Pre-sales: Already at the pre-sales stage, the presentation of a manual or manual outline, enables you to show the prospective client that there is a real product beyond the promises. By stepping through the manual you can highlight features in more detail than with a standard sales brochure.
Strategic marketing decision: Good documentation is not yet universal. You can achieve a competitive advantage by making the decision that usable and useful documentation will accompany all product releases. Top
Prevent calls: Whether you have a support team or your engineers double up as support, it is easy to see the savings that can be gleaned by removing the need for users to call in the first place. When users have easy access to assistance they will generally choose that option while saving your staff's time.
When calls come: Even when calls have been made or e-mails sent to support, the team can refer the caller to the relevant place in the manual in order to solve the problem. This has the dual benefit of guiding your staff to the solution while showing the caller that the manual is a reliable place to look for help. The customer feels reassured, and product adoption and successful implementation have both been enhanced. Top
It is very common to use the manual, or a number of its modules, in customer training sessions. Many companies have also discovered that they can use the manual for internal training to get new employees up to speed. Top
The technical writer, especially a contractor, is often the first person outside the company to see the product. And then they have to explain to others how to use it. This role essentially makes the writer an advocate of the users — your customers. This leads to insights that can help you improve the product and remove inconsistencies.
The inconsistencies are often found in the terminology and system/error messages. Unifying terminology is often a major step in clarifying to users how to gain from your product. Top