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6 Steps to FAQs that Build Your Sales Todd Follansbee WebMarketingResources.net - Sep 8, 2009

One way to help your customers get the answers they need to complete the sale is to assemble a list of Frequently Asked Questions (usually referred to as FAQs or FAQ pages), with clear, simple answers to each. Rather than being an afterthought, a well-designed FAQ section should be a core part of your website and sales process.

The careful approach to building FAQs outlined here has saved companies thousands of dollars, both by cutting the number of calls that must fielded by call centers as well as by rescuing sales that would otherwise have been lost. Developing FAQs is a simple strategy that can pay off big for your company.

Cutting Customer Frustration

A client approached us with ever increasing support costs. He correctly deduced that for every customer who went to the trouble to call or e-mail, there were many more leaving the site frustrated. He was right.

When we analyzed traffic statistics, we found as many as ten exits for every call. Many of those who exited had even looked at the FAQs before leaving, a common occurrence on both small and large sites. When we conducted direct user testing, we found problems with our client's existing FAQs as well as the information architecture in his site.

The approach we used to help this client will help you develop an effective set of Frequently Asked Questions.

Step 1. Develop the List of Questions

Customers won't order until they have sufficient information about both the product and the vendor. To insure that your site delivers complete product and vendor information, you'll need to develop a guide we call the Product/Service (and Vendor) Information Set. Simply put, it is the full set of questions that a customer might have about your product or service and your company.

To build the Information Set, start by brainstorming as comprehensive a list of the customer questions as possible. Start with the obvious: What does it cost? What does it look like? Can I return it? Where is the company located? What is the product made of? Brainstorm until you have written down as many questions as you can.

Next, survey the questions that have come in via e-mail, phone, live chat inquiries, etc. Ask your customer service and call center people what questions they're getting.

Now combine redundant questions and tighten up the wording to express how your customers might be phrasing these questions. You don't want to necessarily remove all overlap, but hone your final list of questions carefully.

A detailed Information Set would rank each question's importance -- crucial, helpful, limited. It would also define page placement of the question and answer in your site's main information architecture (outside of the FAQ section). In the most sophisticated examples, you would to take into account various customer learning styles and personality types.

Step 2. Write Answers to Each Question, Then Test

Next, write responses to each question and, whenever possible, test these scripted responses on some of your customers via phone or e-mail. The goal is to insure that your scripts fully answer each question.

Specifically ask if the customer was happy with the answers and ask your customer to suggest better answers. Note any follow up questions and revise your scripts accordingly.

Step 3. Organize the FAQ Page

Now it's time to organize your Frequently Asked Questions.

With a small list, the order of questions might be based on how frequently they are asked.

But with a longer list of 20 or more, FAQs are often categorized by topics, such as: Tech Support, General Product Info, Vendor, Policies, etc. Don't hesitate to put a question in more then one category if appropriate.

There are two common approaches to a FAQ page.

1. List the questions at the top of the page with hyperlinks to the answers below. If you do this, be sure to include a "back to the top" hyperlink.
2. You can "accordion" the hidden answer so that when you click on the hyperlink, the answer appears immediately below the question. This allows you to keep the other questions in view unless your answer runs to more than a couple of paragraphs.

If your FAQs begin to get unwieldy, consider using multiple pages.

FAQ Layout Guidelines

Here are some guidelines to improve your Frequently Asked Questions:

• Hyperlinks. If you hyperlink questions at the top of the page, be sure that your visitor is fully aware of the hyperlink. With blue underline, of course, there's no question.
• Font size and spacing. The FAQ list should be easy to scan. Ensure the font is large enough to be read easily even by older eyes. See that that there is sufficient linespacing as well as white space around the questions.
• Keywords. Consider bolding keywords, keeping keywords close to the beginning of the question.
• Length. Keep the FAQs short.
• Invite interaction. Ensure that the FAQ page includes full contact information, an easy form to e-mail questions, and a "live chat" box if you have one. Encourage visitors to submit any additional questions that come to mind.
• Other links. Include links to additional site resources, such as: white papers, videos, product updates, etc.
• Glossary. If you site is loaded with acronyms or technical jargon, consider adding a glossary page, organized alphabetically.

Once you've laid out your FAQ page carefully and made it live, you will have gone a long way to helping your customers find the information they need. But you're not finished yet.

Step 4. Improve Your FAQ Page and Site Information

Now your task is to improve and streamline your FAQ. Here are some ways to do that.

Include a "search FAQs" feature with a query box wide enough to allow a full search phrase. Then record the search phrases in a log. Now try out each of the search phrases to make sure the results pages lead to the appropriate answers. If not, map the common search phrases to relevant answers. For example, if visitors enter the search phrase: "Can I return it?", ensure that the words: "exchange," "replace," and "send back" take your visitor to the same answer.

Over All Site Improvements

Consider importing your carefully worded scripts from your FAQ page into other pages to improve content, answering as many of these questions in the appropriate page locations as possible.

Another way to improve your FAQ is to review your website analytics to identify the pages that your customers leave when they come to the FAQ page. Armed with this information, you'll be able to revise product information on your site.

For example, if analytics reports reveal that several people come from a product detail page or product overview page and are asking questions about your returns policy, it is safe to assume that the returns policy information on these pages is being overlooked. Now you'll know to make it more obvious. Similarly, if you find numerous vendor related questions coming from a products page, you may infer that you have not built sufficient vendor credibility in the sales path.

If customers are jumping from a "product overview" page to inquire about information which appears later in the sales path, you may decide to offer the information earlier in the path. You may even find that people are frequently searching for a product or feature that you don't yet offer, but might add to your product or service mix.

By monitoring your incoming questions and checking which FAQs are either searched for or clicked on the most, you get valuable information to improve not only your FAQ section, but ultimately your entire website.

Step 5. Point People to Your FAQ

Step 5 is to design your webpages to point clearly to your FAQ section

One way to cut down call center costs is to script a message gently suggesting -- in as nice a way as possible -- that customers may find answers on the site. For example, call center employees might be instructed to answer the phone with: "Thanks for calling. We are open 9-5 EST and we welcome your call. But if a question comes up after hours, you may find the answer on our FAQ page. I'll be happy to e-mail you the link if you wish."

Step 6. Monitor, Test, and Revise Your FAQ

The final step is to monitor, continually test, and make called-for revisions to your FAQ pages.

By testing your FAQ responses and using the information to improve both your FAQs and your site, you should see the character and frequency of your customers' questions change over time. For example, if you've addressed the returns policy with tested scripts in both the FAQs and the product pages, the frequency of returns questions should drop.

Many visitors will be comforted just seeing a nav link for a FAQ page. In a perfect world, your site's information architecture should answer all questions as soon as they arise. But until you discover that world, a FAQ page will supplement your information architecture, build customer relations, improve sales, and cut support costs.

Todd Follansbee is founder of WebMarketingResources.net. He is a usability and persuasion consultant who has been testing user behaviors on web sites for over 10 years. His methodology for improving conversions recently won a top ten award in Entrepreneur Magazine. For a limited time, Todd is offering a special small business one hour site review and consult for only $125. Improve your user experience and your bottom line. For more details visit here. http://www.webmarketingresources.net/reviewoffer.html