Ticket Deflection Strategy
The new submission form shows three suggested articles as the user types, and then a button that says "I still need help". The button is the same grey as the background and sits below the fold. Tickets dropped by a fifth in the first month. The phone calls rose by about the same amount, and the people phoning were cross. They had tried to raise a ticket and the form had argued with them. The report called it deflection. The users called it something else. Deflection is answering the question before the ticket is needed. It is not making the ticket harder to raise and counting the people who gave up.
This series is about the first kind. It covers what deflection means and what it does not. It covers where the FAQ goes, which is at the point of need and never on a page called FAQ. It covers search that answers before the ticket, with titles written in the words users actually type. Then comes deflection at the point of submission, with the submit button in plain sight. It covers deflecting without annoying people, which is the whole difference between a saved ticket and a lost user. And it covers measuring what got deflected without fooling yourself. The money side of the sum has a series of its own. This one is about the answer arriving first.
Articles in This Series
- What Deflection Means, and What It Does Not
Answered without needing a ticket versus blocked from raising one, the honest definition, the deflection that comes back as a phone call, and the definition card. - Where the FAQ Goes: At the Point of Need
In the form, in the acknowledgment, on the login page, next to the error message, on the printer; not on a page nobody visits; and the placement map. - Search That Answers Before the Ticket Is Raised
Titles as questions, synonyms and the words users actually use, the failed-search log, the top-ten box, and the search tuning sheet. - Deflection at the Point of Submission: Offer, Never Block
Suggested articles as the user types, the 'did this answer it' moment, keeping the submit button visible, and the submission-flow design. - Deflecting Without Annoying People: No Hoops, Always a Way Through
No forced hoops, always a way through, the cost of a false deflection, the deflection that respects the user's time, and the no-annoyance rules. - Measuring What Got Deflected: Counting Shadows Honestly
Article views beside ticket counts, 'this solved it' clicks, the ticket decline in a category after an article, the counting trap, and the deflection ledger.
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This series is part of the QuerySolv helpdesk topic library. It covers the foundations, processes, communication, knowledge, tooling, metrics, classic ticket domains, people and strategy behind a support desk that works. The library pairs well with the software we build: QuerySolv. It is a self-hosted help desk that runs as one Windows service on your own network. It is licensed once per installation, not per agent per month.