It's about that time
of year when LAPTOP Magazine releases
its Tech Support Showdown article, 2015. Overall, it was interesting to see
how this years showdown had a major shift in focus toward the importance of
excellent online support. "This year, we noted a general trend toward
online-only or online-focused support and away from traditional phone service.
In fact, in some cases, the only way to get an answer (or, in some cases, a
correct answer) to a question was to go online." (Tech Support
Showdown 2015: Who Wins, Who Loses)
One company that
should receive recognition for its high score in online and social support is
Dell. Through the year, Dell has made significant efforts to try and make its
support site easier to navigate, and with a score of 53.25 out of 60 (the
second highest score for web support), it is fair to say its efforts have paid
off.
According to the
review, "the Interactive Support Agent (the Ask a Question button) proved
very useful." As leading analyst firms are suggesting, Virtual Assistant
technology (self-service) is quickly becoming the preferred channel for
consumers. Dell has embraced this trend, and implemented its Virtual Assistant
so users can utilize an intuitive self-service option that guides them to the
answers they need, in the easiest way possible.
This experience is starting to take the place of static FAQ's and never
ending lists of 'relevant' articles from basic search. The Virtual Assistant
provides a diagnostic and interactive experience that is as close to human as
possible, without the actual need for human intervention. A win-win for both
end users and the company.
 |
| Photo Credit: laptopmag.com |
Also within the
article, LAPTOP Magazine mentions
- The ease of the 'Hot Topics' list - conveniently located list of topics that consumers have found most helpful. Includes trending topics such as Cortana, Windows 10, etc.
- Embedded media - Users have found embedded media (i.e. photos, videos, etc) to be very helpful when understanding a solution.
- Completeness - The Virtual Assistant lead the user to the correct answer they needed, with bonus information as well.
 |
| Photo Credit: laptopmag.com |
Kudos to Dell for
understanding what its customers want, and executing the support site in a way that consumers find helpful!
