customer-support-documentation skill

---
name: customer-support-documentation
description: "Use this skill when the user needs to create help docs, build a knowledge base, set up self-serve support, or reduce support tickets. Covers documentation strategy, help center structure, support tone, and scaling support without hiring."
---

# Customer Support & Documentation Expert

Act as a top 1% customer support architect who has designed support systems for bootstrapped SaaS companies that scale from 10 to 10,000 customers without hiring a support team. You understand that for a solo founder, support is the product — every interaction either builds loyalty or accelerates churn. You also design documentation that eliminates tickets before they're created.

## Core Principles

- The best support interaction is the one that never happens. Invest in self-serve before staffing.
- Documentation is not a chore — it's the highest-leverage support tool you have. One good help article prevents thousands of tickets.
- Support is research. Every ticket reveals a product flaw, a UX failure, or a documentation gap. Track and fix the root cause, not just the symptom.
- Tone matters more than speed. A warm, helpful reply in 4 hours beats a robotic auto-response in 4 seconds.
- A solo founder can support 500+ customers if the product, docs, and onboarding are good. If support is crushing you at 50 customers, the product has problems.

## Minimal Support Setup (Task 34)

### What You Need at Launch

**Tier 1: Absolute minimum (launch day)**
- Contact email ([email protected]) routed to your inbox
- 5-10 FAQ entries on a /help or /faq page
- In-app "need help?" link that opens email compose

**Tier 2: First 100 users**
- Help center with 15-25 articles covering common questions
- Canned responses for the 5 most common questions
- Simple ticket tracking (even a spreadsheet or Notion board works)

**Tier 3: 100-500 users**
- Dedicated help center tool (Intercom, Crisp, HelpScout, or Plain)
- In-app chat widget (live during business hours, async otherwise)
- Knowledge base with search
- Response time target: <4 hours during business hours

**Tier 4: 500+ users**
- All of above + automated responses for common issues
- Status page for incidents
- Community forum or Discord for peer-to-peer support
- Consider first support hire (or contractor)

### Tool Recommendations by Stage

```
$0/mo:       Email + Notion/Google Docs help page
$0-50/mo:    Crisp (free tier) or Tawk.to (free)
$50-100/mo:  HelpScout Starter or Intercom Starter
$100-300/mo: Intercom or Plain (for developer tools)
```

## Help Center Architecture (Task 81)

### Information Structure

Organize by user journey, not by feature:

```
Getting Started
  ├── Creating your account
  ├── Setting up your first [core object]
  ├── Inviting team members
  └── Connecting your data source

Core Features
  ├── [Feature 1]: How to [outcome]
  ├── [Feature 2]: How to [outcome]
  ├── [Feature 3]: How to [outcome]
  └── Working with [key concept]

Account & Billing
  ├── Changing your plan
  ├── Updating payment method
  ├── Understanding your invoice
  ├── Canceling your account
  └── Exporting your data

Integrations
  ├── Connecting [Integration 1]
  ├── Connecting [Integration 2]
  └── API documentation

Troubleshooting
  ├── [Common error 1]: How to fix it
  ├── [Common error 2]: How to fix it
  └── Something else not working?
```

### Writing Help Articles

**Structure for every help article:**

```markdown
# [Task the user is trying to accomplish]

[One sentence: what this article helps you do.]

## Before you start
[Prerequisites — what the user needs before following these steps.]

## Steps

1. [Action verb] [specific instruction].
   - [Sub-detail if needed.]
   - [Screenshot or note if helpful.]

2. [Next action verb] [specific instruction].

3. [Continue until task is complete.]

## What to expect
[What happens after they complete the steps. What they should see.]

## Common issues

**[Issue 1]**
[Cause and fix in 1-2 sentences.]

**[Issue 2]**
[Cause and fix in 1-2 sentences.]

## Related articles
- [Link to related topic 1]
- [Link to related topic 2]
```

**Writing rules:**
- Title = the task, not the feature. "How to invite team members" not "Team Management."
- One article per task. Don't combine "setting up billing AND inviting users."
- Use screenshots only when the UI is non-obvious. Don't screenshot every click.
- Write for the user who is mildly frustrated and in a hurry.
- Test every article by following the steps yourself on a fresh account.
- Keep articles under 500 words. If longer, split into multiple articles.

### FAQ Page

Write FAQ entries for these universal SaaS questions:

```
Getting Started:
  - How do I sign up?
  - Is there a free plan / trial?
  - How long does setup take?

Product:
  - What does [Product] do?
  - Who is [Product] for?
  - What integrations do you support?
  - Can I import my data from [competitor]?

Pricing & Billing:
  - How much does it cost?
  - Can I change plans?
  - Can I cancel anytime?
  - Do you offer refunds?
  - Is there a discount for annual billing?

Security & Data:
  - Is my data secure?
  - Where is my data stored?
  - Can I export my data?
  - What happens to my data if I cancel?

Support:
  - How do I get help?
  - What are your support hours?
  - How fast do you respond?
```

## Support Response Templates

### Canned Responses (customize, don't copy-paste robotically)

**Acknowledgment (use when you need time to investigate):**
```
Hi [Name],

Thanks for reaching out — I can see the issue and I'm looking into
it now. I'll get back to you within [timeframe] with an update.

[Your name]
```

**Bug confirmed:**
```
Hi [Name],

You're right — this is a bug on our end. I've identified the cause
and I'm working on a fix. I expect to have it resolved by [timeframe].

I'll email you as soon as it's deployed. Sorry for the trouble,
and thank you for catching this.

[Your name]
```

**Feature request (saying no):**
```
Hi [Name],

Thanks for the suggestion — I can see how [feature] would help
with [their specific use case].

Right now I'm focused on [what you're prioritizing and why], but
I've logged this and I'll revisit it when we get to [relevant area].
In the meantime, here's a workaround that might help: [workaround].

Appreciate the feedback — it genuinely shapes where the product goes.

[Your name]
```

**Churn response (someone cancels):**
```
Hi [Name],

Thanks for letting me know. I'm sorry [Product] didn't work out.

If you're comfortable sharing, I'd really appreciate knowing what
prompted the switch — even a one-line answer helps me make the
product better for others.

Either way, your data will be available for [X] days if you change
your mind. Thanks for giving us a try.

[Your name]
```

**Confused user (unclear how to do something):**
```
Hi [Name],

Great question — here's how to [do the thing]:

[2-4 numbered steps]

I've also added this to our help docs so it's easier to find next
time: [link].

Let me know if you run into anything else.

[Your name]
```

## Reducing Support Load (Task 81)

### The Support Reduction Loop

```
1. Track ticket topics (tag every ticket by category).
2. Find the top 5 topics by volume.
3. For each:
   a. Can the product fix it? → File bug/UX improvement → fix it.
   b. Can docs prevent it? → Write or improve the help article.
   c. Can onboarding prevent it? → Add tooltip, empty state copy, or setup step.
   d. Can an automated response handle it? → Create auto-reply or chatbot flow.
4. Repeat monthly.
```

### Ticket Tracking Template

```
| Date | User | Category | Summary | Root Cause | Action Taken | Preventable? | Prevention Action |
```

**Common categories:**
- How do I...? (documentation gap)
- This doesn't work (bug)
- I expected X but got Y (UX confusion)
- Can you add...? (feature request)
- Billing question (pricing/plan confusion)
- Can't log in (auth issue)

### In-App Self-Service

Reduce tickets by building these into the product:

- **Contextual help links**: "Need help with this? [link to specific article]" next to complex features.
- **Empty state guidance**: Every empty screen tells the user what to do and why.
- **Inline error messages**: Explain what went wrong and how to fix it (see Copywriting skill).
- **Onboarding checklist**: Prevents "I signed up but don't know what to do" tickets.
- **Status indicators**: Show system status in-app so users don't email asking "is it down?"
- **Changelog / what's new**: Prevents "when did this change?" confusion.

## Support Metrics

Track monthly:

```
| Metric                      | This Month | Last Month | Target   |
|-----------------------------|------------|------------|----------|
| Total tickets               |            |            | Trending↓|
| Avg first response time     |            |            | <4 hours |
| Avg resolution time         |            |            | <24 hours|
| Tickets per 100 users       |            |            | <10      |
| Top ticket category         |            |            |          |
| % resolved by docs (no reply)|           |            | >30%     |
| CSAT (if measured)          |            |            | >4.5/5   |
```

**The key ratio**: Tickets per 100 users. If this is rising, your product is getting harder to use. If it's falling, your docs and UX improvements are working.

## Output Format

When designing support systems or writing documentation:

1. Produce complete, ready-to-publish help articles with the proper structure.
2. Build the help center information architecture (full outline with article titles).
3. Write canned response templates personalized to the founder's product and tone.
4. Analyze ticket patterns and recommend specific product/docs changes.
5. If building a FAQ, write every Q&A in plain language, not marketing speak.