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IntercomExplainer
Give Your Customers Best Practices, Not Just FAQs - The Intercom Blog
Summary
Most companies invest heavily in acquisition content but neglect post-signup support, leaving customers with poorly written FAQs and contributing to high churn rates. Intercom advocates replacing isolated how-tos with best practice content that teaches customers how to get the most from a product. The approach includes giving the entire lesson, using real-life customer examples, writing about how the team uses the product, mirroring customer language, and revisiting content often. Practical techniques include breaking tasks into quick wins, using bullet points and screenshots, embedding videos, and leveraging a bot for automated answers. The goal is to empower customers to self-serve, reducing support contacts and building long-term loyalty.
Context
Many companies spend large budgets on content to acquire customers but then rely on poorly written FAQs to help them after signup, leading to up to 60% of free trial users never returning. Intercom believes educational and motivational help content leads to loyal customers and is fundamental to their Conversational Support Funnel, which aims to empower customers to self-serve.
Approach / What changed
Create best practice content that teaches customers how to get the most from a product, rather than isolated how-tos or FAQs. The approach includes five lessons: give the entire lesson (address the whole job, break into quick wins, use bullet points, sub-headings, whitespace, screenshots, embed videos, link to how-tos, use a bot), use real-life examples from customer conversations, write about how your own team uses the product, mirror the customer’s language (use active voice, write like you speak, use search terms customers use, have fun), and revisit content often with feedback from product, engineering, and customers.
Takeaways
Best practice content should address the entire job a customer wants to do, not just answer isolated questions, and can include quick wins, bullet points, screenshots, embedded videos, and links to how-tos.
Use real-life examples from customer conversations, sales calls, and support tickets to make help content relatable, and mirror the language customers actually use rather than product terminology.
Revisit help content often with feedback from product, engineering, and customers to keep it fresh, and incorporate new features or customer stories as they become available.
FAQ
How do I create best practice content instead of FAQs?
Instead of isolated how-tos or FAQs, create best practice content that addresses the entire job the customer wants to do. Break tasks into bite-sized quick wins, use bullet points, sub-headings, whitespace, screenshots, embed how-to videos, link to how-tos, and use a bot to automate answers and triage issues.
How can I make help content relatable to customers?
Use real-life examples taken directly from customers by talking to them and listening to their stories. Sit in on sales calls, have your support team record common queries, include examples from existing customer stories, and listen to the words customers use so you can mirror their language.
How do I mirror customer language in help content?
Review your customers' messages to see how they talk about their problems and which keywords they use. Use active language, write like you speak, use search terms customers are actually searching for (e.g., via Google Analytics Site Search), and avoid product terminology in favor of customer-friendly language.
Source and freshness
- Source
- intercom.com
- Published
- Added to Yomu
Summaries are generated from the original by a language model. Check the original before relying on it.
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