noHold A.I. Enables PC Industry Leaders to Transform Issues into Opportunities

June 30, 2015, MILPITAS, CA – Within the past 12 months, noHold Virtual Assistants have handled over 25 million conversations. During these interactions with the Virtual Assistant, actionable metrics were captured regarding end user behavior. noHold was able to turn these metrics into valuable insight not only for the support organization, but also for product marketing, engineering, sales, and more.

In working with the leaders in the PC and related industries, noHold has identified the top 10 most frequently used solutions from support questions in this space. The top issues include: downloads and drivers (39%), system restore (18%), wireless issues (10%), Windows issues (6%), webcam issues (5%) , no boot/no power (5%), touchpad issues (5%), monitor issues (4%), audio issues (4%), and owner manuals/guides (4%).

It is important to target your organization’s top issues and leverage those issues to create opportunities to better serve your customers. In fact, a noHold client used the information collected through the Virtual Assistant to redesign the support site and simplify customer engagement. Here are a few tips on how you can turn insight from the customer into opportunities:

•   Create a seamless customer journey for end users – integrate CRM, live chat, social media, and mobile.
•   Be prepared – make self-service front and center throughout all support mediums. Be ready to answer questions related to new products or services. For example, there will be a lot of questions surrounding Windows 10.
•   Incorporate up-sell opportunities – if the battery is not holding a charge, maybe it’s time for a new one. Provide direct links to order pages, or co-browsing functionality to make it an easy process.
•   Offer premium support when necessary – research shows that a large portion of users will pay for enhanced support, and VIP treatment.

For more information on tips and best practices, please follow this link: http://www.nohold.com/assets/best-practices-web-print.pdf

“There are many tools on the market that can collect metrics in a quantitative manner,” said Diego Ventura, CEO and founder of noHold. “In addition to quantitative metrics, the advantage to our tool is that the Virtual Assistant is also able to provide qualitative insight on customer intent. With that kind of information, organizations are better equipped to make decisions that will enhance their customers’ experience.” 

About noHold, Inc.

noHold is a privately held company established in 1999 and is headquartered in Milpitas, CA, USA (Silicon Valley). noHold is the acknowledged leader in Web based Self-service solutions with a mission to deliver real answers to real questions – real fast. Simple to use, easy to implement and as close to human as you can get, noHold turns automated customer support into cognitive customer interactions. noHold customers include Toshiba, Cisco and a host of industry leaders. More information can be found at www.nohold.com.

Press Contact

Veronica Cech

Marketing Associate

vcech@nohold.com     

408.946.9200 ext. 356

All other product and service names are the property of their respective owners.

Virtual Agent Tips and Tricks: 5 Reasons Why Your Support Site Encourages Customers to Call You

     Have you ever wondered why, in a Web dominated era, phone calls are still one of the most common channels for receiving support? To add to that, phone calls are one of the most expensive channels for support teams to upkeep, often more than $10 just to pick up the phone. One motivation for consumers to call in is due to the way support sites are organized. When designing a support site it is important to encourage cost effective methods such as self-service.  Here are 5 reasons why your support site discourages self-service and encourages 'call in' behavior.

1. A list of FAQs doesn't cut it. Let’s face it, a low cost list of FAQs is costing more money than it should. When the end user can't easily find a solution, he/she is forced to call. 
2. The live assistance option is front and center. If live assistance is what the customers see first, more often than not, they will use that channel. It's best to provide multiple options, without making live assistance difficult to find. That said, if you encourage end users to call you, they will. 
3. There is no GPS for navigating a website. Your customers might be asking themselves: Where do I go for sales questions? Where do I go for support? What's the cost to your company if the end customer engages with a live chat agent for sales rather than the support agent they need?
4. The company has built a library full of wonderful content, but there is no easy way to find the right resource. To the end user, some common phrases are: I have a problem,error, not working, help! It's not easy to solve the problem without an interactive experience, especially when troubleshooting is necessary. 
5. Lack of promotion. Most customers are not aware that there are options. Make it known that support and sales options are available and make it fun for customers to use. One way to make consumers aware of the cost effective support solutions is by making it fun, encouraging them to come back. Apple's Siri advertisements demonstrate a friendly 'pal' when you need answers to questions. Think about this: A Virtual Agent for your website can be just as engaging and even fun to interact with. In addition to answering the typical support/service/marketing questions, embed contests, surveys, candid and 'quirky' responses to add some personality. In addition, make it easy for your customers to share with their own network through social sharing. 

     Having a multi-channel website is essential, but positioning and encouraging self-service is equally important. Using these tips will help cut the cost of support and increase Customer Satisfaction (CSAT). The more your consumers use self-service, the greater the ROI will be. Does your support site encourage ‘call in’ behavior? Maybe it’s time to evaluate.      

www.nohold.com

Virtual Agents Can Reduce Volume at the Contact Center by 50%

Seth Godin says “80% of your inbound calls are about the same ten things.” (Your Call is Very Important to Us, 2013) Virtual Agents have proven to reduce incidents by 50% in some cases. Here is a video explaining how a Virtual Agent can help reduce the volume of emails and phone calls to your contact center by providing answers to FAQs. 

Cheers!  

Throwback Thursday: This is Your Website with FAQ's. This is the Website of the Future. Any Questions?

Happy Throwback Thursday!

The CEO of noHold, Diego Ventura, recently sent me a link to a website called Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. This website has millions of archived web pages from over the years. After checking out some of my favorite company’s older web designs, I thought about support pages. I found a few support pages from various tech companies and was surprised at how different they were designed compared to today.

Intel Support Page (1998)

Above is a screenshot of Intel’s support homepage from 1998. Their support for that time consisted of having a list of products to click on and then pops up some general facts and solutions to typical problems. There was also a “Did this help?” question at the bottom where end-users could provide feedback about their experience.

Apple Support Page (1998)

For all the iPhone lovers out there, here is a screenshot of Apple’s support page from 1998. One of Apple’s support resources was to utilize their searchable knowledgebase, which allowed end-users access to try and find solutions to their problems.

Lastly, I wanted to share Cisco’s support page from 1996. They approached their support page with more FAQ style tools.

Cisco is doing a lot of work with the Internet of Everything and futuristic concepts, so I thought it was interesting to take a look back and see how the visionaries were providing support for their customers 20 years ago.

You can definitely tell the times have changed and technology has advanced greatly. Companies are putting more emphasis on the customer experience today and rightfully so. Having anything but an excellent customer service/support strategy is just not going to cut it in today’s world. With smart machines booming in the market, consumers are demanding that interactive component. You can already tell that within the last 20 years, websites have become drastically more engaging and interactive. End-users have a conversation with a Virtual Agent to find the solution to their problem, creating a more person experience for the consumer, instead of going through a list of FAQ’s. 

Cisco Support Page (1996)

Is your website stuck in FAQ-mode? How much has your brand's support experience evolved in the past 10 years? Do you envision a future where support pages are immersive and completely interactive? 

Cheers!

www.nohold.com