The number one reason that a business should include a Frequently Asked Question page to their website is to make finding information easier for their customers, present and potential. But you can quickly lose a reader’s attention, leaving them frustrated and the questions unanswered by having a FAQ section that is not user friendly. It is surprising how often otherwise effective websites make big mistakes on their FAQ page. It is especially confusing, because it’s an easily fixed problem.
Missing Categories
Customers should not have to hunt to find the answers they are looking for. It will leave the impression of a bad experience with your brand to some readers, and others may just give up looking completely. Everything you do related to this page, and your website as a whole, should be about serving your consumer. Break questions down into a few clear, concise groups, while keeping the answers to the most important information towards the top so tons of scrolling is not necessary for everyone. This will make it easier to quickly find certain questions and answers.
Fake Questions
Customers are looking for honest answers to their questions, not a marketing pitch. When picking your questions and answering them, be sure to choose ones that you truly believe your customer wants to know. They should address a known issue or be questions numerous customers have actually asked in the past. Nothing can turn a customer off to the information listed, and a business, quicker than feeling like they are being lied or sold to while they are looking for answers to something they need to know. In order to cover all your bases, you must guess not only what the first thing they want to know is, but you also have to decide what their follow up questions may be.
Confusing Language
A FAQ page is like a conversation with yourself, but one you are having for the customer. As tempting as it may be to write in the way you are most comfortable, this may not be what is best for the reader. Done truly poorly, the customer may walk away with more questions than they started with. When creating the page make sure to leave out all industrial lingo. Your questions and answers need to be understood by someone who could be a total layman. You can not assume that everyone knows the same abbreviations and acronyms, and that everyone has the same level of knowledge of the topic. Be sure to speak as plainly, and directly as possibly. Try to still have a slightly informal feel since you want your customers to feel like they are having a personal interaction with your company.
Too Long or Too Short
Customers and clients are not looking to be weighed down by heavy wording and an excess of information. They navigated to this page because what they are specifically looking for is quick answers. With every question you choose, stop and consider if it is really needed. If the answer is no, leave it out.
Too short of a page, lacking in an adequate number of questions, and you will leave the consumer let down, feeling frustrated they were mislead to believe they would soon have the solutions to the problems they have. Although highly unlikely, if you do not have much information to place on the page, try to cover all the information in other locations on the site and skip the FAQs.
Call to Action
This step is very simple, and easy to fix for those that may have forgotten it. The last question, and it’s answer, should have a “call to action”. This means leaving off this digital conversation by giving the reader a task to complete to continue on your relationship. For example, the answer to your last question may direct customer to your phone or physical location by stating “For seasonal product information please give us a call at xxx-xxxx or visit us at x”, or, “To get a specific price quote please schedule an appointment by calling xxx-xxxx, or stop in and visit us at x”.
About the Author:
FaqTacular is a service that allows companies to manage their FAQ’s without having to get the IT departments involved. Create your questions. Create your answers. Link to wherever you want. Done in a day! Managing changes is just as easy
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