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Still Relying On The FAQ To Prevent Churn? Then Your Site Help Is On Life Support

Let’s face it: as soon as a customer needs help on a website, the risk of them leaving rises exponentially. Patience is short, and there are enough options available online that it may very well take less time to find another solution than to wait for the cavalry to arrive.

 

Hoping customers will turn to the FAQ page for answers on their own is like expecting them to walk to the nearest river when they need a bath. The easiest way to keep customers is to give them immediate help where they need it.

 

Startup elevio (elev.io) understands the stakes. This support widget supplies answers inline where users have questions. This keeps people from leaving the page for assistance. Instead, a nifty tab opens a window into information, and eliminates searching. elevio also integrates with other platforms such as Zendesk, Salesforce – and tools like olark – to provide live chats and more assistance with minimal presence.

 

elevio

 

Analytics allow web owners to track down pain points and make their pages more customer friendly. Aussi entrepreneur and co-founder of elevio, Matt Trimarchi, tells us more:

 

Who are your target customers or users?

Anybody who runs a website or web application that uses a 3rd-party system to handle support and chat. We connect both to give a simplistic system to lower their support by giving their users information right where they need it.

 

Why do your target customers or users need it?

To lower support and give the user the ability to get information in order to complete tasks without the need to open a support ticket.

 

When do your best ideas come to you? In bed in the morning? During dinner? On your third beer?

All of the above and in the shower.

 

 

elevio sample

 

 

A lot of people have big ideas. What gave you the confidence to actually go after yours?

The love of the web and developing applications. We are only a small team of two – to get a product we truly love out the door and ready for public consumption is a great feeling.

 

Got any great bootstrapping tips for the lean startups out there?

Use tested libraries before building your own. Utilise as many open source tools as possible. Also, instead of re-inventing the wheel, look for other services to integrate with.

 

What other advice do you have for other entrepreneurs struggling to get started?

Get a great team no matter how small, and make sure they are as passionate as you are. Don’t worry too much about the little things. Get the app out. Keep it simple and improve consistently.

 

What are 5 websites you can’t live without and why?

  1. github.com – this is where all the code lives and how we manage issues and working from multiple locations.
  2. reddit.com – so we can take a break and laugh at cats.
  3. dribbble.com – the best way to get feedback on designs from the awesome design community.
  4. twitter.com – self-explanatory. It’s where the cool kids hang out.
  5. intercom.io – the best way to communicate new information to your users automatically.

 

Three people (other than you) we should follow on Twitter and why?

  1. @taylorotwell – creator of the laravel framework
  2. @ID_AA_Carmack – incredible developer who nobody can understand
  3. @philsturgeon – honesty prevails

 

Please share some specific numbers (funding, revenue, visitors) that highlight your growth.

We are self-funded and brand new on the scene.

 

What’s your favorite productivity hack?

Headphones.

 

Check out elev.io to discover more features and learn how to improve your site support.

 

Photo Credits

elevio | Katy Warner

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