Customer Portal variants

Customer portals are indispensable tools for companies that want to optimize processes, increase customer satisfaction and reduce costs. But not all portals are the same. From enterprise service management (ESM) portals to self-service platforms, ticketing systems and AI-driven chatbots - each variant has its own specific benefits. In this guide, you will find out which customer portal variants there are, when they should be used and why they are relevant for your company.

What Customer Portal variants are available?

1. enterprise service management (ESM) portals

What is that?

Enterprise Service Management (ESM) portals transfer the principles of IT Service Management (ITSM) to other departments such as HR, Finance and Facility Management. They centralize service requests, automate workflows and provide a uniform platform for collaboration between departments.

Who is it suitable for?

These portals are ideal for medium-sized to large companies that need to improve their cross-departmental workflows and cope with growing demands for fast, straightforward help.

When should you use it?

• Interdepartmental cooperationWhen departments such as HR, IT and Facility Management work together in the context of employee onboarding or procurement.
• Complex workflowsIf multi-stage processes (e.g. employee onboarding) are to be automated and tracked.
• Growth and scalingWhen your company grows and manual processes are no longer sufficient.

Why is it important?

• efficiencyAutomates recurring tasks, reduces manual effort by up to 40 % and speeds up service delivery.
• TransparencyReal-time dashboards show the status of requests and bottlenecks.
• Employee satisfactionEmployees can solve problems faster, which increases satisfaction and productivity.

Example

A global manufacturing company implemented an ESM portal to optimize IT and facility requests. This enabled tickets to be processed 30 % faster and operating costs to be reduced by 20 % in the first year (Gartner, 2023).

Provider recommendation

• Atlassian Jira Service ManagementOne of the best solutions for ESM portals. It offers powerful automations, integrations with Atlassian tools such as Confluence and Jira Software, and user-friendly dashboards for managing workflows.
• ServiceNowA comprehensive ESM tool with scalable functions that is specially tailored to large companies.

2. self-service portals

What is that?

Self-service portals enable employees or customers to solve problems on their own by using FAQs, knowledge bases and guides. These platforms provide round-the-clock access to features such as account management, order tracking and support requests.

There are two main variants:

• Internal self-servicesPromote the autonomy of your employees, improve compliance and increase transparency through a central platform.
• External self-servicesEnable customers to help themselves without waiting for a response from the support team. This eliminates the need for direct contact with the support teams, reducing their workload and improving the customer experience.

Who is it suitable for?

• B2C companies with a high volume of inquiries.
• B2B companieswho want to offer employees automated services for recurring tasks or want to offer app users (SaaS) the opportunity to solve recurring support requests independently.

When should you use it?

• High ticket volumeIf your support team is overloaded with recurring requests.
• Customer authorizationIf customers or internal employees prefer to search for solutions themselves (88 % of customers prefer self-service according to Forrester, 2022).
• 24/7 supportIf you have to deal with inquiries around the clock.

Why is it important?

• Cost savingsReduces ticket volume by 55 % and support costs by 75 % (Zendesk, 2023).
• Customer satisfactionProvides instant answers and improves the Net Promoter Score (NPS) by 15 points.
• Scalability: Handles a growing number of users without additional personnel costs.

You can find a detailed report on self-service portals here: Self-service: importance and challenges.

Example

BSH's self-service portal reduced the provisioning time for AWS accounts from weeks to just one hour. This allowed developers to deploy products and features faster.

83 % of executives believe that between 20 % and 40 % of customer service demand will shift from customer care to self-service. (Gartner, 2024)

Provider recommendation

• Atlassian Confluence: An intuitive platform for knowledge management, seamless integration with Jira Service Management and powerful search functions.
• Zendesk GuideA flexible self-service tool that helps customers to find their own answers and relieves the support team at the same time.

3. ticketing systems

What is that?

Ticketing systems automate the creation, routing and resolution of support requests. They often integrate with CRM tools to provide contextual support and make workflows more efficient.

Who is it suitable for?

Companies with dedicated support teams or IT departments that manage requests across multiple channels.

When should you use it?

• High-priority requestsWhen urgent problems require immediate attention.
• Multi-channel supportWhen requests are received via various channels such as e-mail, chat and telephone.
• Performance monitoringIf you want to track KPIs such as solution times and customer satisfaction.

Why is it important?

• efficiencyAutomates ticket routing and reduces resolution time by 37 % (HubSpot, 2023).
• ResponsibilityMeasures the performance of employees and ensures that no requests are lost.
• Customer insightsAnalyzes ticket data to identify recurring problems and improve products.

Example

Cisco automated 50 % of its tickets, saved USD 8 million per year and increased customer satisfaction by 20 % (Cisco Case Study, 2023).

Provider recommendation

• Atlassian Jira Service ManagementWith features such as SLA tracking, automation and integrations to CRM systems, Jira, etc., it offers seamless ticket processing.
• FreshdeskA user-friendly ticketing solution specially developed for small and medium-sized companies.

4 AI chatbots

What is that?

AI chatbots use natural language processing (NLP) to answer queries, solve problems and forward complex requests to the right employees. They use predictive analytics to continuously improve service quality.

Who is it suitable for?

Perfect for e-commerce platforms, SaaS companies and large organizations that want to reduce support costs and provide 24/7 support.

When should you use it?

• High volume of inquiriesIf your team is overloaded with the number of requests.
• 24/7 availabilityWhen users expect answers even outside business hours.
• Need for personalizationIf you want to personalize responses based on user history.

Why is it important?

• Cost efficiencySolves 50 % of requests without human intervention and saves up to 0.70 USD per interaction (McKinsey, 2023).
• Speed: Provides immediate answers and reduces waiting times by 90 %.
• Scalability: Handles thousands of simultaneous calls smoothly.

Example

H&M's chatbot processes 89 % of returns, reduces call center costs by 30 % and improves customer satisfaction (Forbes, 2023)

Provider recommendation

• Atlassian Intelligence & Rovo: An effective chatbot solution that integrates seamlessly with Slack and Microsoft Teams. Atlassian also offers Jira Service Management a chatbot that is directly integrated into the service management system and enables automated interactions and smooth escalation to human agents.
• LivePersonAn AI-driven tool that focuses on personalized customer experiences.

5. customer support portals

What is that?

Customer support portals combine ticketing systems, knowledge bases and live chat to provide comprehensive support. These portals also offer secure document sharing and role-based access, making them ideal for sensitive industries such as finance and healthcare.

Who is it suitable for?

This Customer Portal variant is for companies in the financial and healthcare industries or organizations that require secure, cross-channel support systems.

When should you use it?

• Complex problemsWhen users need a mix of self-service and human support.
• Safe interactionsWhen sensitive data requires encryption and role-based access.
• Omnichannel supportWhen users expect seamless transitions between different channels.

Why is it important?

• Consistent experienceCombines all support channels on one platform and reduces inefficiencies.
• SecurityProtects sensitive data with encryption and multi-factor authentication.
• Customer loyalty: Solves problems faster and increases customer loyalty by 25 %.

Provider recommendation

• Atlassian Jira Service ManagementA comprehensive solution that combines ticketing, knowledge management and integrations with live chat tools.
• Zoho DeskAn affordable platform with extensive functions for small to medium-sized companies.
• ZendeskOne of the best-known customer support platforms, offering powerful ticketing and omnichannel support features.
• Salesforce Service CloudA comprehensive solution that offers AI-powered analytics and seamless integration with Salesforce CRM.

How to choose the right portal: a decision-making framework

1. Identify weak pointsAre your teams overloaded with manual tasks? Then choose an ESM portal. Are customers frustrated by slow responses? Go for a self-service portal or chatbot.
2. Define goalsPrioritize cost reductions with self-service portals or chatbots. Focus on productivity with ESM portals. Also consider the AI readinessto benefit from future progress.
   • Customer SatisfactionAI can increase customer satisfaction threefold.
   • Operational costsReduce operating costs by up to 40 % through AI-supported processes.
   • ROICompanies that use AI tools report a 128 % higher ROI.
3. Evaluate integration requirementsMake sure that the portal can be seamlessly integrated with your CRM, ERP or collaboration tools.
4. Test and iterateIntroduce the portal in a small group, collect feedback and optimize the solution before full implementation.

Conclusion: Your portal, your competitive advantage

By 2025, 90 % of B2B interactions will take place via portals (Statista, 2023). Companies that hesitate risk falling behind the competition, which has already optimized processes and increased employee and customer satisfaction.

Download our exclusive whitepaper now '6 AI Customer Support Trends for 2025' and learn how you can reduce costs by 40 % and triple customer satisfaction by using AI-based portal solutions.