More questions than answers: the wasted potential of FAQ pages

Companies neglect FAQs and waste their potential  
Companies and authorities are neglecting the answering of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on their websites. Either they neglect them altogether (one in two does that), or the FAQs are lacking in quality. Yet FAQs can solve customers’ issues quickly and easily. Looked after carefully they provide customers with the information they seek faster than an e-mail. They can relieve contact centres greatly, especially when it comes to standard queries. These are the results of the novomind survey entitled "Reality Check: Customer Communication" which was conducted in collaboration with the IMWF or Institut für Management- und Wirtschaftsforschung. 
 
FAQ lists rarely provide the right answers  
FAQs frequently fail to do what they are supposed to, instead leaving behind more questions than answers. Almost one in five catalogues of questions leaves potential customers with their service queries entirely unanswered. And 70 per cent of companies only occasionally provide the right responses. Only one of the companies’ websites passed the test convincingly - all of the five different service questions were answered satisfactorily by the FAQs. 
  
FAQs lessen the burden on staff-intensive communication channels  
An intelligent question-and-answer system which does not involve elaborate navigating can help customers to help themselves, and it increases satisfaction levels because they can obtain a solution to their problems at any time of day or night. It also relieves other communication channels which involve much more staffing and cost. For example, three out of four online shoppers contact sellers by e-mail. Every e-mail, however, incurs a cost averaging five euros. The cost of dynamic FAQs, on the other hand, is around ten cents per enquiry. Furthermore, most customer queries relate to issues that can be dealt with more quickly by FAQs than by e-mail: delivery times, methods of payment and shipping costs. Powerful self-service solutions therefore offer enormous potential savings. 
  
A new generation of FAQ systems: novomind IQ™  
A new generation of FAQ systems such as novomind IQ™ work more efficiently than ever, and save users from having to click time-consumingly through lots of links. This communication software provides differentiated and competent answers to FAQs, and diverts complex enquiries through to call centres. An optional visual element can also be incorporated in the form of a personified virtual consultant. Natural-sounding real-time dialogue and the proactive behaviour of virtual consultants, known as novomind IQ Agents™, increases customer loyalty and satisfaction further still. And on top of that, user behaviour can subsequently be analysed in terms of demographic characteristics and preferences. 
  
Background information  
The study entitled "Reality Check: Customer Communication" presents the results of a survey conducted on behalf of novomind AG in collaboration with the IMWF or Institut für Management- und Wirtschaftsforschung. The study analyses the quality of communication provided by German businesses, government ministries and authorities. 
  
novomind AG: innovative software for professional customer communication  
Hamburg-based software company novomind is the fastest-growing company in the fields of electronic customer communication and mail management. As a leading provider of innovative solutions for digital customer communication, novomind AG offers software for service-based, personalised interaction with customers. This achieves noticeable increases in the efficiency of customer administration, as well as a fast return on investment. The service portfolio of the Products Business Unit includes the novomind Self Service Suite™. This software package contains all of the communication modules required for a customer service centre, which revolve around a central knowledge base: e-mail management, virtual customer consulting and systems for interactive real-time communication. In its Services Business Unit, novomind AG implements complex eBusiness applications. More than 50 big-name companies have already opted for novomind technology, including Citibank, Otto and the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund (German Pensions Association). Club Bertelsmann, EnBW and myToys, as well as public sector institutions such as the German Bundestag and the Federal Ministry of Economics, are already using novomind systems successfully to back up their customer communication, increase their turnover and improve their public relations. 

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