Why a customer portal is important and how to build one in 2024

Customers are tired of the waiting game. No one enjoys being stuck on hold or bouncing around between robots and different departments. What they want is to tackle issues on their terms, whenever it suits them. Finding the info they need shouldn’t be a hurdle; it should be quick and straightforward.

Enter the customer portal, a real hero for your customers. It’s the ticket to resolving problems without the usual customer service headaches. Let’s dive into how you can improve your customer relationships by making the most of these portals.

What is a customer portal?

A customer portal is an online platform that provides customers with a centralized space to manage their accounts, retrieve information, and engage with a company.

A customer portal acts as a self-service portal, giving customers the power to manage their interactions with the company independently and reduce their dependency on customer support agents. Traditional customer support channels like phone and email, or relying solely on agents for account management, can have a negative impact as customers increasingly prefer low-contact solutions.

Recognizing this, many businesses are adopting customer portals. These portals provide a more satisfying experience by offering convenience and enabling customers to manage their needs independently.

Customers can easily view and update their account information, submit and review support cases, access a knowledge base, engage with the community, and submit requests.

Why are customer portals important?

As we navigate the evolving landscape of customer service, it’s clear that self-service options are no longer just a convenience but a necessity. That’s why many forward-thinking businesses are embracing customer portals.

These portals streamline access to vital data and services and empower customers with the tools they need for self-management. It’s a smart move that aligns with the modern customer’s expectations for efficiency and autonomy.

Additionally, customer portals are not just essential, they are a must-have. Based on a study by Microsoft’s Global State of Customer Service report, 9 out of 10 U.S. customers expect their brand to offer a self-service portal.

Instead of waiting in long queues, customers can now access information and resolve issues independently by using these customer portals. This improves customer satisfaction by reducing the need to contact customer support. As a result, customers get quicker resolutions and a streamlined support process.

Important components of customer portals

The customer portals are designed to give a seamless user experience. They come with friendly designs and important tools like account management and support features. These things make sure customers have a smooth experience without any hassle. It’s all about making it simple for users to find what they need and move around easily.

Improve navigation through knowledge-base solutions

Customers want quick and easy ways to find information or solve problems. Self-service portals help with this by offering a lot of helpful info, easy-to-use menus, and good search tools. This makes it easy for customers to find what they need, making them much happier.

Here’s a demo of how DevRev’s knowledge base articles are used to provide accurate answers to your question with the help of Turing bot.

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Explore pre-defined service solutions

Today’s customer portals prefer handy toolkits. They come with quick solutions already set up for common issues. These solutions are there to help users easily fix problems without a fuss. It’s like having a simple guide to sort things out on your own. This way, customers can figure things out independently.

Enhance interaction through chatbots

Integrating chatbots into customer portals serves as a valuable enhancement for user engagement and support. These automated conversational agents seamlessly integrate to provide real-time assistance.

Operating 24/7, chatbots ensure your customers get quick answers to their questions. Furthermore, they handle the usual tickets, letting your human agents focus on the trickier issues. It’s all about making the customer experience smoother and more interactive.

Get collaborative support through community forums

Customer portals leverage the power of community forums to create collaborative spaces where users can interact, share experiences, and seek solutions. These virtual forums foster a sense of community among users, encouraging self-help and empowering customers to find solutions independently. In addition, community forums reduce the workload on customer support teams by sharing knowledge and support responsibilities among the user community.

Deliver a unified customer experience

Opt for a customer portal that streamlines workflows and extracts valuable insights. The goal is to create a unified process that enhances the experience for both customers and employees. This streamlined internal operation ensures swift resolution of common issues, enables personalized interactions, and maintains a cohesive brand image across all touchpoints.

Streamline customer onboarding

Ensure the customer portal has a seamless onboarding process, making it easy for new users to understand your product’s value swiftly. A smooth onboarding not only boosts the chances of customer retention but also turns satisfied customers into potential advocates, expanding your customer base through positive recommendations.

Integrate DevRev into your system

Leverage the power of a robust customer portal like DevRev, which can seamlessly integrate into your system. This dynamic customer portal serves as a bridge, establishing a flawless connection within your system. Through this integration, DevRev ensures a streamlined flow of information, elevating the customer experience and simplifying operational processes.

Keep your portal updated

A well-maintained portal enhances the team’s efficiency. It equips your staff with the required tools to keep the portal content updated. These regular customer portal updates help customers to get access to accurate information and relevant resources. All one can do is provide 24/7 support accessibility, fast response times, consistency, easy navigation, and updated information to make your portal a valuable asset.

Customer portals: A game-changer for modern businesses - Here’s why

Customer portals make everything easier between you and your customers. They’re not just useful; they’re your quick fix for solving problems and getting information. Picture this: they boost efficiency, speed up answers to questions, and take the load off your support team’s shoulders.

And it’s not just about convenience. These portals are all about being transparent, giving customers real-time updates on what’s happening with their requests and accounts. It’s like having a strategic asset for top-notch customer satisfaction and loyalty. All in one central hub!

Enhanced customer experience

Customer portals serve as a central hub for accessing self-service options, tracking tickets, and ensuring accessibility from any location at any time. This streamlined approach not only enhances efficiency but also contributes to customer satisfaction by providing timely updates. The result is a seamless and sophisticated customer experience that prioritizes accessibility and convenience.

Self-service capabilities

Customer portals are like personal knowledge base, offering self-service features like a knowledge base, FAQs, and handy user guides. With the magic of a modern AI-powered platform, customers become DIY experts, finding answers to their questions on their own. It’s like having a 24/7 information genie, cutting down the need for direct customer support.

Efficient ticket management

The portal streamlines the support ticket creation, assignment, and tracking process to ensure faster resolution times. The process involves creating a record referred to as a ‘ticket’ for each customer request. All one can do is log into the customer portal and resolve technical problems, questions, complaints, or service requests.

Steps to create a ticket in the DevRev app

• Navigate to Tickets: Go to Support > Tickets from the sidebar menu.
• Start New Ticket: Click “New Ticket” in the top-right corner.
• Provide Details: Add title, description, and attachments.
• Specify Attributes: Choose department, assignee, severity, tags, and workspace.
• Link Related Records (Optional): Connect other relevant tickets or issues.
• Create Multiple Tickets (Optional): Choose this option if needed.
• Finalize: Review details and click “Create” to finish.

4. Transparent communication

Use seamless, timely, and transparent communication methods to support your teams and customers. Engage in threaded conversations within the portal and eliminate the need for scattered email chains. Get prompt response from the support team, which leads to faster problem resolution and a positive customer experience.

To further improve communication, one can create a group either internal or external, and manage the customer’s inquiries at their workspace with ease. The groups can exist separately from roles. Here, admins will have the authority to define the groups and determine the level of permissions and privileges to each group.

Book a demo to check how each group performs specific tasks or access specific features.

5. Improved collaboration

Customer portal refers to enhanced teamwork and collaboration among customers, admins, and support teams. It includes features within the portal to enable seamless interaction, ticket management, and knowledge sharing.

For instance, admins can access and manage tickets from their team members using the customer portal. Additionally, the portal helps to coordinate tasks, share relevant information, and collaborate on problem-solving. This leads to quick query resolution, increased productivity, and enhanced customer experience.

6. Personalization for better experience

Let’s talk about personalization – it’s like tailoring things to fit you perfectly. Think of it as creating an experience that’s just for you, based on what you like and how you roll. Leveraging data and insights gathered from users, this approach crafts customized and precisely targeted experiences. Now, in the world of customer portals, personalization is all about giving each user their own special treatment.

Imagine getting info and features that are spot-on for you. This isn’t just about being fancy – it’s about forming a real connection with your customers, boosting loyalty, and making sure they stick around. One such customized feature is Spotlight cards which help to educate customers about what is happening in your company.

Here’s how it looks.

Reduced support costs

Customer portals are not a replacement for traditional customer support, but they can be a valuable tool for businesses that are looking to improve their customer service. It helps businesses reduce support costs by providing customers with self-service options for common tasks, such as:

• Submitting and tracking support tickets
• Accessing knowledge base articles
• Updating account information
• Managing billing and payments

This can free up support agents to handle more complex issues, leading to faster resolution times and a better overall customer experience.

Improved analytics and visibility

A customer portal provides valuable insights into customer behavior. It works as a centralized platform for businesses and helps them make informed decisions. By monitoring the customer’s activity within the portal, businesses can understand how customers navigate through their services. Optimize the user experience and tailor marketing strategies. Get insights such as,

• Which support articles are being accessed most frequently
• What types of issues customers are reporting
• How long customers are spending on the portal

Enhanced Security Measures

Implementing a customer portal adds an extra layer of security for businesses. It also ensures a safe environment by encrypting all data sent to and from the portal, protecting it from potential breaches. Furthermore, the portal gives precise control over who can access sensitive information, adjusting permissions based on customer roles. This strengthens defenses, ensuring customer data stays safe from unauthorized access while building trust and confidentiality.

How to build a customer portal?

Building a customer portal involves several steps and considerations to ensure it meets the business needs and provides a seamless customer experience. Let’s break down how we can build an effective customer portal.

1. Define objectives and business requirements
2. Choose the right technology stack
3. Design user interfaces
4. Develop backend functionality
5. Integrate with existing systems
6. Implement security measures
7. Testing and quality assurance

To save your valuable time and effort on building a new customer portal from scratch, explore the option of consulting an AI-powered CRM platform. Such a platform can effectively handle the task and seamlessly integrate the tool into your existing system by streamlining the process and ensuring a hassle-free experience for your business.

Customer portals are the key to transforming customer experience

The impact of customer portals in revolutionizing customer experience is immense. These portals blend information, communication, and self-service seamlessly, meeting the modern consumer’s needs.

Choosing a robust solution like DevRev ensures effortless management and response to queries, providing information without relying on third-party applications. The user-friendly design guarantees a seamless experience, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. In the world of crucial customer support, a well-implemented portal like DevRev is key, streamlining interactions, promoting transparency and efficiency, and fostering a community feeling for a superior customer experience.