How To Create Effective Troubleshooting Flowcharts For Customer Service?

Around 78% of consumers prefer to choose the company again, irrespective of the fact that it has not been able to deliver earlier, provided that the consumer received good customer support with an empathetic approach, as per the 4th edition of State of the Connected Consumer by Salesforce. 

Consumers expect good customer support and fast resolutions to queries. It is in the interest of the business to provide high-quality support service and provide seamless support to consumers. 

One of the most effective ways to provide good customer support is by creating troubleshooting flowcharts for various objectives. 

A troubleshooting guide flowchart helps the customer service team follow the route with which customer queries can be resolved in the fastest manner.

The effectiveness of troubleshooting flowcharts for customer service is dependent on the way they are built. Even with modern solutions that integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning, you are expected to cover the possible scenarios that a customer may face. You may not need to code and spend hours deciding the user interface or the color scheme, the intuitive designs available in the no-code framework in modern knowledge management platforms like Knowmax can help you build the customer service flowcharts with ease.

You can follow the approach detailed below to design a troubleshooting guide flowchart for your business and cover the possible scenarios that a customer may face.

5 Steps to create effective troubleshooting flowcharts for customer service

1. Identify the objective

• The first step in creating effective troubleshooting flowcharts for customer service is to identify the end objective of the troubleshooting flowcharts. It will help you get the big picture about the objective of creating a troubleshooting guide flowchart. One of the most effective ways of identifying the end objective is by creating a visual mind map. A mind map allows you to cover all the possible scenarios, with the main idea being at the center of the mind map.
• Whether you use the mind map or any other technique, the idea is to identify the objective for the troubleshooting flowcharts. You need to have different flowcharts for different objectives. For instance, the support may have to handle issues like returns, delivery, and sales. You will need to have 3 different flowcharts for 3 different objectives. You would then have to follow the steps outlined below for each objective and create a troubleshooting flowchart.

2. Break down the process

• This is the most crucial step in this process. Once you have identified the objective of creating troubleshooting flowcharts, you should break down the process for each objective to create a flowchart for each goal. The flowchart is the break-up of the process that the customer needs to follow for each objective.
• As per the previous example, whether your objective is sales, delivery, or returns, you need to break down the entire process. For instance, in the case of a return, the customer may have to put in a request through the website or mobile app. Once the return request is generated, the customer may get a call from the support center confirming the return or in case they want to opt for an exchange. Once the status is confirmed, the customer may get a message regarding the pick-up a day before the pick-up and on the day of the pick-up.
• A similar break-up needs to be in place for all objectives that have been identified in the previous stage

3. Identify the roadmap

• Once you have outlined all the objectives and put together the roadmap for each objective, it is now time to identify the roadmap for each objective. The roadmap necessarily includes all scenarios and assumptions that are being made. The roadmap is unique for each flowchart created under each objective.
• For instance, the roadmap for the sales process would be completely different from that of the returns process. Similarly, you would need to include all scenarios for each stage of the customer journey. In the case of returns, there could be a scenario where the product is in or out of warranty, with or without a receipt, and in or not in functional condition.
• Your response to each scenario would change and impact how the troubleshooting flowchart would move from one stage to another. Similarly, you would need to identify a roadmap for each objective. Once you have created the roadmap for each objective, you should check for loose ends that may exist in any of the objectives.
• As these flowcharts would be used by the customer support team for various business activities, it has the potential to impact business reputation. Any identified loose ends would need to be ironed out at the preparatory stage itself.

4. Don’t go overboard

• With the right knowledge management system, you can even manage complex troubleshooting flowcharts, but it is suggested that you should not go overboard with any of the flowcharts in the starting phase. With a knowledge management platform like Knowmax, you can create a troubleshooting guide flowchart for a variety of objectives.
• These customer service troubleshooting flowcharts can help you create a seamless support process. In the initial phase, you should cover all possible scenarios and tie all loose ends in the flowcharts. As you deploy them in your operations, you will be able to create evolved versions by learning more about the customers and their queries.
• If you try to create too complex flowcharts in the initial stage, it may create confusion and increase the training time for your employees.

5. Enable multiple usages

• While creating these flowcharts, it is vital to keep in mind that these could be used for various objectives. The objective can be used at the support center, the website, or the chatbot.
• It is critical to realize that customers can get in touch across various touchpoints, and these troubleshooting flowcharts for customer service should be able to handle customer queries on multiple platforms. The flowcharts made using knowledge management software like Knowmax consider this fact and create flowcharts that can be used across customer touchpoints. Currently, most customers prefer self-service solutions to support over email and phone.
• As a result, you should ensure that the flowcharts you create should take care of the self-service solutions and support the phone and email channels.

Concluding

These steps can help you create effective troubleshooting flowcharts for customer service. These flowcharts can set a foundation for your support function. Before you deploy them into business operations, you should give them some time for learning and training.

As your support team would get comfortable with these flowcharts, you can expect to provide a consistent experience across multiple customer touchpoints.

Knowmax uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to make these flowcharts for your business operations. You can expect to reduce resolution time and cost for support services with the right troubleshooting flowcharts.

Most importantly, these support services can streamline the support function activities, which will give you immense benefits in the long run.