Every new customer means more support tickets, more headcount, and more cost. Eventually, you hit the wall where hiring another support rep just isn’t sustainable.
The fix isn’t cutting corners on support quality. It’s changing how support gets delivered — letting customers help themselves for the easy stuff so your team can focus on the problems that actually need a human.
1. Build a Knowledge Base
The highest-ROI support investment you can make. A single well-written article can resolve thousands of customer questions indefinitely. Start by identifying your top 20 most common support topics and writing clear, step-by-step articles for each.
- Self-service interactions cost ~$0.10 vs. $8-12 for phone support (Gartner)
- A good knowledge base can deflect 20-40% of support tickets within the first year
Key: Write in the language your customers use, not your internal jargon. If they search for “change password,” your article should be titled that — not “credential rotation procedure.”
2. Implement a Self-Service Portal
Beyond the knowledge base, give customers the ability to manage their own accounts. Common self-service actions include:
- Viewing and downloading invoices
- Updating contact information and payment methods
- Checking order or service status
- Managing subscription plans
- Submitting and tracking support requests
Each of these actions was previously a support ticket. A self-service portal makes them automatic. Learn more about automating support with a portal.
3. Implement Ticket Deflection
When a customer starts to submit a support ticket, show them relevant knowledge base articles that might answer their question. This “search before submit” pattern catches a meaningful percentage of tickets.
The key is relevance — if the suggested articles aren’t helpful, customers learn to skip the suggestions. Use natural language search and track which suggestions actually deflect tickets vs. which are ignored.
4. Use Structured Intake Forms
When customers do need to contact support, structured forms ensure they provide the information your team needs upfront. This eliminates the back-and-forth of “Can you share your account number?” and “What browser are you using?”
Custom forms for different issue types (ticketing systems support this) guide customers to provide relevant details, reducing resolution time and cost.
5. Automate Repetitive Workflows
Identify support tasks that follow a predictable pattern and automate them:
- Password resets → Automated self-service
- Invoice copies → Automated portal access
- Status inquiries → Automated tracking in the portal
- Appointment scheduling → Calendar integration
- Refund requests under a threshold → Auto-approve
6. Invest in Onboarding
Many support tickets come from new customers who don’t know how to use your product or service. Better onboarding — through guided setup, checklists, and training resources — reduces these early-stage questions.
7. Analyze and Learn
Track your support data:
- What topics generate the most tickets? → Write knowledge base articles
- Where do customers get stuck? → Improve the product or process
- Which customers generate the most tickets? → Proactive outreach might help
- What’s the first-contact resolution rate? → Higher FCR means lower total cost
The Portal Approach
A customer portal combines strategies 1-6 into a single platform. It’s the infrastructure that makes self-service, automation, and organized support possible. Rather than implementing these strategies piecemeal with different tools, a portal provides a unified framework.
Read our guide on how to build a customer portal or explore portal features to see what’s possible.