Getting Started Guide AnswerDash is cmmitted t helping yu achieve yur larger business gals. The utlined pre-launch cnsideratins are key t setting up yur implementatin s yu can make pwerful imprvements t yur website r web applicatin and help yur visitrs have better, mre prductive and prfitable experiences. Use this as a reference guide fr getting started with AnswerDash. Initial Setup Prcess After yu get yur lgin email t verify yur credentials in yur accunt, yu ll lgin t yur accunt and be guided thrugh the initial setup steps in the Welcme t Setup prcess. In the initial Welcme t Setup prcess, we recmmend yu start with the fllwing: 1. Enter yur site's URL. Yu will use this t preview and setup AnswerDash n yur site. 2. Install the AnswerDash Chrme Extensin. The extensin injects ur JavaScript snippet in every page yu view in yur brwser. It des nt affect hw thers see yur site. Instead, it allws yu (r anyne yu share it with) t play with AnswerDash live n yur site (NOTE: yu ll need t specify yur AnswerDash site ID in the extensin settings.) Yu can use the same Chrme brwser extensin t cnfigure AnswerDash t yur liking withut yur engineering team even getting invlved. Later, yu can have yur dev team drp in the ne line f JavaScript s everyne, even withut the brwser extensin, can see AnswerDash n yur site. 3. Enter yur supprt email address. Yu can cntinue t chse Next thrugh the Style and Cntact Inf settings, as yu will be able t g back thrugh thse ptins later. Yu will have an pprtunity t set up Live Chat, Knwledge Base integratins, Page settings and Questin grups, Users (mderatrs and admins), as well as Install the Snippet after wrking thrugh the pre-launch cnsideratins. Pre-launch Cnsideratins After yu have cmpleted the initial setup prcess, develping answers t the pre-launch questins belw will aid yur effrts during the implementatin prcess: 1. Which pages n yur site will yu be putting the AnswerDash Tab? TIP: A best practice fr determining this is t put AnswerDash n the pages mst questins arise n yur site. 2. Which ticketing tl and/r ther assisted supprt tls (such as Zendesk and Live Chat) will yu integrate with AnswerDash? TIP: AnswerDash currently integrates with Zendesk, Desk.cm and Freshdesk, as well as live chat assisted-service tls such as Zpim, LiveChat, Olark, SnapEngage, and BldChat.
3. What types f questins are yur visitrs asking? Are they mre pre-sales r pst-sales? Are they billing questins? Are they trubleshting questins? TIP: What are the types f cmmn questins that yur visitrs are asking t yur custmer supprt team? 4. Wh has been assigned the rle f mderatr fr questins asked thru AnswerDash? TIP: Mderatrs are the individuals wh yu will task with writing answers t questins that cme in thrugh AnswerDash fr future visitrs t see. Fr mre infrmatin n Resurces, Rles and Stakehlders please see Appendix A. 5. Determine yur primary gals and hw yu will measure success r failure? Is yur main gal ticket deflectin? Is yur primary bjective cnversin r adptin? Is yur gal t imprve user experience (usability, learnability, custmer satisfactin, NPS, etc.) D yu want t gain mre insight int yur user s behavir via analytics? Fr each gal, what wuld be a minimum result? A stellar result? Tab Visibility, Pages and Questin Grups First, yu ll want t decide where yu are ging t put AnswerDash n yur site. Where n yur site is the primary surce f yur supprt tickets? Knwing where yur visitrs have questins and what types f questins they are asking will help yu determine where yu shuld put the AnswerDash Tab. Yu ll then define the Pages (wildcarded URLs where custmers use pages t cntrl where the tab is visible, whether new questins are allwed n a page, and whether visitrs can minimize the tab), as well as the Questin grups (used t rganize Q&A int meaningful grups that custmers can then use t specify exactly which questin grups shuld appear n each f the pages they have defined). Yu ll ften refer back t Page settings and Questin grups thrughut the setup as yu begin t write and publish cmmn questins and answers. Fr mre infrmatin n Pages, please refer t the Using Pages in AnswerDash resurce guide n ur site. Here are a few best practices t cnsider t ensure prper placement and visibility f questins n pages: In Questin Grups settings review yur questins and think abut the categries yu'd like t break them int based n tpic. Ensure the names are gd fr user cnsumptin if yu plan t use the AnswerBase a feature that enables yur users t brwse all f yur Q&A in ne cnvenient n-page knwledgebase. Fr example, yu may want a Questin grup called Installatin, and thers called Delivery and Shipping, Prmtins, and Abut ABC Cmpany. Yu'll want t designate the Page URL(s) fr the Questin Grup. All the Pages (URLs) yu create will be available t chse frm but yu have t mve them t On status fr the questins t be included n the specific Pages. Remember: If yu create new Pages, yu'll want t g t the Pages settings in yur accunt and add a new URL, as well as g t yur Questin Grups settings and assign the Questin Grups that yu want displayed n thse particular Pages. 2
Integratin with yur Existing Assisted Supprt Prcess AnswerDash integrates seamlessly with yur nrmal supprt ticketing system r prcess, including live chat and knwledge base help centers. If yu prvide AnswerDash a supprt email address, AnswerDash will send new questins t yur supprt ticketing system s yu can respnd t yur custmers thrugh yur nrmal supprt prcess. We recmmend respnding ASAP thrugh yur nrmal prcess t custmers wh ask questins thrugh AnswerDash, then editing questins and publishing generalized answers daily t reduce supprt escalatins t yu ver time. The mre Q&A yu publish in AnswerDash, the fewer supprt tickets yu ll get. Integrating Live Chat: Integrate AnswerDash with yur live chat and we ll escalate custmers t yur live chat nly after we re sure AnswerDash can t answer their questin. Integrating with yur Help Center and Supprt Ticketing System: If yu use a help center, such as Zendesk, Freshdesk r Desk.cm, yu can quickly mirrr all f yur articles as AnswerDash Q&A. T set this up, lgin t yur accunt and g t Tls/Settings/Integratins and select either Zendesk, Freshdesk r Desk.cm and turn it n. The articles will autmatically cnvert t Q&A, ready fr yu t easily publish with a few clicks. Setting up administratr and mderatrs Next, yu ll want t identify yur users and wh will be respnsible fr publishing generalized Q&A t cntinually grw the AnswerDash layer. Users are cmprised f mderatrs, administratrs (admins) and an wner. A mderatr's jb is t write useful, cncise, generalized answers t incming questins fr future visitrs t see. Think abut wh wuld be best at this task, as it is key t deflecting frequently asked questins thrugh self-service. Admins are mderatrs that can cnfigure a site's settings. The wner (there can nly be ne) is an admin that can als update payment infrmatin. Think abut wh n yur team wuld be best at these tasks, as it is key t deflecting frequently asked questins thrugh self-service. We recmmend yur mderatr lgs in daily t review new questins and editing them t publish at least 5 twitter-sized generalized answers (general answers that pertain t the brader audience) fr all f yur future visitrs. Publishing yur first Q&A Nw it is time t begin writing and publishing sme cmmn Q&A. We recmmend yu publish 12-24 questins t begin with. Then, turn AnswerDash n and let yur visitrs and custmers ask a questin. Yu might discver sme surprising questins. We have fund it wrks best t write cncise Twittersized answers in AnswerDash. The shrter an answer is, the mre likely they are t read it and stay n 3
yur site. It s als gd practice t link yur answers t ther pages, such as ther parts f yur site r mre extensive knwledge base articles. AnswerDash makes it easy fr yur custmers t ask questins because it is visible and easy t use. That s a gd thing because yu want yur answer layer t build up quickly at the start, capturing the questins that yur visitrs actually have. Then after answers build up, future visitrs dn t need t ask the same questins because they ll find them in AnswerDash, and yur escalatins will g dwn by as much as 50% r mre. Snippet Placement Fr AnswerDash t lad successfully n a page in yur site, yu need t inject a script tag int the page(s). This is what we call snippet. AnswerDash generates the Java script fr yu, which yu can find in the Install Snippet step in the AnswerDash management cnsle. We recmmend installing the snippet n every page yu will be deplying AnswerDash n yur site, even if yu dn't enable them all at the start. Mst f ur custmers add the snippet at the end f the page s that it lads after yur page lads. This allws yu t quickly enable any page by turning n the Page f the URL when yu are ready, withut having t invlve develpment resurces. Gals and Defining Success T increase the likelihd f seeing measurable value fr custmers and users, it is imprtant t cnsider each f yur gals, hw they are being measured nw, and what results yu d like t achieve. D yu want t reduce supprt tickets, increase sales, imprve user experience, increase/decrease time n site r page views r uncver better analytics? Here are a few cnsideratins as yu are getting started: Deflectin and Ticketing: If yur gal is t reduce supprt tickets (emails, live chats, phne calls, etc.), it imprtant t nte that smetimes custmers can see an increase in tickets after launching AnswerDash. This can be due t several reasns: The tab is newly launched and visible fr users t submit questins. The cntent yu have published r is in yur synced knwledgebase articles is nt the right cntent fr a specific area n yur site and/r users are nt finding the answers they need t meet their end gal(s). AnswerDash isn't placed in frnt f all ther escalatin channels and therefre tickets are cming in thrugh thse ther channels as well as AnswerDash. T avid pssible deflectin incnsistencies, we recmmend the fllwing best practices when thinking abut where yu want t put AnswerDash n yur site: Ensure yur custmers see AnswerDash befre they see yur supprt email address and/r cntact infrmatin s they find self-service answers befre cntacting yu. Cnsider limiting the number f new questins that can be submitted, turn ff the ability fr visitrs t ask new questins, OR enable suggest a questin as anther ptin t set expectatins with users initially as yu wrk thrugh the supprt and 2 4
cntent prcess. This prvides pprtunities t gather questins and cntent gaps that then can be published fr all visitrs fr future deflectin. Cnsider adding new Pages (additinal URLs where yu d like the tab t appear) r Questin grups (used t rganize Q&A int meaningful grups that custmers can then use t specify exactly which questin grups shuld appear n each f the pages they have defined) fr targeted delivery f pre-sales, pst-sales and mre technical Q&A in the areas n yur site that crrespnd with what peple are asking in yur tickets. Receive a lt f pre-sales questins? Publish them thrugh AnswerDash n yur pre-sales website. Receive a lt f pst-sales questins? Determine where custmers cme fr help (a supprt page, a cntact us page, behind the lgin, etc.) and put AnswerDash there with the mst frequent pst-sales questins. Cnversin and A/B Testing: If yur gal is cnversatin, using ur A/B testing tls, we ve shwn that AnswerDash can reliably cause duble-digit, statistically significant cnversin rate uplifts. If yu d like t run yur wn test, prvide a success definitin and click the A/B test settings t measure the impact f AnswerDash n yur business. The success/failure event functinality is an ptinal tl fr yu t use with A/B testing t measure a psitive actin (e.g., a sale, signup, r registratin) r the absence f a negative actin (e.g., a return, supprt request, r cancelatin). Events can either be a visit t a URL r a click n a page element. We can track these in yur analytics and use them in A/B tests that yu run. Reviewing Dashbard Analytics AnswerDash s analytics will help yu identify key issues in yur prducts and services, helping yu t gather hard data n questins yur custmers have mst frequently. AnswerDash analytics makes it easier t see the value yu get each day frm using the AnswerDash Tab. We recmmend lgging in regularly and viewing the dashbard fr the latest engagement analytics. 5
Cmmn Questins Will there be a lt f wrk upfrnt t set up and launch AnswerDash? There will be sme upfrnt wrk fr yu, as utlined abve. Hwever, it wn t require much f develpments/it s time because yu just need t inject ne line f ur Javascript int each page that yu want t display AnswerDash, and then turn AnswerDash n. Fr mre infrmatin, please refer t ur snippet FAQ. Will there be a lt f extra wrk t respnd t custmers and publish new Q&A? Initially there will be additinal wrk t mderate and publish Q&A. Over a cuple f weeks, as yu cntinue t grw yur Q&A self-service answer layer, the supprt deflectins will reduce yur wrklad. Des this replace my current supprt system and change my business prcesses? N, AnswerDash was designed t integrate with yur existing ticketing system, but can als be used as a standalne self-service supprt system, helping custmers self-serve n answers befre emailing r calling yur assisted supprt. When I decide t make changes t my website, wn t I have t start all ver with setting up AnswerDash cntent? N, by default, AnswerDash lks at yur page just at the mment the user clicks a UI element. As cntent f yur site changes, AnswerDash cntinues t bring up relevant Q&A based n the cntent f yur page, and AnswerDash s prprietary bject-search algrithm. N extra wrk is required. Hw d I make use f my existing knwledge base articles, FAQs and infrmatin repsitries? D I have t red all f that? AnswerDash aligns with existing repsitries! N extra wrk is required t change it. We als have integratins with knwledge bases such as Zendesk, Freshdesk and Desk.cm that allw yu t sync yur articles directly in AnswerDash. Please refer t the Integratins sectin n ur website fr mre detailed infrmatin. 6
APPENDIX A Resurces, Rles and Stakehlders While AnswerDash seamlessly integrates with yur existing assisted supprt prcess, initially there will be sme additinal wrk t mderate and publish Q&A, rganize yur cntent, setup the design, style and placement f the tab n yur site, as well as any testing yu may require and the nging mnitring f the results frm AnswerDash. The fllwing diagram illustrates the pssible resurces, rles and respnsibilities f the varius stakehlders in the AnswerDash implementatin ecsystem. Sme f these may r may nt apply t yu specifically. Hwever, as yu cntinue t expand the use f AnswerDash, yu may at different perids want t cnsider including additinal stakehlders in yur rganizatin.