Ongoing Support in any sector has a special appeal for the customer as it centers around a promise that the company will “have your back” in case something misfires.Although the introduction of Content Management Systems like Drupal has made it fairly easier for companies to take care of their web properties on their own, there may be technical issues that may need attention from the developer's end after the completion of a project. A support strategy is a key selling point that attracts and retains customers in the long run.You can formulate a few strategies of your own or follow the ones listed below to ensure smooth ongoing support, post completion.
# Start with Email Support
Email support is a fairly cost-effective and an interactive way to keep communicating with a client after the completion of a project. It helps you keep track of the support requests and monitor the time spent in attending to them. It also facilitates better support management as you can file in the “closed requests” separately to distinguish between the resolved and the pending support issues. Template responses for recurring issues will be an effective way to counter them provided the responses are kept updated.
# Introduce a cost-effective ticketing system
A ticketing system can be quite effective when combined with all the other forms of ongoing support like phone and email support. A ticketing system helps you monitor your support staff as well, particularly when there are multiple support staff involved in troubleshooting a case. A ticketing system helps you keep track of the support requests simultaneously based on the man-hours spent on resolving the issues.
# Offer real time support to resolve issues
The introduction of a chat option on your website is one of the quickest ways to resolve issues for your client, post-development. The support staff can get in touch with the client in real time to resolve issues or attend to the needs for improvisation. Although the code-related queries may require more time to be resolved, a client can be guided through a confusing process through real time interaction. Meanwhile queries that require detailed attention can be resolved through a ticketing system.
# Include diagnostic information in your documentation
The documentation for a web development project is equally crucial for a client as it is for the developers. The fact that you have put efforts to build in diagnostic information regarding the website and the related web properties like the mobile app will save you time that would be wasted troubleshooting minor issues. An FAQ model for the common queries along with the information will be more engaging and user-friendly for your client.
# Social media : a more responsive mode of support
Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have turned out to be a helpful addition to an ongoing support infrastructure. A facebook page dedicated to client support will not only engage your long standing customers but will also help you generate a fan base by resolving some general issues for a broader audience. Likewise tweeting links of online content that resolves a support issue will keep your customers in the loop about the probable issues and solutions as well.
Although ongoing support is a good strategy to help retain customers in the long run, it can be a big drain on your resources if left unregulated. It is important that the levels of support be discussed in detail to clearly distinguish between post-development free support and paid ongoing support in man-hours. A cleverly designed ongoing support strategy is a win-win for both the customer and the web solutions provider as it is a time-saver for both. We at Valuebound understand your unique business needs to provide enterprise level web solutions for the same. For more information on our support service offerings, please Contact Us.
