How do you document your customer support policies?

1 Define your goals

The first step is to define the goals of your customer support policies. What are you trying to achieve with your policies? How do they align with your company's mission, vision, and values? How do they benefit your customers and your business? Having clear and measurable goals will help you craft effective and relevant policies that support your desired outcomes.

2 Identify your policies

The next step is to identify the policies that you need to document. Begin by assessing your existing policies, procedures, and guidelines to ensure they are up-to-date, complete, and consistent. Additionally, look for any gaps or issues that need to be addressed, such as customer complaints, feedback, or requests, or new regulations or standards that affect your industry. Examples of customer support policies include service level agreements (SLAs), response time and quality standards, escalation and resolution processes, customer satisfaction and loyalty programs, privacy and security policies, refund and cancellation policies, and complaint and feedback handling.

3 Write your policies

The third step is to write your policies in a clear, concise, and customer-friendly way. You should use simple and direct language, avoid jargon and acronyms, and explain any technical terms or concepts. You should also use a consistent format and tone throughout your policies, and include examples, scenarios, or screenshots where appropriate. Your policies should be easy to read, understand, and follow by both your support team and your customers.

4 Organize your policies

The fourth step is to organize your policies in a logical and accessible way. You should group your policies by categories, topics, or functions, and use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to break them down into smaller sections. You should also create a table of contents, an index, or a search function to help your users find the information they need quickly and easily. You can use a tool like Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or a dedicated policy management software to create and organize your policies.

5 Publish and distribute your policies

The fifth step is to publish and distribute your policies to your support team and your customers. You should choose a platform or a channel that is suitable for your audience, such as your website, your help center, your email, or your social media. You should also make sure that your policies are visible, accessible, and up to date at all times. You can use a tool like Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Help Scout to publish and distribute your policies online.

6 Review and update your policies

The final step is to review and update your policies regularly. You should monitor the performance and feedback of your support team and your customers, and see if your policies are meeting your goals and expectations. You should also keep an eye on the changes and trends in your industry, your market, and your customer needs, and see if your policies need to be adjusted or improved. You should have a schedule and a process for reviewing and updating your policies, and communicate any changes to your support team and your customers.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?