Cireson is an established leader in IT Service and Asset Management solutions for Microsoft System Center Service Manager and Configuration Manager. As a leading consultant on the System Center platform, Cireson is recognized for its high-quality expertise and providing clients with the resources they need to achieve success.
Although Cireson already had a knowledge base, it didn't subside the amount of support tickets being logged, and they continued to be bombarded by frequently asked questions (FAQs). Joe's manager wanted to find Cireson a solution that could enable customers to easily search and find the most common types of support questions. They took a good look at Microsoft and found that their customer community was the cornerstone of their support efforts. Cireson wanted to be able to create the same type of experience for their customers, but with their own unique brand personality.
And so, Joe was given the task to browse the different types of branded community solutions available and select the best one for their unique customer needs.
“Ideation was incredibly important to us, and Vanilla had just launched this feature, [so we took advantage of it.]”
“We needed a way to engage customers and compel them to participate while making it fun at the same time—Vanilla gamification helped us get there.”
“Vanilla allowed us to customize our community beyond what was offered by other vendors, which was super important to us.”
“Of all the vendors we looked at, Vanilla offered the best price for the best value, so choosing Vanilla was a really easy decision.”
Not only that, but the community has grown into something that Joe and his team didn't expect. The community that began as a support-based community has morphed into a hybrid community, where it's now known as "the-go-to-place" for Cireson customers to share their knowledge and show others what they've done with the product.
As Joe explains, "The community grew into more than just a support community—it turned into a place where customers can show off what they've done with the Cireson product, how they've customized it and how far you can take it." Additionally, the community has empowered customers by providing them with a platform to engage by sharing and voting on product ideas. This has allowed Cireson to focus their time and energy on developing the features that matter most to their customers.
As it turns out, the Cireson community was not only successful at addressing the immediate need to deflect support tickets, but it has also proven itself to be a long term, sustainable solution. As Joe explains, "We launched this community in 2017, and now in 2020, our community is able to maintain itself. We've got a few community advocates out there that help us out, and all-in-all, our community is now self-sufficient."