Growing a startup is exciting. You're always looking at how many new users you're getting and how much money you're making.
But there's a hidden gem that doesn't get as much attention yet is super important: your customer support contact rate.
This isn't just any metric; it's a versatile tool that can be tailored to unlock specific insights about your startup's health and user satisfaction.
Understanding Contact Rates
At its simplest, a contact rate formula can look like this:
Contact Rate = Total Support Tickets / Total Active Users
This number by itself is pretty straightforward but the true potential of the contact rate lies in its flexibility to be customized for different insights.
Just like a doctor might check different health metrics depending on your symptoms, you can adjust contact rates to focus on what matters most for your startup’s health.
This customisation is important because every startup is different. Each one has its own challenges and goals. By tweaking contact rates to look at specific areas, you can get a clearer idea of where you need to improve or change things.
Exploring Different Kinds of Contact Rates
Why settle for a one-size-fits-all metric when you can customise it? This will help you take closer look at certain parts of your startup and understand how your customer support team can help:
📈 Trial Conversion = tickets from users in trial / total trial users
High numbers here? You might have barriers preventing trial users from becoming paying customers.
📈 Bug Reports = tickets reporting bugs/ active users
Tracking this over time shines a light on your product's stability from the user's perspective.
📈 Early Usage = tickets from new users (first 7 days) / total new users
High figures here could point to onboarding hiccups or initial usability snags.
The Big Picture: Watching Changes Over Time
Checking your contact rate once is like taking a snapshot—it tells you what's happening at a specific moment but not much else. However, the real power of this metric unfolds when you monitor its changes over time, especially after making updates or changes to your product or service.
Imagine you've just introduced a new feature or streamlined part of your onboarding process. By comparing contact rates before and after these changes, you get clear evidence of impact.
👉 Did the rate go down, indicating fewer users are encountering issues?
👉 Or did it spike, suggesting confusion or new problems?
It's All About Trends
Beyond the immediate effects of changes, observing contact rate trends over longer periods can reveal deeper insights into your startup's health and trajectory.
Seasonal variations, the impact of scaling up, or the gradual improvement of your product's usability—all these and more can be discerned from the trend lines of your contact rates.
For example, a steadily decreasing contact rate over several months could signify that your product is becoming more intuitive and stable, reducing the need for support.
On the other hand, if the rate begins to climb, it could be a signal to investigate potential issues before they become serious problems.
Wrapping It Up: Simple Steps Forward
Once you've seen how your contact rates change, it's time to act on those insights. This could mean making your product easier to use, offering better help guides, or fixing features that confuse people.
Use contact rates to answer two big questions:
- Are we giving our users enough support?
- Is it easy for users to ask for help?
This approach helps you not just fix problems but also get ahead of them. By using what you learn from your contact rates, you’re doing more than reacting—you're improving your customer experience with every decision you make.