Your P&L Will Thank You: How To Create a Customer Portal

Queueing

Life is short, but we don’t always spend it efficiently. An average person spends 52 days of their life queuing. Think about that for a second.

When I was a kid, my father took me to the airport to buy tickets to New York. It was 1999. I barely remember that trip, but what I do remember very well is how crowded the airport was when we arrived. People were everywhere, the queue was massive, and we had to wait forever to buy tickets.

A year before COVID, I spent 200 days on the road. On average, I had two to four flights a week, which is a massive number. But guess how many times I had to go to the airport to buy a ticket? Zero.

Let me give you another perspective. The London Eye has an average queue time of 2.5 hours, but if you apply online, you might find that you’re the 100,001st person in line—or even farther back.

But would you be happier standing in a 2.5-hour “live” queue, or would you rather register online and forget about the wait?

It’s 2024. We’re spoiled with digital tools and services, and so are our customers. This article is my take on how to get your company to the next step in your digital transformation journey: how to create a customer portal.

First Customer Portal

Let me share a story from my life.

I work in tech now, but that wasn’t always the case. I started my career in the family business. My parents were clothing manufacturers and owned a few fashion brands. One of them was a brand for kids’ clothing, specifically school uniforms.

The place where I lived had a very special way of supplying school uniforms to schools. That system is still in place today.

Parents had to order custom-made school uniforms for their kids almost three months before the school year started. All orders for school uniforms had to be placed between June 1st and 15th.

This “ordering window” was necessary because all school uniforms were unique to each school and were made to order during the summer. Companies needed those backorders to plan their production and deliver the uniforms before September 1st, the first school day for all schools in the country.

When I was 17, my mother asked me to help accept orders at the schools. We had to go to every school, take orders, and collect pre-payments on-site.

As a result, we were limited in the number of schools we could service due to our limited staff. So, I thought it would be a great idea to take those orders online! What a wonderful idea, I thought…

I approached a classmate who was a web developer and asked if he could help me develop a client portal software capable of accepting orders. And he did. We developed the first-ever customer portal for ordering school uniforms.

Digital Transformation of the Industry

It was 2007, and the internet was just starting to make its way into the country. Not all parents knew how to use it, and not every family had a computer back then.

Another concern from the parents was that when we arrived at the school to process orders, we brought samples in all sizes so they could check how the uniform would fit, plus guesstimate how much their child would grow over the summer.

When I first presented the idea that all orders would be processed on an online platform , instead of applause, I was met with annoyed voices from mothers who complained—and sometimes even shouted—about how bad the idea was.

We made a few adjustments: we trained school teachers to help process orders on school computers, and we sent a set of samples to all our customers.

But more importantly, we were able to acquire 15 more schools as customers since all our competitors were at full capacity and couldn’t process additional orders.

There were a lot of complaints and tens, if not hundreds, of annoyed parents. But we did it. We launched the first-ever digital campaign for school uniform orders. We were happy—our customers were not.

A few years later, all our competitors had similar client portals. Nowadays, it’s not even a question: everything is done online.

The Good, the Bad, and the Customer Portal

Essentially, a Customer Portal is a customizable client portal website with self-service features. It could be anything—viewing and paying an invoice, receiving customer service, applying for extended warranties, file sharing, accessing sensitive product information, or requesting samples. You name it. Anything that can be digitalized can be added to customer portals in one form or another.

The purpose of your own client portal is to remove unnecessary intermediaries from your business. Think of it as a CRM system, but its users are your customers instead of your employees.

Let me give you a more relatable example. Think of a mobile operator in the early 2000s. To do anything with your plan, you had to drive a few miles to the nearest office, bring your documents, and ask to make adjustments. An employee would click the buttons and fill in the digital forms on the computer for you.

Nowadays, you go online, log in, and make all those changes yourself. You’re doing exactly what an employee did, but now you’re doing it without having to drive anywhere or talk to anyone.

Extroverted people like myself often hate this system. I’d rather pick up the phone, call the call center, and explain what needs to be done. It requires less effort from my already tired brain.

But for the company, it’s cost-cutting. Compare the prices of mobile or internet plans from the 2000s to now. They’re much cheaper, and for a reason. One way to cut costs is to remove employees from the process and let you do their job—self-service.

ROI of the Customer Portals

Speaking of cost-cutting, a Customer Portal is probably the most ROI-intensive project you can launch in your digital landscape. The reason is one word—scalability.

When I launched my first customer portal, I had a very good reason for doing so. We needed to be in multiple places at the same time, and the only way to achieve that was through digital.

We spent about $1,000 to develop it, and in the first year, we processed orders worth around $60,000. That doesn’t sound like much, but considering the small margins on school uniforms and the high stress of visiting schools every time we needed to accept an order, it was a great deal.

The next year, we doubled our revenue, and the year after that, we almost doubled it again. We probably spent another $1,000 to improve the client portal, but this number was incomparable to the ability to scale our operations while cutting staff costs at the same time.

Our customers who implement self-service tools report highly variable ROIs, ranging from 1:2 to 1:50. As much as I wish I could share some sort of industry standard, there isn’t one. Every case is unique and fully dependent on the company’s ability to leverage this technology.

But ROIs come in different flavors. They’re not always direct and not always easy to calculate.

Competitive Advantage

One of our customers from the manufacturing industry approached us with a problem. They had two senior estimators who were responsible for providing quotes to almost 15 different sales reps across various regions.

The company sells roofing materials, and every time a sales rep encountered a new construction project, they needed an expert to estimate how much material and accessories should be shipped to the site.

After a few days of workshops and interviews, we came to two conclusions:

• We could sacrifice some level of precision in the quotes for the sake of digitalizing them.
• Customers could get much quicker quotes if they filled in the forms themselves, providing details they already knew about the project.

We split the process into two phases. First, we implemented a tool called CPQ.

CPQ stands for Configure, Price, and Quote. It’s software that allows you to create complex quotes, considering tons of different business rules and product dependencies, by answering questionnaires and selecting offered options.

We enabled sales reps to provide customers with quotes almost instantly while still at the meeting.

In the second phase, we created a secure client portal where customers could enter details themselves and get a quote instantly in return.

Now, the pool of 15 sales reps could focus entirely on finding new customers and bringing them into the client portal.

Capabilities of a Modern Portal

There are numerous out-of-the-box solutions available today that don’t require months or years of development. These solutions allow you to launch a customer portal in a few weeks in its minimal state and then gradually improve its functionality.

Modern customer portal platforms like Salesforce allow you to do (among other things) the following:

1. Self-Service Account Management: Customers can view and update their personal information, manage subscriptions, and control privacy settings without needing to contact customer support.
2. Order Tracking and Management: Customers can track the status of their orders in real-time, review past orders, and manage returns or cancellations.
3. Invoice Viewing and Payment Processing: Customers can view, download, and pay invoices directly through the client portal with secure connection and options for setting up automatic payments.
4. Knowledge Base Access: A comprehensive library of FAQs, product guides, and troubleshooting articles that customers can search to find answers to common questions.
5. Support Tickets Submission and Tracking: Customers can submit support requests and track the status of their tickets from submission to resolution.
6. Product and Service Customization: Interactive tools for configuring and customizing products or services before purchase, such as a CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) tool.
7. Community Forums and Collaboration: Customers can engage with other users, share experiences, and solve problems through community-driven forums.
8. Live Chat and AI Chatbots: Immediate assistance through live chat with support agents or AI-driven chatbots for quick answers and issue resolution.
9. Downloadable Resources: Access to downloadable content such as product manuals, software updates, and marketing materials.
10. Appointment Scheduling: Tools for booking appointments or scheduling service calls directly through the client portal.
11. Customer Feedback and Surveys: Integrated surveys and feedback forms that allow customers to share their opinions and experiences with products or services.
12. Warranty Management: Customers can register products, check warranty status, and apply for warranty extensions or claims.
13. Give Your Customers Access to Exclusive Offers and Promotions: Personalized offers, discounts, and promotions available only to client portal users.
14. Multi-Language and Multi-Currency Support: A global-friendly interface that supports multiple languages and currencies, catering to an international customer base.

I could go on with this list for days. The possibilities are only limited by imagination and budgets.

Homework

However, certain limitations apply to any company looking to implement a customer portal. It’s something I call “homework.”

Before giving customers the ability to self-service or use any other portal functionalities, your business should be prepared for such a transition.

That preparation consists of several stages.

Stage 1 – Digitalization of Processes

Any process you want to hand over to your customers should be digitalized internally. What I mean by that is your employees should be able to execute the process digitally using some sort of internal digital system, most often a CRM or ERP.

Let me give you an example. If you’re currently receiving all your complaints over the phone, and one or two people are in charge of processing those complaints by writing them on a chalkboard without leaving any digital trace, the first thing you should do is implement software that registers every complaint as a digital record.

Make that digital record enforceable. So if someone else registers a complaint in the software, your customer service department should consider that record as a task that needs to be addressed.

The same principle should apply to any other part of your business you’re thinking about turning into a customer portal. Orders, leads, opportunities, or any other customer processes should have a place where they leave a digital trace and are enforceable.

Stage 2 – Development

Once your internal processes are digitalized, the next step is to develop the customer portal itself. This stage involves thinking in terms of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). The MVP approach ensures that you focus on the most essential features that will provide value to your customers with the least amount of development effort.

Key Steps in Customer Portals Development:

1. Identify Core Features: Start by listing the critical functionalities your portal must have for initial deployment. These should directly address the main needs of your customers, such as account management, order tracking, or support ticket submission.
2. Design User Experience (UX): Prioritize creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface. The portal should be easy to navigate, with a focus on making the client experience as seamless as possible. Simple and clear design choices reduce friction and improve adoption rates.
3. Choose the Right Technology Stack: Select the technologies that will allow you to develop the portal quickly and efficiently. This includes choosing the right platform (e.g., Salesforce, custom-built solution), ensuring integration with existing internal systems, and leveraging cloud-based services for scalability.
4. Iterative Development: Begin with a rapid development cycle, releasing a basic version of the portal for a small group of customers. This allows you to test the functionality in a real-world environment and gather feedback. Be prepared to iterate based on this feedback, improving and expanding the portal in subsequent versions.
5. Quality Assurance: Even though speed is crucial, do not compromise on quality. Ensure thorough testing of the portal’s functionality, security, and performance before going live. A bug-free client experience is key to gaining customer trust.
6. Budget Management: Keep a close eye on the budget during custom client portal development. Avoid feature creep, which can lead to delays and overspending. Focus on delivering the core functionalities first, and plan for additional features in future updates.

Stage 3 – New Client Portal Rollout

With the MVP ready, the next stage is to roll out the customer portal to your clients. This phase is crucial for both initial adoption and setting the stage for future growth.

Key Steps in Rollout:

1. Pilot Launch: Start by rolling out the portal to a select group of customers. This group should include a mix of tech-savvy users and those less familiar with digital tools to get a comprehensive understanding of how the portal will be used in different scenarios.
2. Customer Training and Support: Provide resources such as tutorials, guides, and webinars to help customers understand how to use the portal. Offering dedicated support during this phase can help address any issues or questions that arise, ensuring a smooth transition.
3. Gather and Analyze Feedback: Actively seek feedback from the pilot users. Use surveys, direct interviews, and analytics tools to understand how customers are interacting with the portal, what features they find valuable, and where they encounter difficulties.
4. Iterative Improvements: Based on the feedback, make necessary adjustments and improvements to the portal before a full-scale launch. This might involve fixing bugs, refining the user interface, or adding small but crucial features that enhance usability.
5. Marketing and Client Communication: Communicate the benefits of the portal clearly to your broader customer base. Use email campaigns, website banners, and in-person communications to inform customers about the new portal, how it can help them, and encourage them to start using it.
6. Phased Rollout: Depending on the size of your customer base, consider a phased rollout. This allows you to manage the scale and ensure that any issues that arise during the broader launch can be addressed promptly without overwhelming your support team.

Stage 4 – Continuous Improvement

The launch of the customer portal is not the end of the process; it’s just the beginning. Continuous improvement is essential to keep the portal relevant and valuable to your customers over time.

Keep in mind that from now on, you should have a team that will need to support and further improve your customer portal. It is only the beginning.

We are a team of Salesforce professionals and we specialize in creating customer portal. Don’t hesitate to talk to me or one of my colleagues. Remember – first consultation is on us!

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Cheers,
J.