The average digital attention span is only 8 seconds and we are bombarded with information from everywhere. With this in mind, do you think our old friend FAQ, with big blocks of texts, is interesting enough to capture clients’ attention or is it time for an FAQ-makeover?
FAQ has been used for many years as an option for clients to find out more information or solve a problem without having to get in touch with a Contact Center. It brings convenience for clients and for companies, sparing both the trouble of repetitive inquiries.
But like all things in life, FAQs can’t get stuck in the past. They have to develop. Consumer’s behavior has changed, so strategies must change too. People are now attracted to visual features, so FAQs must adapt. The usual long texts, with a lot of information and no easy structure to follow, don’t work anymore.
Most of the time, people go to an FAQ section when they have a specific problem and want to avoid calling support. They also use this resource when they are in doubt if they should buy a product or book a hotel, for example.
A research by Zendesk found that 69% of participants think that the ability to give a quick solution to an issue is connected to a good customer service experience. That means that if it takes too long or if it is confusing to get a piece of information, we easily give up and leave.
Here in this post, we are going to explain better why we think an old FAQ doesn’t work anymore and give you some ideas to improve your online customer experience.
To different people, different approaches
It is said that men don’t read instructions. But let’s be honest: women don’t read them either. No one reads anymore. That bring us to the first fact: FAQs are more convenient for writers, but not so much for customers.
Did you know that 65% of people are visual learners? And also our right hemisphere, or 50 percent of our brain, is dedicated to visual processing? That is why it is important to have different approaches in your FAQ section.
For instance, videos can be a good investment for companies trying to explain their product or service. So why not use this format in your hotel website? Hubspot brings us this report:
So it is relevant to know that users absorb information differently, which means that FAQs may need a multimedia approach. If you think videos are too hard to work with, adding images already goes a long way. Images are particularly powerful because they connect memories and emotions.
The visual aspect is also vital for sales. In e-commerce sites, 67% of consumers say the quality of a product image is “very important” in selecting and purchasing a product.
So invest in new clothes: add images or videos to make your texts easier to understand and have better chances of capturing the reader’s attention and converting new sales/ clients.
Are you aware of the details of your high-end guests’ preferences? Collecting this information in one place can be very effective!
So, to help you organize your guest data and offer the best experience they deserve, we created a customizable VIP Guest List Template. Get yours now:
A FAQ or Automated FAQ
Another way to upgrade your FAQ is to adopt automated FAQs (chatbots). That way, travelers can easily find answers on their own by asking directly a question to a chatbot, instead of searching through a long list of “hows” and “whens”.
The other advantage of having a hotel chatbot is that you have time to elaborate on negative answers. After all, when in a hurry, hotel staff answers only with a “we don’t have it, sorry”. A hotel chatbot can give a much more comprehensive answer in a matter of seconds.
Giving an option instead of just saying “no” makes all the difference!
Furthermore, younger generations prefer text messaging over all other channels. Forget about emails or help desk calls. A hotel FAQ chatbot can satisfy millennials’ demands while reducing the number of calls.
However, even though FAQ chatbots do use some artificial intelligence, there are other kinds of chatbots that are much more complex and can do a lot more.
The chatbot that we develop, for example, can add images to the answers, understands natural language and is also integrated with booking engines.
So not only can our hotel chatbot solve questions of travelers, but also encourages direct bookings. This is much more than what a FAQ can do, don’t you agree?
The new formula
Many companies (and hotels) still use FAQ in the old fashioned way. However, they don’t take advantage of their full effectiveness because they are built in a format that is not attractive to users anymore.
To have a good FAQ, it is essential to have some planning. It is more complex than it seems. FAQs should contain relevant information and, to be relevant, they should be updated regularly.
Besides, a badly constructed FAQ can cause confusion, scaring away (instead of attracting) new potential clients.
Humans want information to be easy to understand, so a well-organized content is key. As we said at the beginning of this post, people don’t like to read; they scan. Hence, using images has become an essential requirement to grab consumers’ interest.
In fact, articles with visual content get 94% more readership and exposure than those with mere text.
Illustrate what you are talking about and organize your FAQ content in clear topics, so users can quickly find what they are looking for and understand the message without further inquiries.
The FAQ-makeover: make your FAQ relevant again!
The FAQ page is the primary way to help people visiting your site to get their information faster. An effective FAQ resource can inform and guide the user in a natural way through your website’s content, making online customer experience seamless and satisfying.
In sales, the fewer steps visitors need to take to buy a product, the more sales you will probably make. Also, research shows that contents using visual communication to persuade an audience to succeed 43 % more often than those who simply rely on words.
Moreover, FAQs help you increase your online presence and reduce stress of your hotel staff. Besides, answering questions before guests actually ask, shows that you care about their experience and understand their needs.
Think about it: presentations with no visuals and just a bunch of text are boring. Why would your all-text-FAQ be different? Do a FAQ-makeover and encourage your clients to use this resource.
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