Suggestion: A new standard "Support" button

One issue I see a lot is customers not understanding where to go for support, and often end up posting in the general Envato forums. This is understandable, since each author may have their own instructions, listed in various locations. Some use the item comments, others use the contact form, and many of us have moved to external support forums. Where to go for support might be described on the top or bottom of the product page, on the profile page, or in the support guide. In short, users end up having to hunt around for this information if they’re unfamiliar with how things work.

I was thinking, perhaps we could add a “Get Support” button to the product page. The link for this button could be configurable, just like the Live Preview link. This way, authors could direct their customers to the item comments, their contact form, or an external support forum in a standard way. While support is currently kind of all over the place, we could at least unify the way it’s located.

I suppose there could also be an option to remove the button entirely, for those who don’t want it.

I know a lot of us already have buttons “Visit our support forum!” on the product page, but as the location of these buttons is not standardized, customers don’t always see them.

I think this could be a fairly straightforward enhancement that could really improve customer experience and reduce frustration. I think a lot of new customers are confused by the marketplace nature of ThemeForest, not understanding that each author takes care of their own support requests in their own way. I’m thinking this might be a good measure to take till the support system is revamped.

What do you guys think?

I thought about it quite a long time ago and I suggested somewhere to have another button on our profile page, for example just near “view portfolio” under the avatar, at least something like “contact” because the form is not enough visible…

But you have a good suggestion as many support requests end up in the forum

Sounds great! +1 on this.

+ 1

Great idea!

Until and if devs get around this, why not place something like this in your item descriptions and profile?

If many authors did this, it would be somewhat of a standard, and you won’t have to wait for Envato to take action.

2 steps ahead of you I already started using a makeshift button on my item pages.

ignitethemes said
2 steps ahead of you I already started using a makeshift button on my item pages.

As do I I think a lot of us do, as I mentioned in my original post. My point is that everyone does it differently, and these buttons are located in various places for various authors. By making it a standard button, in a standard location (like the “View Profile” button), customers would have a unified experience and always know where to look.

P.S. If you add #from to the end of your URL , you can scroll the page right to your contact form:

When I used the form, I had a lot of users unable to find it because they didn’t scroll down the page

no

bad idea

support for the items is optional. if envato creates a standard button and some item doesn’t have that button available, it may create problems to the marketplace and for the authors who doesn’t want to get involved with support requests. This because buyers will think that support is included in the price they pay for the item.

So what is need it, is a BIG notice. “THERE IS NO MANDATORY SUPPORT FOR THE ITEMS ON THIS MARKETPLACE !”

doru said
no

bad idea

support for the items is optional. if envato creates a standard button and some item doesn’t have that button available, it may create problems to the marketplace and for the authors who doesn’t want to get involved with support requests. This because buyers will think that support is included in the price they pay for the item.

So what is need it, is a BIG notice. “THERE IS NO MANDATORY SUPPORT FOR THE ITEMS ON THIS MARKETPLACE !”

The fact is, 99% of authors on ThemeForest are going to be offering support for their items. While I wish it weren’t the case, you just can’t succeed without it.

I think that providing a better user experience for our customers is a good idea.

If an author wants to opt-out of support, the button could be replaced with:

a) nothing

b) A standard “Support is not offered for this product” message

c) A customized notice about support

Which can be optionally configured by the author.

It might also make sense to place a link below the “Get Support” button that reads “Learn More” which pops up a message explaining that support is not required or included but authors offer it at their discretion.

I understand your concerns, but I don’t think they are insurmountable. I do agree that we could do a better job of managing customer expectations regarding exactly what is included with their purchase, which is really the root of the problem

I agree with sevenspark. Also if I see a message ‘support is not offered…’ I’ll just go to an author who does. I don’t think big disclaimers would attract more buyers, gentle disclaimers would be better.