to the customer. This is your first chance to make a good impression, and in areas with a lot of competition, sometimes one chance is all you get.
A good website and marketing campaign can get customers interested, but once they decide to sign up, your self-service solution can seal the deal. The solution should have a clean look, be easy to navigate and clearly display costs so that everything is easily understandable. It is also imperative that your self-service solution keeps the clicks low and information high, and you’ll be set up for success.
After they select a service, those DIY customers may need to schedule an installation. A solid self-service solution will offer customers the option to schedule service right through the same application – themselves.
A good self-service tool can support the sales cycle and enhance customer retention, but what’s good for the customer is also good for the provider. Many providers are facing new and different competition, making expedited customer acquisition critical to winning new business and growing revenue.
Customers will be happy doing things themselves, and as they can sign up, schedule service, or even upgrade using the self-service tool, this frees up your customer service representatives to handle more critical issues, increasing internal efficiency as well as customer satisfaction.
In the DIY era, customers expect a good self-service option. Increase your customer success by ensuring your tools can exceed those customer expectations.
National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) offers SmartHub Order Management, a self-service solution that can help improve your customer service. Visit NISC.coop/service or reach out to us to learn more.