Customize your self-service portal

Marcel Gravelle

20-Aug-2024

Customizing your Self-Service Portal

A self-service portal is a powerful tool that empowers customers to find answers, solve issues, and manage their accounts independently. This article highlights the significance of a self-service portal and how it benefits both customers and businesses.

Basic Portal Configuration

A well-configured self-service portal is vital for delivering seamless customer support. In Supportbench, configuring key elements such as the portal's name, reply email address, default department, and default queue ensures that your customer interactions are organized, professional, and efficient.

1. Go to Configuration > Self-Service > Customer Portal.
   
   
    
2. You can either enter the portal we created for you, or create your own. Decide on your portals address (URL).
   
   
    
3. Scroll down and decide on the default division (department) and queue tickets created from this portal will enter into.

Customization

By incorporating customizable elements like, logos, logo icons, custom colors and links, companies can create a more cohesive, efficient, and user-friendly self-service portal that aligns with their overall branding and strategic goals.

1. Go to Customization.
2. Add your Logo, Logo Icon and Contact Information.
   
   
    
3. Choose custom Colors for your portal.
   
   
    
4. Choose your portal links.
   
   

Security

Customizing a self-service portal is crucial for enhancing security and protecting sensitive data. By incorporating features like encryption and advanced authentication methods (e.g., multi-factor authentication and biometric authentication), organizations can ensure that user data remains secure and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals. Customization also allows for robust access control mechanisms, such as role-based access controls (RBAC), which ensure that only authorized users can access specific sections of the portal. Integrating advanced security measures helps organizations comply with relevant regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA, which is essential for avoiding legal penalties and safeguarding user data. Additionally, incorporating security awareness messages tailored to the organization's specific needs educates users about potential security threats and best practices, further enhancing the overall security posture of the Supportbench self-service portal​.

1. Go to the Security Tab.
   
   
    
2. Begin to chose your restrictions: Lock this portal down by Division (department) or Roles, using role based access.
    
3. Decide on whether you want some containers to remain internal, or if they should all be available to the public (containers host your articles).
    
4. Chose whether you want to enable SAML and LDAP protocols.
   
   

SSO Sign-in using SAML

1. Ask your Supportbench CSM to enable SSO in your portal.
    
2. Navigate to your portal login page, and use our SSO login.
   
   

Comprehensive Knowledgebase

Provides users with easy access to a wealth of information, including FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and detailed documentation, which enables them to resolve issues independently and quickly. This reduces the volume of support tickets and frees up customer service representatives to handle more complex inquiries.

1. Go to your Knowledgebase within your Supportbench Instance by clicking the lightbulb in the sidebar.
   
   
    
2. Create your Containers (Containers are what host like articles. IE: A FAQ container, Getting Started container or Troubleshooting Container).
   
   
    
3. Create your articles and add them to their appropriate containers / topics.
   
   
    
4. After creating your article, enter back into it, and apply any role based security if necessary.
   
   
    
5. All of your external facing articles and containers will be added to your portal! 🎉🎉🎉
   
   

Communication Channel Integration

These channels, such as live chat, email support, and community comments, provide users with direct access to assistance when they cannot resolve issues independently through the knowledge base.

Key Steps for self-service support:

1. Login to your Self-Service portal account.
2. Click Ask a Question.
   
   
    
3. Fill in the blank fields and click submit.
    

How to Customize the Fields When Submitting a New Case

1. Navigate to Configuration > Custom Fields > New Field.
   
   
    
2. Give your field a name, then chose its type (leave the location as case field).
   
   
    
3. Save changes and navigate to Cases > Policy  New Policy.
   
   
    
4. Create a new policy using Community Open as the type.
    
5. Navigate to fields to show and add your new field.
   
   

Live Chat integration

1. Go to Configuration > Self-Service > Chat widget > New Widget
2. Follow the Installation instructions 

For further assistance and advanced features, explore the following resources:

• Support Portal: Visit our 📙Support Portal for FAQs and troubleshooting guides.
• Customer Support: Contact our support team via the 📙Support Portal or email us at 📧support@supportbench.com.
• Chat with Us: By clicking on the “Chat with us” button when clicking your profile image.