[Helpfeel Co., Ltd.] Helpfeel held a lecture with LIXIL and Canon on the theme of “Creating new profits by analyzing and improving manuals and FAQs.” Analysis using the web as a touchpoint is the key to generating profits.
Helpfeel Co., Ltd. Press release: November 11, 2024 Helpfeel held a lecture with LIXIL and Canon on the theme of “Creating new profits by analyzing and improving manuals and FAQs.” Analysis using the web as a touchpoint is the key to generating profits. TC Symposium 2024 event report released Helpfeel Co., Ltd. (Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Representative Director/CEO: Isshu Rakusai, hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) is the organizer of the “Technical Communication Symposium 2024” (held from October 9th (Wednesday) to October 11th (Friday), 2024). We have published a report on our participation in the panel discussion held at “TC Symposium 2024”. In this discussion, three companies, LIXIL
Corporation, Canon Inc., and our company, took to the stage to talk about the importance of analyzing and improving web manuals and FAQs after they are published, the effects they have on products, and the possibility of generating profits from this. A discussion was held. In particular, major manufacturers LIXIL Inc. and Canon Inc. talk about how they are working to improve their products and services through analysis based on web manuals.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-1a84e553b2c2b49a79fc6e41bb0b13d4-1200×630.png
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-eb2aef83fb73db35fb2884ec4c4786ad-1080×720.jpg Part 1: “Analysis” and “improvement” are one of the important missions of the manual and FAQ department Web manuals and FAQs take a lot of man-hours to create, but many companies are unable to analyze how they are used and make improvements after they are published. In this panel discussion, we talked about how we view analysis and improvement in web manuals. LIXIL Co., Ltd. Hiroyuki Nagasaki “We aimed to shift the channel from telephone to web in order to reduce costs and maintain customer contact” The mission of Mr. Nagasaki’s department is to deliver appropriate information throughout the buyer’s journey, and the company worked to improve the FAQ in response to the 1.2 million telephone inquiries it receives each year. First, we replaced the FAQ system, which was a collection of FAQs from the previous five companies before the LIXIL integration. Each KPI index has improved significantly, and a cycle of analysis and improvement has been established. Canon Inc. Rei Ninagawa “We are making improvements through analysis of web manual access and exchanging opinions with the call center.” Mr. Ninagawa, who is in charge of manual production in the printer development department, regularly holds cross-departmental analysis events and focuses on not only improving manuals, but also proposing fundamental improvements to product specifications. Helpfeel Co., Ltd. Rakusai Isshu “Our mission is to eliminate the knowledge gap. We contribute to profits as a technical writer.” We explained the social issues that our company wants to solve and talked about the importance of self-resolution. All three panelists talked about “analysis/improvement” as a keyword, and also introduced Google Analytics as an entry point to analysis. Part 2: Beyond “analysis”. Examples of improving the product specifications themselves In the second part, actual initiatives and improvement examples of each company were introduced. LIXIL Co., Ltd. Hiroyuki Nagasaki “LIXIL’s FAQ operation focuses on the customer’s perspective.The background that led to the inquiry is important” Our goal is for customers to be able to find and solve their own problems, and we use text mining tools to analyze inquiry data and update our FAQs from time to time. We analyze VOC with an emphasis on the background of the customer’s inquiry (contact reason) and reflect this in the FAQ.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-e09ccb3ca5d85813770bbf4006dca60c-1000×566.png About our VOC analysis (slide) Canon Inc. Rei Ninagawa “Printers made a few years ago often had errors due to specific incorrect operations. We revised the manual to deal with errors, which led to changes in the specifications of the product itself.” The illustrations in the web manual have been changed and a video has been created to explain the correct operation methods. In addition to this, we worked with the design department to change the specifications to prevent erroneous operation. This also reduced the number of views on the error handling page.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-0ae0fa2a2716e7084fa2918d9fe0ac21-2000×1124.jpg Examples of analysis and improvement (slides) Helpfeel Co., Ltd. Rakusai Isshu “How to measure self-solving and how to set KPIs” We explained that the line of flow for guiding users to FAQs and manuals is important, and we explained how to place guides based on the situations in which inquiries will occur, and that a search type is more effective than a category type. “Techniques for easier understanding” were also introduced, such as putting the conclusion first and expanding the terminology page.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-45b3f4660b08c06ecf55432dcd8384c0-1080×720.jpg On the day of the event, the conference room had a capacity of about 60 people, and it was so successful that additional seats were brought in. In the final Q&A session, questions continued until almost the end of the session, demonstrating the high interest of the participants. The examples of LIXIL Corporation and Canon Inc. suggest that FAQs and manuals are not just “costs” but can become knowledge tools that bring “profits” to companies. ■From the Technical Communication Association about promoting the use of web manuals What is “TC Symposium” The TC Symposium, hosted by the Japan Technical Communicators Association (JTCA), is the only symposium in Japan that shares knowledge and discusses the state of technical communication and improving the skills of communicators, and is an all-participation event similar to an academic conference. . It is primarily a place for manufacturers and production companies involved in the creation of instruction manuals to exchange information. In 2024, it was held at Kyoto Research Park (Kyoto City) from October 9th (Wednesday) to October 11th (Friday).
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-d43b283bd6ca2344a0c9ebbe9a8608f2-925×1000.jpg Technical Communicators Association (JTCA) TC Symposium Committee Chairman Mr. Satoshi Kuroda Unlike in the days when laws and regulations stipulated that paper instruction manuals included with products were the only medium, today’s laws and regulations require manufacturers to realize processes that deliver necessary information in a timely manner according to the product lifecycle. is requesting. In order to realize this demand, using web media and FAQs as touch points to connect manufacturers and users has two effects. The first is to create an opportunity for two-way communication between manufacturers and users. The second is to understand user behavior characteristics and use them for improvement. Unlike paper media, it is possible to analyze access to web media and FAQs, so “accessing and reading” and “following the access trajectory” can be two-way communication, and analyzing the access trajectory is also possible. This is because it allows us to understand user behavior
characteristics. Legal standards require a shift from technical writers, whose job was only to create instruction manuals for paper media, to technical communicators who produce communication and media as a process, and the job field of technical communicators will continue to change. Probably. In order to further enhance the value of the user’s experience, JTCA will continue to plan and manage the symposium as a place for sharing and studying the knowledge necessary to realize two-way communication between manufacturers and users.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-4f07abac4f07e21535d5193aae008236-1080×720.jpg From left: Mr. Kasubuchi who served as the moderator, Mr. Nagasaki from LIXIL, Mr. Ninagawa from Canon, and Rakusai from Helpfeel ■The importance of digital customer contact and technical
communication As the digital world evolves, the ability of customers to easily obtain information online has become directly linked to business success. For this reason, the demand for high-quality technical writing is increasing. We have launched the “Helpfeel Technical Writing Partner System” to support technical writing companies. Supporting specialized skills required in the AI era! Helpfeel technical writing partner system launched ■About the PDF search and analysis function of “Helpfeel”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-0a431c44f99f84f51fd28f9170604700-1200×630.jpg New manual DX method in the AI era With conventional web manuals, readers have to search for the desired page from the table of contents or index, cannot find the information they need using full-text searches on PDFs or the web, and creators have to worry about which pages are actually viewed. The problem was that it was not possible to determine whether there were any.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-38f31f13fcf2578b22cef91f250c4413-1174×589.png “Helpfeel” is an innovative search system that solves the problems faced by manual readers and creators by integrating PDFs and website FAQs. Readers can use a wide range of search keywords to reach their desired page, allowing them to resolve their questions on their own without having to make inquiries. At the same time, it also solves the problems of update frequency, analysis, and dual management faced by creators. Helpfeel About the PDF search function:
https://www.helpfeel.com/user-manual 1. Transition function to the desired page based on the user’s intention The “Intent Prediction Search” function predicts the reader’s intent and presents the appropriate page, even if the entered keywords and words in the text do not exactly match.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-c569504ad575e38d88640a73c10b9a90-1999×609.png 2. A function that allows you to add FAQ pages and perform
cross-search without waiting for manual revisions If you want to deliver information to readers immediately, you can update the information on your website (FAQ) without waiting for the manual (PDF) to be revised. Since you can search across both PDF and FAQ from a single search screen, you are always provided with accurate and up-to-date information.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-9688ec776ae0a7cf5c1b602298cf5730-1999×567.png 3. Manual analysis improvement function The analysis and improvement method developed by our company allows us to visualize user behavior through the viewing status of manuals and detect potential customer needs. Identify specific improvements to products, services, and manuals.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-7e55eeabcc0b4948fb158317e473b629-1000×367.jpg ▼Helpfeel awards • “Industry Co-Creation (ICC Summit) KYOTO 2023” • Guardian Award Winner, Guardian Catapult Winner • “BOXIL SaaS AWARD Autumn 2023” FAQ system category 6 awards received • “Industry Co-Creation (ICC Summit) FUKUOKA 2023” Guardian Award Winner • Received “2021 Good Design Award” • “Industry Co-Creation (ICC) Summit KYOTO 2021” “SaaS RISING STAR CATAPULT Find the next unicorn!” Winner ▼Helpfeel introduced companies (some)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-a4dadbe38b33eef5cc5fc5b65a30b2a0-3900×2433.jpg ■ Helpfeel Co., Ltd. Overview
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27275/357/27275-357-a68a7fcdc88c002d819356206879cc2b-1000×230.png Founded: December 21, 2007 (Japanese corporation established on December 4, 2020) Representative: Representative Director/CEO Kazushu Rakusai Kyoto Office: 5th floor, Kawamoto Building, 110-16 Gosho Yahata-cho, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-0023 Tokyo office: 5th floor, Shiodome City Center, 1-5-2 Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-7105 URL: https://corp.helpfeel.com/ Helpfeel Inc. is a SaaS startup founded in 2007 in Silicon Valley, USA. It was created by Kazushu Rakusai (CEO), who was certified as a genius programmer by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s IPA Unexplored Software Creation Project, and Toshiyuki Masui, a leading UI researcher who was invited by Apple to develop the iPhone’s flick input system. Helpfeel is developing and operating three cloud services in response to the social problem of the “information gap (knowledge gap).” • Patented FAQ search system using AI technology “ Helpfeel ” • Knowledge base that fosters document culture “ Helpfeel Cosense ” • Instant image and video capture/sharing tool ” Gyazo ”
