Issue 29: The map is not the territory  September 26th 2016

No matter how perfect the product seems to be, problems will arise. This is especially true if you’re working with software. Customers know this, but the defining moment is how we support folks choose to handle those problems.

There’s a fundamental problem in Support that I’ve yet to see anyone coherently solve: the map is not the territory. When you make an FAQ, a support bot, helpdesk macros or a full-on Help Center, you’re making a representation of the product which in most cases is woefully separate from the product-itself. Changes made in the Build part of the dev cycle do not automatically propagate to Support documentation.

By the end of the 2013 holiday season in-store shopping garnered $265.9 billion compared to only $46.5 billion online — proof positive that physical stores aren’t going to suddenly and completely disappear. In fact, retailers still need to know and interact with their customers on a personal level, making a brick-and-mortar retail strategy a key tool for both traditional retailers and ecommerce-only brands alike.

In the ’90s, email completely revolutionized the way customers interact with companies, and live chat made these interactions even more instantaneous. So what will be the next technology trend to come along and change the way businesses communicate with each other?

Twitter announced new customer-support features. The features enable businesses to tell users they provide help on Twitter indicate when they’re most active and ensure people know they have the option to send them a Direct Message.