A Horse of a Different Color

Case Study Report Home & Home Office SupportSome people think that all support sites are created equal. That home/home office support sites should be a smaller version of their enterprise brethren. Those people are wrong.

As it turns out, world-class home/home office support sites march to the tune of a totally different drummer. They’ve mastered the art of using white space to make the complex seem simple. Use images to draw users into the right path. Write content that rings with novices and experts. And build it all on three different architectures that really work.

This best practice case study report identifies the companies that have mastered the home/home office equation – and why. It illustrates:

  • The best practices that put Dell, Apple, & Symantec in the home/home office support driver’s seat.
  • Why HP, CA, & Adobe provide cautionary tales — and how to avoid their mistakes;
  • Why most home/home office support sites receive an A+ for services marketing, communities, and contact behaviors, but end up with a D- for home pages that don’t work.

In this report:

  • 39 best (and worst) practice case studies that show you how the most successful support teams build and operate world-class home/home office support sites.
  • The mistakes that HP and Adobe make that destroy usability, generate confusion, and create truly cranky customers.
  • How Dell and Apple have built home/home office support powerhouses – and the moments of best practice brilliance on these sites;
  • How smart sites present persistent support contact information without sending their support costs through the roof.
  • Why Dell’s pre-sales support community—and advanced video behaviors—represent two important paradigm shifts that you shouldn’t ignore;
  • Services marketing behaviors that entice users to buy–without alienating customers on a budget.
  • eCommerce behaviors that will grind support service purchases to a dead stop.

Some people think that all support sites are created equal. That home/home office support sites should be a smaller version of their enterprise brethren. Those people are wrong.

As it turns out, world-class home/home office support sites march to the tune of a totally different drummer. They’ve mastered the art of using white space to make the complex seem simple. Use images to draw users into the right path. Write content that rings with novices and experts. And build it all on three different architectures that really work.

This best practice case study report identifies the companies that have mastered the home/home office equation – and why. It illustrates

· The best practices that put Dell, Apple, & Symantec in the home/home office support driver’s seat;

· Why HP, CA, & Adobe provide cautionary tales  — and how to avoid their mistakes;

· Why most home/home office support sites receive an A+ for services marketing, communities, and contact behaviors, but end up with a D- for home pages that don’t work.

In this report:

· 39 best (and worst) practice case studies that show you how the most successful support teams build and operate world-class home/home office support sites.

· The mistakes that HP and Adobe make that destroy usability, generate confusion, and create truly cranky customers.

· How Dell.com and Apple.com have built home/home office support powerhouses – and the moments of best practice brilliance on these sites;

· How smart sites present persistent support contact information without sending their support costs through the roof.

· Why Dell.com’s pre-sales support community—and advanced video behaviors—represent two important paradigm shifts that you shouldn’t ignore;

· Services marketing behaviors that entice users to buy–without alienating customers on a budget.

· Ecommerce behaviors that will grind support service purchases to a dead stop.