Do you think that you provide great SaaS customer support? Think again. In 2020, around 47% of customers stopped doing business with a brand because of poor customer service. 77% of American customers report that good customer service leads to brand loyalty. There are a few companies that take the definition of SaaS support to the next level. If you want to pick up your game with your SaaS customer service, this article will explain how to do just that.

What is SaaS Support?

SaaS support is a range of services aiming to help customers with the use of the product and making the right business decisions. The list of services depends on the type of SaaS product and can include assistance with installation, maintenance, upgrading, and so on. If you are not sure whether to invest in customer support or not, statistics clearly state its importance. According to statistics, 67% of customers cancel the subscription because of the bad customer experience. In fact, customers are ready to pay 25% more just to get better customer support. You cannot allow yourself to underestimate the importance of SaaS support since it provides several undeniable benefits for your business:

• Better customer recognition
• Churn decrease
• Reduction in customer acquisition cost
• Cultivation of customer loyalty
• Higher customer satisfaction
• Improved customer lifetime value
• Enhanced brand awareness

The list of advantages goes on and on, but you probably get the idea. Now let’s move on to the fun part explaining how to address customer support today.

Companies Delivering Outstanding SaaS Support

There are a number of companies that get outstanding results from provided SaaS customer support. Below you can find a list of such brands with some key takeaways from their SaaS support that you can use in your business.

1. Textedly

What could be a better place to start looking for inspiration than from a company providing tools for marketing. Textedly, a solution designed for text message marketing, provides an outstanding example of excellent customer support. As soon as you land on its website, you are greeted with a chatbot asking whether you need help or just exploring. Visitors can choose an option from provided ones, ask their own questions directly, or search the knowledge base right from the chatbot window. Tip: Chatbot integration can save hundreds of hours for a customer support team. Think about chatbot outside the box and provide a few options, including the ability to search for answers right from its menu. You can hire a software development company like MLSDev that will help you build a chatbot tailored to your business needs. Textedly communication methods: live chat, chatbot, email, phone, personalized pop-up questions, contact form, FB page & messenger, knowledge base, blog, free guides, support with SaaS product free trial.

2. DepositFix

DepositFix, a company providing a payment solution for HubSpot forms, takes the concept of the contact us form a step further. As soon as you click on its icon, an expert in HubSpot integration greets you with a short video. You can reply to this video by recording your own video, audio, or text message. DepositFix also holds regular webinars and workshops explaining how to work with their system and what benefits businesses can reap thanks to it. They share useful information in their Facebook group and have a private one, where users can get support and find answers to questions. Tip: Not all users prefer communicating with text. For some of them, recording a video or audio message is more convenient. Think about all possible groups of users and provide the appropriate communication ways. Think about social media as an additional touchpoint for your SaaS support. DepositFix communication methods: email, unique chat with text, audio, or video options, phone, form for demo scheduling, help center, contact form with a specific request identification, distinct manuals & video tutorials, Facebook chat, knowledge base, blog.

3. Slack

Slack is another solution that doesn’t take chances with poorly organized customer support. This company is famous for making the use of its service smooth and easy. If you have any questions, you can access the help center right from the app. With its customer support documentation, Slack targets all kinds of customers – those who prefer to read guides and those who prefer to watch videos. You can find a quick start guide, different video tutorials, and an FAQ section with robust search and auto-suggest features. The last feature allows finding answers even if you don’t know how to phrase the question. Tip: Don’t make users leave your SaaS product to find answers to their questions. Provide links to the FAQ right inside your application. Check Slack and get inspired by a great example of how such an approach can be implemented in real life. Slack communication methods: email, site video tutorials, a Twitter group with app work status and messaging, contact form with a request specification and ability to track them, help center, in-app knowledge base, FAQ block, YouTube channel, regular newsletter.

4. Zendesk

Zendesk concentrates its SaaS support services on creating a robust knowledge base and support tickets management system. In addition to these support methods, the company actively educates users with regular webinars and videos explaining how to use its system and explaining the benefits it can bring, as well as educating them on multichannel interaction with customers. In addition, Zendesk also has its own community where users can share their questions, find answers, and communicate with other users. Tip: Educating your target audience can significantly reduce the number of customer support requests. Don’t underestimate the power of educational videos and webinars, since they provide help and increase the company’s value in the eyes of users. User communities create a unique opportunity for users to interact with ea ch other, share experience, and useful information. Zendesk communication methods: phone, email, solid help center, contact form with a request to the sales team, contact form for product and account support, request for a product demo, knowledge bases, webinars with live Q&A, a tour of the Agent Workspace, user community with distinct post categories, FB page & messenger, YouTube channel, Instagram chat, Twitter texting, LinkedIn life & video, regular newsletter.

5. Zapier

If you are looking for a company that approaches SaaS customer support like no one other, Zapier is a great example. Have you ever thought about putting your CEO to customer support? Zapier does just that. The company uses a unique customer support approach calling it “all hands support”. No matter the job title, every employee spends some time every day, week or month helping customers. This way, everyone in the company gets a better understanding of their users and target audience, which helps to make better business decisions. Tip: Turn your employees into customer support specialists. Encourage them to provide help to users and engage them to answer some technically tricky questions. Zapier communication methods: email, contact form, support center with tutorials, social media groups for sharing information, knowledge base, Zapier community, option to hire a professional from Zapier experts pool, blog, YouTube channel, regular newsletter.

6. Chargify

A lot of SaaS solutions rely on subscriptions. Customer support SaaS teams of such companies dedicate a lot of time to customer retention. Chargify is one of the services that take it even further. The company uses SaaS support software to track its customers and identify those who can cancel the subscription soon. When such a client is identified, a success agent gets in touch with that customer. During the conversation, they are trying to find out about the challenges that occurred and to help address them. Such an approach to SaaS support can include upselling. Customers find themselves more satisfied with the solution they had been going to abandon. Tip: Use customer service to identify those who are going to abandon your solution. Create a personal experience and show that you care about each and every one of your customers. Chargify communication methods: 24/7 support team over the phone, Facetime contact with US and international sales team, contact form, pop up with chatbot, email, option to contact B2B SaaS Expert, knowledge base, webinars, blog, FAQ block, LinkedIn life videos, FB page & messaging.

7. Trello

When you deal with SaaS support strategy, what do you think about first? Customer retention, right? Why not shift your SaaS support plans to concentrate on turning inactive customers into active ones. That’s exactly what Trello is doing by sending automated emails to users that haven’t used the solution for a while. Such emails serve as a great tool to remind customers about your solution and encourage them to return to it. Along with such emails, you can send different help articles explaining how to make the best out of your solution. Tip: Don’t let customers forget about your SaaS product. If they don’t use it for a while, ask them why they stopped using it and how you can help. You can also send emails with case studies, hacks, and other useful information that will help them get a better idea of your solution. Trello communication methods: help center with FAQs, connect with Trello community, contact support from user accounts, categorized knowledge base, Trello enterprise support, blog, tutorials, Twitter messenger, webinars.

8. Hubspot

Hubspot is one of the most popular SaaS solutions in the world. Its readiness to share knowledge and useful insights with the public sets the company apart from the competition. You can find hundreds if not thousands of useful resources in its education center. They are sharing knowledge and expertise in their blog, in free ebooks, courses and even certifications. Tip: Don’t hold onto the industry knowledge you have; share it with your potential and current customers. Help them get better in their business by providing free access to industry insights, videos, ebooks, studies, free courses with certificates, and much more. Hubspot communication methods: phone, email, help center with loads of learning resource, interaction with a user with pop up screens, knowledge base, Hubspot Academy with certified courses, chatbot – HubBot, contact form to request a callback, HubSpot community FAQ page, Twitter support account, YouTube channel, Twitter messaging, Instagram, FB page & messaging, regular newsletter.

9. Hive

Canva approaches customer service from an entirely different perspective. The company knows that educating customers on how to use their system is one of the best ways to nurture brand loyalty. Aside from the traditional knowledge base, the company provides free access to Canva Design School containing hundreds of free video tutorials and courses covering the basics of graphic design, best design principles, and much more. Tip: Don’t stop at providing a knowledge base. Take a look at SaaS from a different perspective and start educating your users with free videos. If they learn the best practices of using your SaaS solution, they are less likely to switch to a competitor. Aside from telling about your product, you can enlighten them on the topics around their industry. Canva communication methods: categorized help center, contact form, demo request, knowledge base & free resource (color wheel, photo editor, font combinator, logo maker, etc.), info on the latest Canva features, Twitter messaging, Instagram, Pinterest, FB page & messaging, design school with Canva tutorials and courses, design community to contact design experts, FAQs, blog.

SaaS Support: Key Action Points

The ten companies mentioned above prove that customer support is a lot more than just writing documentation and answering questions. It’s about caring for clients, anticipating any issues they might face, and providing them with different customer support forms. While it doesn’t mean that your SaaS support structure should be based on all the tips mentioned in the article, they are a lovely inspiration to start with. Before making any decisions, analyze what your customers are struggling with the most and how you can improve the customer journey. If you want to improve your customer support efforts, take a look at the list below, providing a few possible options:

• Make the support button or FAQ section easy to find
• Provide a live chat and a chatbot for quick answers
• Create FAQs for customers who don’t want to deal with customer support agents
• Build a close relationship between support and product to identify problems with your SaaS and correct them
• Set standards for your support team regarding response time, greetings, follow-ups, etc.
• Analyze your employees hiring practices as well as check on personnel training processes within a customer support team
• Ask customers to review support experience and your support agents
• Measure your progress by tracking the number of tickets, average response time, and customer satisfaction

It’s now your turn to apply the received knowledge to practice.