Contextual help

Why is contextual help important?

Contextual help delivers targeted guidance at the exact moment users need it. It appears directly within the relevant work area, reducing interruptions and keeping workflows on track.

It anticipates roadblocks, helping users solve problems before they escalate. This reduces support tickets and service requests, saving users and support teams time.

Another advantage is faster user activation, as contextual help shortens users’ time to understand and use software effectively. This contributes to customer success by improving user satisfaction and long-term engagement.

When integrated with a digital adoption platform (DAP), contextual help improves customer care by offering personalized guidance. It supports customer continuity and encourages customer digital adoption by making transitions to new systems or updates smoother and less disruptive.

This leads to better customer experiences (CX) and increased lifetime value (CLV).

What are the goals of contextual help?

Contextual help eases the user experience, reduces friction, and fast-tracks proficiency with new platforms. This guidance ensures users navigate tasks confidently, improving engagement and supporting digital reliance.

Let’s look at the specific aims of these goals.

Deliver page-specific, contextual solutions

• Tailor guidance to the user’s current task or page.
• Provides specific instructions or tips to address immediate needs.
• Minimizes information overload by offering relevant help only.
• Uses tooltips or interactive walkthroughs to help users resolve issues.

Remove barriers to user activation and adoption

• Anticipates challenges and guides users through potential roadblocks.
• Reduce the need for support tickets and external help.
• Help users overcome obstacles quickly, accelerating adoption.
• Streamlines the onboarding process, reducing time to full activation.

Strengthen CX and support

• Integrates contextual help into the software for an intuitive experience.
• Provide just-in-time guidance for customer success.
• Improves user familiarity with the platform, strengthening digital adaptation.
• Ensure continued support, improving long-term customer satisfaction.
• Supports the transition to new systems, helping users adapt to the future of work.

Who is involved in contextual help?

Contextual help involves several stakeholders within and outside an organization. It requires collaboration between teams responsible for user experience, content, and technical support. 

Internal stakeholders

• UX/UI designers design the user interface and create intuitive experiences that integrate contextual help into the platform.
• Product managers oversee the development and implementation of contextual help features, ensuring they align with the product’s goals.
• Customer success managers track user progress, gather feedback, and adjust contextual help based on customer needs.
• Developers: They build the technical aspects of contextual help, including tooltips, in-app tutorials, and integration with Digital Adoption Platforms (DAP).
• Content creators: They write the instructions, tooltips, and FAQs for the in-app help content.

External stakeholders

• End users: They provide valuable feedback on the effectiveness of contextual help and its ability to meet their needs.
• Customer support teams assist users if the contextual help needs further clarification or fails to resolve an issue.
• Third-party vendors may provide digital adoption platforms, software tools, or other resources that integrate contextual help into the user experience.

What is required for contextual guidance success?

Successful contextual guidance depends on a few key areas. These areas ensure that the help provided is practical, accessible, and truly supports the user in achieving their goals. 

Introducing contextual help can boost user adoption and support transformation initiatives, which is critical given that research shows 70% of digital transformation projects fall short of their goals.

For contextual help to be effective, solutions should be:

Unintrusive

Contextual help must not interrupt the user’s workflow. It should appear only when needed, allowing the user to focus on their task. Overloading users with constant prompts or guidance creates frustration and reduces the effectiveness of help. Keeping it discreet, timely, and easy to dismiss ensures a smooth user experience.

Specific and understandable

The guidance provided must be clear and targeted to the task at hand. It should address the user’s needs immediately, avoiding general or vague instructions. Using simple, actionable language helps users understand and apply the guidance immediately.

Useful and relevant

Help must be relevant to the user’s context and provide meaningful support. Whether through tooltips, software walkthroughs, or in-app tutorials, the solution should help users progress without needing additional external resources. If users find the help useful, they will feel more confident using the platform.

Why do contextual help processes fail?

Contextual help projects often fail during digital adoption due to various internal and external challenges. These obstacles hinder the effectiveness of the guidance provided, making it difficult for users to embrace new platforms or systems fully.

Legacy systems and outdated training methods hinder success

Organizations often hold on to legacy systems and obsolete training methods, which don’t support modern contextual help features. These systems lack the integration for real-time guidance, tooltips, or interactive support. As a result, users experience disjointed guidance that doesn’t align with the tasks, making it harder to adopt new systems.

Inadequate technology infrastructure

Contextual help requires the right technology to be effective. It becomes difficult to deliver tailored support without the necessary tools, such as a Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) or robust in-app guidance systems. The absence of these resources means guidance isn’t delivered in real-time or integrated properly, leading to confusion and delays in user adoption.

Focus on technology over adoption strategy

Many organizations focus heavily on acquiring advanced technology but neglect the user adoption strategy. A tool or platform alone isn’t enough. Success relies on properly implementing user adoption strategies, ongoing training, and continuous support. Without this focus, users fail to engage with the technology, rendering contextual help ineffective.

Lack of understanding of digital adoption needs

A clear understanding of digital adoption is vital for contextual help to succeed. It’s not just about offering initial guidance but embedding support throughout the user journey. Misunderstanding how users engage with the system leads to gaps in the adoption process, making it harder for users to embrace the technology fully.

What are some use cases for contextual help?

Contextual help’s real-time support can drastically improve the user experience, enabling quicker adaptation to new tools, processes, or software features. Here are three examples of how contextual help is used across different business scenarios.

eCommerce

Scenario: Customers interact with an online store, browsing products and completing purchases.

Method: Contextual help guides users through each step, from browsing to checkout. It can provide personalized product recommendations based on browsing history or preferences. During checkout, live chat support can be triggered for real-time assistance, addressing issues like payment errors or shipping concerns. The system can also display in-context instructions, helping users navigate complex product options, enter payment details, and choose shipping methods.

Outcome: Personalized product suggestions improve shopping efficiency. Live chat resolves issues instantly. Guided checkout minimizes confusion, leading to faster transactions and reduced cart abandonment.

Finance

Scenario: Users navigate complex enterprise finance software, often dealing with intricate financial data, reporting, and analysis tools.

Method: In-software tooltips, pop-up guidance, and DAPs (Digital Adoption Platforms) provide users with step-by-step instructions during tasks like generating reports or analyzing data. Tooltips highlight key features or unfamiliar buttons, offering explanations on hover. DAP offers interactive tours to help users explore advanced features. Knowledge pool integration ensures access to deeper resources without leaving the app, making self-service support possible.

Outcome: Users quickly learn to use complex features. Less reliance on external support, faster task completion, and improved adoption rates result from this proactive help.

Coding and software design

Scenario: Entry-level coders use Python, and they face a learning curve as they familiarize themselves with its features and syntax.

Method: Contextual help can guide users through coding tutorials specific to Python. Interactive lessons walk them through basic coding concepts, with explanations of code syntax and functions appearing as they type. Code snippets offer practical examples, and embedded documentation provides additional information on more advanced features. Tooltips give real-time explanations of unfamiliar terms or commands as the coder works.

Outcome: Beginners gain confidence by following structured tutorials. Contextual tooltips clarify code in real-time. Access to relevant documentation speeds up the learning process, reducing frustration.