Getting support – email vs portal

It may be better to have a mix of channels, including email-to-case, whilst nudging people to the portal channel

The arguments are well rehearsed. It’s better for people to use a portal rather than email to get support, right? Well, it certainly makes sense from the support organisation’s point-of-view. Good knowledge articles should deflect some cases. Forms capture all the data needed to complete a transaction reducing back-and-forth and errors. Chatbots can reduce the load on the telephone and human chat channels.

However, in my experience, some of those people seeking support do not agree… at least at first. This can be especially true for third parties you provide support to like customers, suppliers and former employees. They may be reluctant to register for portal access to ask a “quick question” they previously got answered by an email.

After investing in ServiceNow or similar product, it’s tempting to kill those shared mailboxes. It may be better to have a mix of channels, including email-to-case, whilst nudging people to the portal channel. You will be more popular with the change management team (although those maintaining complex email-to-case rules may grumble!)