A status page is a specially developed web page that provides information about the current availability and performance of a particular company’s service. These pages are created by status page providers and used by various companies to communicate with customers and stakeholders about the service status during both usual operations and crises.
As every company must be transparent and honest about the current situation, status pages let them communicate during a crisis while keeping the company’s image clear. For that purpose, a private status page will enhance internal communication, while a public status page can inform the end-users about the actual situation and estimated time until the issue is resolved.
Why Status Pages?
Status pages are a great way to communicate during a crisis, especially when the IT teams are too busy resolving the problem. These solutions allow them to inform everyone what’s happening and how long the service will be down. On the other hand, they won’t receive tickets from uninformed parties, making them completely focused on managing the issue and being transparent all the time.
As a result, the company builds trust with customers and stakeholders. Everyone appreciates transparency and honesty, especially when it comes to services we use daily. So, service status pages are a great way to transparently communicate the technical issues before they become problems without piling up incident tickets during the outage.
Still, we must understand that:
1. Private status pages are mostly used internally in the company or between the company, stakeholders, and users who pay for a service.
2. Public status pages are for the service with public access everyone can use.
Knowing these things, companies can easily spot quality status page services and incorporate solutions that enhance their team’s overall productivity and the way they manage crises.
Tips on Effective Communication Using Status Page
Status pages must be regularly updated so that interested parties can always have the right information. It’s not enough just to provide basic information with no context because you’ll surely receive emails and incident tickets.
In a crisis, it’s a waste of time. Instead, using a public or private status page, you can:
- Be completely transparent and honest, even in situations where you have bad news
- Explain the steps you take to resolve the problem
- Communicate early, the first moment you see an issue, and don’t wait for the crisis to make things harder to communicate
- Use concise language, as most of the end-users and stakeholders don’t use technical jargon and acronyms
- Provide updates regularly and estimate the time until the service is back
- Offer a temporary solution if possible so the end-users won’t suffer because of the crisis
- Show the customers and stakeholders you understand their frustration and promise that you’ll manage the issue as soon as possible
Status pages can surely help you communicate these elements, making you completely trustworthy and transparent. As a result, your customers and stakeholders will be more patient, especially if you show support and understanding all the time.
How to Use a Status Page During a Crisis?
First, you shouldn’t let a crisis occur to integrate a status page for your services. The goal is to be prepared all the time for any possible issue, even the most unpredictable ones.
Status pages will help you communicate effectively, which is essential in your crisis management and keeping your company as a model within the industry you cover.
So, what happens if you don’t have a dedicated status page?
When an incident happens, companies must inform the customers and stakeholders. Those who still don’t have a status page often use the company’s website or social media profiles to communicate during a crisis. That may be effective once or twice, but people won’t really consider you trustworthy if you use social media to communicate such serious issues.
Using status page providers makes the whole thing easier, as they can pre-configure the pages with templates and pre-ready plans, so you can start communicating earlier. Sometimes, you’ll need to integrate status pages with communication and management tools to automate the updates.
Benefits of Using Status Pages
Status pages offer benefits for businesses, customers, IT teams, and stakeholders.
The main benefit is surely improved communication between the company and customers in real-time, reducing the number of IT support tickets. As a result, the company appears transparent and trustworthy, especially when they proactively communicate during the incidents.
Status pages help businesses to identify and resolve incidents quickly, which can reduce downtime and improve the overall performance of IT services. This eventually will lead to increased customer loyalty, which is essential for every company.
On the other hand, customers won’t freak out during the downtime because you show them you’ll be back as soon as possible. All these things improve the confidence and trust they give to your company.
Overall, status pages are a valuable tool for both businesses and their customers. By using status pages, businesses can improve their communication, transparency, reliability, and customer trust.
Additionally, we suggest continuous monitoring of the status pages, especially if you have comments and questions enabled. That way, you can respond appropriately while the IT team handles the problem.
Conclusion
No matter what services it offers and whether it has business or private users, every company must manage crises properly. Building trust between users and service providers is crucial for a business to survive and retain customers, even in times of major crisis.
Status pages are a great way to establish transparency and open communication, but also to maintain the trust that companies and their users have. Therefore, if you offer an online service of any type, immediately integrate a public or private status page; that way, you preserve your integrity and reputation, especially regarding your valued customers.
Choose a good provider and try to always be reliable, transparent, and professional in what you do. As a result, you’ll get recurring customers, but also new ones, who know you can professionally handle any crisis that happens in your company.