6 Proven Ways to Reduce & Streamline Ticket Support Load

In an era where customer service increasingly defines business success, companies are drowning in a digital deluge: nearly 600 support tickets flood in daily, demanding immediate attention. [1]

For the average enterprise, that amounts to almost 18,000 user queries monthly—each representing a moment of truth in the relationship between business and consumer.

Below, I'll show you proven strategies that companies are using to dramatically reduce their support ticket volume—from AI chatbots to knowledge bases. So, let's see how you can help your team break free from the endless cycle of reactive support.

What is a Ticket Load?

Support ticket load is the number of customer issues a support team handles over a period of time. So, a typical volume of tickets changes based on the industry—regardless of whether the business is B2B or B2C.

For example, Amazon deals with millions of customers daily, so it gets an enormous number of support tickets related to orders, deliveries, and returns. Difficult to deal with, right?

But a lower ticket count doesn't necessarily mean an easier time for the support team. A B2B SaaS company might have fewer tickets but with complex and technical issues.

Here are some of the factors that can cause a higher ticket load:

• Product Complexity: People are naturally going to have questions if your product isn't beginner-friendly. Complexity means you're going to have more back-and-forth with the support team. For example, most software apps need instructions for setup and options for troubleshooting common issues.
• Customer Base: Your customer base ties into the product complexity and company size we've talked about. B2B clients tend to reach out less often, but when they do, their issues are complex. On the other hand, B2C customers have easier questions about shipping or returns.
• Industry Demand: Each industry faces a different support challenge. A telecom company might see a spike in tickets if there's a service outage. At the same time, you might deal with lots of inquiries during the holidays if you work in retail support.
• Customer Expectations: In the telecom and retail industries, people want quick answers. On the other hand, B2B clients don't need a quick answer but an in-depth one. If you don't meet the customers' expectations, they keep reaching out, which piles up the tickets.

6 Strategies for Reducing Support Ticket Load

1. Build a Knowledge Base

A knowledge base targets common and repetitive issues such as password resets, account setup, billing questions, and basic troubleshooting. Many customers have these problems and can often fix them on their own with the right information.

Perforce, a company with a suite of tools for app development and management, faced issues in creating tutorial videos. These clips were supposed to help the company achieve faster resolution times, boost customer satisfaction, and reduce ticket volume.

With tools like Camtasia, the process would typically take up to three days. To make matters worse, creating a knowledge base article took up to 8 hours. Perforce needed a way to speed up these tasks. The company decided to include guidde video documentation platform into its content creation workflow, which led to a reduction in creation time for:

• Videos: From 4 hours to 2 minutes
• Knowledge Base Articles: From 8 hours to just 1 hour

The support team also cleared a backlog of 200 knowledge base articles within 3 weeks, a task that would have taken several months otherwise.

You can start by using guidde to create instructional videos for the high-frequency issues you're facing and develop content around those topics. To check if your guiddes are performing, you can use the built-in analytics tool to look at engagement insights like completion and retention rates.

You can also connect guidde with your existing support tools like Zendesk or Freshdesk, minimizing the need for additional resources while achieving meaningful ticket reductions​.

2. Implement AI-Powered Chatbots

AI chatbots use natural language processing to answer common issues quickly. In e-commerce, they can handle questions about returns. In banking, they might relay account information and transaction histories.

Microsoft implemented the GLIMR Chatbot to handle basic user queries, reduce ticket congestion, and automate policy responses. The solution led to a noticeable decrease in support tickets, improved response times, and enhanced operational efficiency across multiple departments.

You can start by deploying a chatbot that needs minimal coding—one that easily connects with your systems and apps. Regularly update its knowledge base to keep the information current. If the customer needs more help, you should also provide an option to contact a support agent.

3. Use Monitoring Tools to Predict Issues

Monitoring tools target technical issues like system outages, performance slowdowns, security breaches, and network problems. By tracking system health and performance, they can detect anomalies before they escalate.

Software for proactive monitoring has applications in various industries. In e-commerce, you can use it to track website performance and prevent downtime during peak shopping hours.

For example, IBM implemented the AIOps software that predicted system conditions, which reduced the mean time to resolve issues. As a result, customers experienced fewer disruptions, and ticket volumes decreased significantly.

If you want to implement monitoring tools, you can:

1. Find the most critical systems that impact customer experience.
2. Get open-source tools that fit your budget, like Zabbix and Datadog.
3. Integrate these tools with your existing support systems for seamless communication.
4. Train your support team to interpret alerts and respond efficiently.
5. Review monitoring parameters to ensure they focus on relevant metrics.
6. Start a pilot program to test effectiveness before a full-scale rollout. 

4. Optimize Your FAQs

81% of customers prefer to solve problems independently before reaching out for support. [2]

FAQs are sections of your website or app that target common and repetitive issues like account setup, password resets, and billing inquiries. They are especially useful for tech-savvy industries, where customers like to address issues independently.

Saleo, a software company specializing in product demos, reduced repetitive customer inquiries by over 50% after implementing a more flexible and scalable FAQ system. It tailored the answers to specific customer needs and made the content easily searchable, which reduced support tickets.

Before you start creating your FAQs, find the most common customer questions by looking at support tickets. Write clear, concise answers using simple language, and organize them into categories for easy navigation.

You should also:

• Use bullet points and headings to enhance readability.
• Incorporate a search function so customers can quickly find what they need.
• Update the FAQs based on new products, services, or recurring issues.
• Encourage customer feedback to improve the content.

5. Ensure In-App Assistance and Tooltips

Tooltips provide immediate, contextual help within the app. They guide the users by explaining product features as they navigate the interface. In-app assistance is especially effective in tech and finance, where the software tends to be complex. Tech-savvy users appreciate immediate, in-context help that enhances their experience.

Senja.io, an company with an app that specializes in social proof, integrated embeddable widgets into their app. With this in-app help, they ended up with a 50% reduction in support tickets. The company also created a seamless user experience by continuously improving their support articles and responding to user feedback.

To start with in-app assistance, you first need to find common areas where users have difficulties. For example, you might set a tooltip to appear when a user hovers over a new button, explaining its function.

Focus on creating clear, concise, and context-specific tips for these areas. You should also use simple language and avoid overwhelming people with information.

6. Set Up Community Forums

In forums, experienced users often answer questions from newer or less experienced users, alleviating the pressure on official support teams. This peer-to-peer assistance can reduce ticket volume since users may get timely help from the community.

Atlassian—the company behind Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket—has an active forum. The community includes experienced users, developers, and even Atlassian staff who monitor discussions. These contributors often answer questions within minutes, creating a fast and reliable alternative to tickets for issues that don't need support agent help.

You can start with a user-friendly forum platform that works with your current systems. That way, it'll be easier to manage costs and resources. Pre-populate the forum with answers to frequently asked questions, which creates immediate value for users.

To keep users engaged with the community, you can:

• Recognize active members that consistently help in solving issues.
• Assign moderators to maintain quality discussions and ensure accurate information.
• Promote your forum through regular newsletter announcements and social media updates.
• Keep the community growing by adding new information regularly.
• Collect user feedback and make platform improvements based on community needs.

Metrics for Tracking Ticket Your Ticket Volume

Ticket Volume Over Time

You can track ticket volume over specific periods to spot surges and recurring patterns. For example, an abnormal rise—like a 20% increase over the average volume—signals a problem that needs immediate investigation.

The number of tickets or conversations will vary drastically based on company size, the type and size of the support center, and the product. So, you should follow this metric over time and establish internal benchmarks for what ‘normal’ looks like in your company.

First Response Time (FRT)

FRT measures the time taken to respond to customer inquiries initially. It's usually 1 hour or less for B2C and up to 4 hours for B2B. If you notice consistently slow response times, it may mean you need to focus on training or managing your support team better.

By looking at FRT, you can pinpoint periods of slow response, helping your support team adjust staffing levels or automate responses to reduce the number of incoming tickets.

First Contact Resolution Rate (FCR)

FCR measures how often you resolve issues in the first interaction. A good rate is 70-80%—any lower than that might indicate that customers are following up with your support team multiple times.

You should analyze FCR trends to reveal specific issues that aren't solved immediately. This will help you schedule targeted training for support teams to increase resolution efficiency.

Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT)

27% of Americans report that ineffective service is their number one customer service frustration. [3]

CSAT surveys, usually provided after issue resolution, help you assess customer happiness with support. It should be 80% or higher. A drop in CSAT scores signals problem areas, a specific support process needing improvement, or a recurring technical issue.

You can use CSAT to improve your FAQs, training, or workflows. This will ensure that support consistently meets customer expectations and reduces the likelihood of repeated tickets.

Ticket Backlog Rate

The ticket backlog rate measures the number of unresolved tickets over time. A growing backlog signals overwhelmed support teams, but keeping it below 10-15% is usually the goal for any healthy operation. If you see a high percentage, it might mean your support team is inefficient or lacks the resources to tackle customer questions effectively.

From 600 to Success: Slash Your Support Ticket Burden

Reducing support ticket load isn't just about cutting numbers—it's about creating a more efficient, satisfying experience for both customers and support teams.

By implementing these six strategies — from building comprehensive knowledge bases to fostering active community forums — you can significantly decrease your daily ticket volume from the overwhelming average of 600 per day.

The key to success lies in taking a holistic approach. While each strategy can make an impact on its own, the real transformation happens when they work in concert: AI chatbots directing users to relevant knowledge base articles, monitoring tools preventing issues before they generate tickets, and community forums supplementing traditional support channels.

Remember to track your metrics consistently, paying special attention to first response time, first contact resolution rate, and customer satisfaction scores. These indicators will help you fine-tune your approach and ensure that reducing ticket volume doesn't compromise customer experience.

Resources:

1. Quality Unit, LLC, “Understanding Customer Service in 2024: The Ultimate guide,” LiveAgent, Oct. 22, 2024. Available: https://www.liveagent.com/customer-support-glossary/customer-service/
2. “Digital First CX Research Report.” Available: https://get.nice.com/Digital-CX-Research-Report.html
3. Statista, “Primary causes of customer service frustration in U.S. 2017,” Statista, Jul. 06, 2022. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/815599/causes-of-customer-service-frustration-us/

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