According to a recent Gartner survey, although many companies have invested in these capabilities, only 14% of customer service and support issues are fully resolved through self-service. The report revealed that even for “very simple” problems, only 36% of customers could resolve their issues through self-service alone.
“While 73% of customers use self-service at some point in their customer service journey, it’s concerning to see that so few fully resolve there. It’s imperative that customer service and support leaders work to resolve the issues customers face to fully realize the value of their self-service investments,” said Eric Keller, Senior Director of Research in the Gartner Customer Service & Support Practice.
A host of customers feel disconnected from self-service platforms. As many as 45% highlighted that companies didn’t understand their issues when they attempted to resolve them via self-service. A key factor in this failure was that 43% of customers couldn’t find content that addressed their problem, which made them more frustrated.
“Self-service systems often fail because they are too rigid to accommodate the complexity of real-world customer service issues,” said Keller.
In order to boost self-service platforms, customer service leaders should help service reps enhance knowledge as part of their daily workflows rather than as a separate task while leveraging customer data, such as account details and product usage patterns, to offer relevant solutions.
In addition, streamlining navigation with a centralised digital concierge, such as a GenAI-powered chatbot, as the primary support entry point can make the experience easier. Moreover, both customers and reps should be able to flag ineffective content, allowing for continuous assessment and refinement of self-service resources.