A Customer Portal is an online environment where you can share and exchange information with your customers. Examples include contracts, agreements, manuals, invoices, FAQs, news, etc. A Customer Portal is not only pleasant for your customers, but also provides you with some important benefits:
1. Simple and efficient communication
In a Customer Portal, you put information in one central location. No more sending files multiple times, sending to multiple contacts, or confusion about the document version. Your customers have 24/7 access to all the information you share with them. And, if properly maintained, the information is always accurate and current. Simple and efficient for your customer and for you.
2. Higher customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Customers appreciate it when you allow them to view information relevant to them at any time. They can manage themselves with manuals or FAQs, can instantly access agreements and contracts, and don't have to wait for you to send them a missing invoice or other document. That means more satisfied customers who stay with you longer.
3. Lower costs for communication and administration
Customer Portals make it easy to maintain contact with your customers. For communication, marketing, support, accounting and administration, you can save considerable time and thus costs. Your customers are served better and faster, without you having to put in more effort. On the contrary, it will cost you much less effort.
4. Communication focused on your customers
The Customer Portal is a protected environment over which you have control. That means you can communicate with your customers in a very targeted way. Unlike with your website and social media, with your Customer Portal you know exactly who has access to the information. You can therefore tailor the information precisely to the wishes and needs of the customer.
Potentially, a Customer Portal offers tremendous benefits for your customer and for you. But of course, it requires an initial effort on your part to set up this customer environment and then ongoing maintenance to keep the information current and relevant. Get the Customer Portal set up properly by listening to your customers' needs. That way, you will be able to take full advantage of the Customer Portal's capabilities.
Philip van Kemenade is a marketer at Dysel and has daily contact with end users of software.
