a single source, nothing corroborates it

Run the support queue as your research channel

Treat a ticket as a conversation rather than a task to close: ask follow-up questions and mine the answer for what the product missed. Work newest first, since older senders often solved it themselves, read a queue you cannot clear as evidence you launched early enough, and test the path into support the way you would test a feature.

The method

1. 01

   Do not treat a ticket as a race to move someone from A to B; ask follow-up questions and mine the conversation for what you missed in the product.

2. 02

   Read a support queue you cannot possibly clear as confirmation you launched early enough and are growing, not as failure, and say so plainly to customers when needed.

3. 03

   Work the support queue newest first, because people often solve their own problem while waiting and almost never write back to tell you.

4. 04

   Test the support path like a feature: pay anonymous testers to try contacting you and rate it, run a click test on your homepage asking where people would look for help, and let customers rate each interaction.

What it returned

• The author warns you can spend a quarter of an hour on a three-day-old ticket that the customer already resolved

• Justin points to UserTesting.com, a homepage ClickTest, and 37signals' Smiley rating programme as ways to do this.

Sources

• How to design a customer support processJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · How to design a customer support process · undated
• Micro-SaaS Ebook: Retention & SupportTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · The Guiding Principle: Every support ticket is an opportunity · 2017-07-31