Want to create frequently asked questions for your site that are really frequently asked? AskIt! will do so -- and will probably make your site visitors happy, besides.
by Rebecca Rohan
January 25, 2001
You might like to make a live customer service rep available for your site 24x7 -- to answer questions and rescue sales from skittish customers -- but it just isn't feasible. Live human beings are expensive, and frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) pages often go unused -- frustrated visitors are often more willing to leave a Web site than to search through FAQs that don't address their concerns.
We've found a remedy that we can easily recommend: AskIt! This hosted service offers pertinent, timely answers to open-ended questions, without requiring a real-time operator.
It works like this: You use the AskIt! site to populate your knowledge base with your FAQ's questions and answers, plus as many more question-and-answer pairs as you like -- what would be too many answers for a FAQ improves your AskIt! knowledge base. After a little setup, such as specifying header graphics for your hosted page, you put an AskIt! button on your page.
Your site visitors see an animated button that alternates the phrases, "Customer Service?", "Got a question?" and "AskIt!". When visitors push the button, they are fed the hosted AskIt! page, which looks more or less like part of your site. At your option, it can display a FAQ of the best questions, along with a text box wherein the visitor can type a question if it isn't listed.
A Knowledge Base, Not A Search Engine
AskIt! is not an internal search engine. Site visitors aren't overwhelmed by an avalanche of URLs for every document containing a keyword. Some sites shovel hundreds of pages at users, making them turn on their heels and click out. Instead, AskIt! returns only the matches from your AskIt! knowledge base Q&A -- and it's likely to be the right answer. We were pleased with the appropriate matches to relevant similar questions.
What if the question doesn't find a match? The visitor can enter an e-mail address and submit the question without retyping it. The system thanks the visitor for the question and promises an answer via e-mail shortly. AskIt! sends you the question, and you provide an answer through AskIt!'s system. You can reply to the questioner via e-mail, post the answer to the knowledge base and post the answer to the FAQ that appears on the your hosted AskIt! page. (Certain answers may be inappropriate for the knowledge base, such as pricing for a custom item.) The system isn't as perfect as answering a question immediately, or even hours later. Once you've answered that question, however, the answer is available to the next site visitor who may be wondering about the issue at 3 a.m.
Nitty, Gritty -- And Pretty?
AskIt! has several subscription levels. Small Business Pro is $100 per month with a $500 setup fee. Corporate silver, gold and platinum levels start at $750 per month with setup starting at $2,000. A two-year software license is also available (instead of hosted service).
The customizing capabilities vary with each subscription level. At all but the lowest level, as you prepare your answer, you can add fully customizable canned content to the e-mailed copy, such as greetings, thanks for interest in your company or whatever else your customer service reps find themselves typing repeatedly.
The posted FAQ can have categories, using whatever organization makes sense for your site. The questions themselves appear in alphabetical order, which may not be the most logical progression. You may want to reword questions to change their order.
If you pay more, you can appoint multiple customer service professionals -- incrementally larger teams of administrators, dispatchers and expert answer people -- who can respond to questions. Higher priced subscription levels also get you more control of the appearance of your AskIt! page -- an attractive, if pricier, carrot.
Several of our testers wanted to know if we could change the button from its animated lime green, blue and white color scheme, which stood out from the carefully orchestrated plum and rose colors of the test site. Although physically changing the button on our originating page is as simple as replacing the IMG SOURCE in HTML, AskIt! doesn't let you do so at the less expensive subscription levels. Tools also let you edit the header (with a graphic of your logo) and the footer (containing your site navigation buttons), and change the wording that asks users to type in their questions.
The appearance of the default button isn't just an aesthetic concern; it looks like an external link to an advertiser's site, rather than a way to communicate with your site's customer service department. It is the sort of button most of us automatically block out, without even reading the message. We felt strongly enough about it to place text before the button stating it was not an ad and explaining what the button did -- and we advise doing something like that if you choose the least expensive subscription.
Testers also questioned whether e-mailing through AskIt's system would bring them spam. That's not going to happen, but it was a frequent concern. With customers already worried about collecting spam from your site, you may want to add a line about AskIt! to your Privacy Statement and provide a link beside the AskIt! button.
It's Not Perfect -- But It's Still Great
We were impressed by AskIt!'s ability to make maximum use of customer-service staff, update answers for site visitors without forging a real-word bridge between your customer service and Web people -- and, quite probably, push some visitors through the checkout line who would otherwise have "dropped cart." If AskIt! improves the aesthetics and increases its privacy reassurance -- or you're willing to design around them -- AskIt! may be a very good investment of your customer service dollars.
AskIt Systems
New York, N.Y.
Phone: 212-414-9590
Fax: 212-414-9960
www.askit.com
info@askit.com
