Your customers may have common problems. Or sometimes, they can’t find a proper solution within your website and knowledge base. In this case, they seek solutions or some handy tips using a community forum.
Freshdesk can be a perfect way to organize your community using forums. It’s an excellent platform for users where they can communicate, solving their issues, and bugs.
And this is helpful for your business in two ways. First, it’s an alternative to agents - now customers share and discuss their problems with other customers in your community. Second, a community forum can be a standpoint for a good and well-developed brand, helping to promote your reputation.
Here are some easy, handy tips for managing your forums and deepening your relationship with customers (both existing and potential) while developing your reputation.
1. Create different topics
Create different topics on your Forums tab. Let your users be engaged in plenty of things to discuss. They can share ideas, suggest new features for your product, ask for help, and so on. The more things they discuss, the more they’re involved in the process.
If a customer sees different topics, this creates trust and develops your company’s reputation. You become a resource where the customer can always get a solution.
2. Make popular topics sticky
If you have some “hot” discussions, make them sticky so that everyone would see them and get involved. These topics can be on top and gain more attention. Or, you can lock some irrelevant and unpopular topics where no one shows any activity.
3. Transform some topics into tickets
Sometimes customers are trying to reach out to other users because of having some bugs or other issues. And here it’s better to get the topic to become a ticket and get your team to solve it.
You can also ask your agents to monitor some topics on your forum by following them. Then your agents will get a notification by email about the discussion update. There’s a function to transform topics into tickets. They would be able to follow the link and see the discussion flow.
4. Categorize
Create various forums types: Problems, Ideas, Questions, Announcements. Install special functions there, depending on your demands and customers’ requests. Each forum type may be helpful for a specific customer segment and solve a particular issue.
When users see different categories of discussions, it’s easier to quickly find what they need and discuss it with other users or your team members.
5. Change visibility
Your forums may get public and be available for all Internet users. However, if you want, you can put a certain limit to 4 visibility options, and only specific users will be able to read them.
All. Forums will be visible in public to any user getting to your website.
Registered Users. In this option, only registered or logged-in members will see the discussions and topics.
Agents forums. Available for your agents. It’s a great way to share some “insider” knowledge.
Companies. Some discussions may be visible just to some companies which you have in your contact list. This can help you in creating a community for a specific customer segment. Besides, you may organize a private forum for your VIP customers. Thus you can notify them of the expected releases.
Freshdesk community forums are a good way of communicating for users. They solve their issues with other customers or share ideas they want to implement in your business. In this case, you’re not only helping your customers but also improving your business by analyzing their requests and ideas.