Platform: ColdFusion and .Net

FuseTalk's Support Feature provides the ability to create authorized "answer-givers" within the forums who can also flag support questions as "answered". Reporting is also available allowing you to determine the effectiveness of your support efforts.

Some of the benefits of adding discussion boards to your product support or support programs include:

• Reduces call center load through friendly, familiar forum style.
• Reduces repetitive questions by disseminating support information to a one-to-many model rather than one-to-one.
• Delivers increased revenue by providing higher service levels options.
• Speeds sales cycles - prospects can see customer opinions and feedback, get information fast, etc.
• Harvests customer feedback and makes it searchable.

HOW IS FUSETALK USING THE SUPPORT FEATURE?
FuseTalk's own Support Forums takes advantage of this feature, whereby customers can pose questions and issues. FuseTalk's Customer Support team will respond to those. Once they are responded to they are "marked as answered" so that management can report on that information later. FuseTalk has also customized an area on their Intranet displaying all the questions that "have not been answered or responded to", so that Customer Support is always aware of those unanswered. This information is pulled from the Support Forums and displayed.

INVOKING THE SUPPORT FEATURE?
FuseTalk's Support Feature can only be invoked within the Global Administration. Once it has been invoked for the forum that requires the Support Feature, the Forum Administrator can then set the feature up and utilize.

1. Enter the Global Administration and log in.

2. There are two areas in which you might need to turn the “Support Feature” on:
   
   • Within the “Settings – Default Settings” section. If you have already created Default Sets, you will need to modify those you wish to add the Support Feature to. Setting located on Modules Tab.

   • This will not have to be completed if “Update setting globally across all forums” was opted as ‘Yes’ in first Option. Within the “Forums – Management” section. If you have already created forums, you will need to modify each of those you wish to add the Support Feature to. Setting located on Modules Tab.

3. The feature has now been invoked and the Forum Administrator can now use this feature for the forum.

SETTING UP THE SUPPORT FEATURE?
The support feature is enabled on a category by category basis. Your forum can have multiple categories and certain ones can be support categories, depending on your requirement.

1. Enter your Forum Administration by logging into your forum and selecting the admin button within the navigational menu. If you do not see the "admin" button then you are not logged in as an administrator.

2. Select the "FORUMS - Categories" link on the left hand side within the Forum Admin Menu.

3. Within the "Forums - Categories" section, edit the category you wish to add the support feature to by clicking the edit icon. You will see a feature in the list of available settings called "Answer Questions". This option allows the category to be set as a Support Category; this will allow topics to be marked as answered by the users you designate (see Figure).

   To activate the "Answer Questions" feature, select "Yes" and select the "Update Category" button. Once the feature is activated, you then need to assign the users that you wish to be able to use this feature.

4. Select the "USERS - Groups" link on the left hand side within the Forum Admin Menu.

5. Within the "Users - Groups" section, create a new "Group Name" e.g. 'Support Moderators'. Select the update icon to add the permission called "Answer Support Questions" to this group, select the check box beside that permission and then select the "Update Group" button. This returns you to the group list, now select the users icon to add those users you wish to have access to Answer Support Questions. Once you have added all users required you have now completed the group creation.

6. Select the "FORUMS - Categories" link on the left hand side within the Forum Admin Menu.

7. Within the "Forums - Categories" section, edit the permissions for the category to which you wish to add your newly created group by clicking the permissions icon. Select the group name from the drop-down list and add the group to the category permissions.

8. When a "Support Moderator" now enters the forum itself, they will see a link that says "Mark this message as the answer." attached to every message (see Figure).

9. Support Moderators will also see a new area called "Support". There is a link called, "View Open Topics in Category". This is a quick way of displaying to your Support Moderators what has yet to be answered or resolved (see Figure).

10. You have now set up the support feature. To view statistical measures for the support feature select "Forums - Reporting".