Customer portal software is a web-based application enabling customers to access and manage their accounts. Businesses use the software to provide customers with a personalised, easy-to-use interface that displays relevant account information, services, promotions, and more.
The major features of a customer portal include:
- A personalised webpage displaying information specific to the viewer
- Reservation and booking capabilities
- Purchase histories
- Customer profiles, including contact information and account preferences
- Community forums
- Feedback tools (i.e., chatbots, ratings, and forms)
- Product recommendations
To get the most out of your business’s customer portal software, it’s crucial to understand the common challenges and how to rectify them.
This article will walk you through some common problems and offer some solutions to help you provide the best online experience for your customers.
Issue #1: Inaccessibility
One key issue many businesses face when setting up a customer portal is inaccessibility. For your customers to have a positive experience with your website, access to your portal should be quick, easy, and seamless.
Ensure your customer portal is easily accessible via at least one clear link on your website. You can also send the link directly to customers via your email marketing software.
Issue #2: Non-personalised experience
Effective customer portals are highly personalised. Your customers should immediately see information applicable to their interests, needs, and browsing history—including suggested FAQs and guides.
Customers should also be able to update their personal account data and view relevant products and services.
Thankfully, high-quality customer portal software will make this easy by automatically offering personalised experiences based on user data. You should also look for a product that offers detailed analytics so you can measure and refine customer journeys and experiences with your portal.
Issue #3: Troublesome implementation
Some businesses struggle with implementing customer portal software successfully. This can happen if implementation instructions aren’t clear or if your website isn’t set up properly.
To avoid this issue, look for customer portal software with clear installation instructions and support services. It’s also a smart idea to request a platform demo before you move forward with implementation—this way, you can ensure everything works smoothly before diving in.
Issue #4: Relevancy
Not only should customer portal experiences be highly personal—but they should also be timely and relevant. In other words, the portal should serve information that meets your customer’s needs in the moment.
If your customer is looking to update their account data, you don’t want to bombard them with product recommendations, even if those recommendations suit their interests.
A good customer portal will use real-time customer behaviour data to understand what customers are looking for at that exact moment and automatically provide the most relevant services.
Tackle these challenges for the best customer experience
Customer portals are online tools that provide customised experiences for shoppers. They’re a fantastic way to increase customer retention and satisfaction while helping your business save money on support costs.
By recognising and managing the challenges we’ve listed here, you’ll be able to deliver a seamless, easy-to-use customer experience via your portal software.
