Explore How Case Deflection Works in Session Analytics Overview

Session Analytics Overview measures case deflection on the main search page and support page. On both pages, case deflection can occur in two ways.

On the main search page, a Stage One Case Deflection occurs when a user visits a platform where SearchUnify has been set up, searches at least once, clicks a result, and never visits the support page during the session. The second scenario in which a deflection takes place is when a user visits a platform where SearchUnify has been set up, lands on a page described in Direct PageViews, but never searches or visits the support page during the session. 

When self-service experience doesn't match user expectations and the user lands on Support Page to log a ticket, SearchUnify automatically displays helpful articles related to their issue. If the user clicks on a suggestion and doesn't log the ticket, that counts as Stage Two Case Deflection. The user can land on a Support Page either after searching (first way) or straight from a Direct PageView page (second way).

Stage One Case Deflection

This is the default view in the Session Analytics Overview report. On checking Successful, the successful user journeys are highlighted in blue.

When you click Case Deflection, a dialog opens. On clicking Stage 1 in the dialog, you can view Stage One Case Deflection.

Calculate Stage One Case Deflection

For most instance users, finding the Stage One Case Deflection is adequate for most everyday purposes. If deflection on search client A is 30.8% in January, 2020 and 57.4% in January, 2021, then you can be pretty sure that the self-service experience has gone up. This section is for you if you are curious beyond just applications and interested in the formula used in calculating Stage One Case Deflection.

The formula is rather straightforward: 

Now let's see how we can find the numerator and denominator for the fraction. But before that, a quick overview of the summary.

Term	Definition
Total Sessions	The number of sessions started. It is always equal to Exit.
Search Sessions	The sessions in which at least one search is performed.
Click Sessions	Search sessions in which at least one result is clicked.
No Click Sessions	Search sessions in which the number of clicked results is zero.
Support Sessions	Sessions in which the user visits Support Page at least once.
No Search Session	Sessions in which the user runs zero searches.
Exit	The number of sessions ended. It is always equal to Total Sessions.

With the terminology clear, here is an explanation. Total Sessions in the image is 12, Session Sessions is 10, and Click Sessions is 5. And there are 3 sessions in which the user didn't visit Support Page after a Click Session.

So, according to the formula Case Deflection should be:

And the calculation agrees with the number SearchUnify Analytics shows us.

Calculate Stage One True Delfection

The formula for the Stage 1 True Deflection (available in 25 'Q1 and later releases) is:

The key terms are covered in Analytics Settings.

Stage Two Case Deflection

User journeys during the second stage case deflection can be viewed by clicking the Stage 2 tile in Sessions Analytics Overview.

If you click Successful, the user journeys leading to Stage Two Case Deflections light up in blue.

To view the Stage Two Case Deflection rate, click Case Deflection and then Stage 2.

Calculate Stage Two Case Deflection

This section is for those instance users who are interested in how Stage Two Case Deflection is counted. You can skip if you are short on time. Not knowing the formula will not affect most instance users if all they need is to compare self-service performance on two search clients is the Stage Two Case Deflection rate which is readily available in the report. However, you will want to skim through this section if the support page on your platform is linked with SU and allows end-users to log a case. Looking at the Stage Two Case Deflection rate, you can tell the number of cases deflected and the money saved. Enough of digression. Let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

The formula for State Two Case Deflection is:

If you see the report, you will find that there is one new term, Case Creation Sessions. The tile refers to the sessions in which at least one ticket is logged. Total Support Sessions in the image is 5, Search Sessions is 3, and Click Sessions is 3. And there is only one session in which the user didn't visit log a case after a Click Session.

So, according to the formula Case Deflection should be:

The calculation agrees with the number SearchUnify Analytics shows us.

Related

Enable Stage Two Case Deflection

Cumulative Case Deflection

Cumulative Case Deflection gives a comprehensive status of self-service on your platform, including both the main search page and support page. To view Cumulative Case Deflection, click Case Deflection first and then Cumulative.

The formula for Cumulative Case Deflection is:

To figure it out yourself, notice two tiles in Stage One and one in Stage Two.

In the image above, Search Sessions = 10. The number of Click Sessions after which a user didn't visit Support Page in Stage One is 3 and the number of Click Sessions after which a user didn't log a ticket in Stage Two is 1. So our formula becomes:

Direct PageViews

Direct Page Views capture visits from users who access a page through means other than search. Users may land on an article by:

• Clicking a bookmarked link

• Opening an email-shared article

• Navigating to an article from the trending list on the homepage

Articles accessed through these methods, but not through search, are classified as Directly Viewed Articles.

NOTE.

If a user directly visits a page and then starts searching using the search bar, the visit is considered part of a search session and is not counted as a Direct Page View.

SearchUnify allows you to measure Stage One and Cumulative Case Deflection for these articles. To enable this feature:

1. Navigate to Search Clients > Edit > Analytics Settings > Analytics Properties.

2. Enable Capture Direct Pageviews in Session Journey.

   

3. Turn on Show Stage 2 (Case Form Page) Deflection and enter the Support Page URL in the designated field.

   

4. Check Cumulative and Stage 1 under Add Direct Pageview Counts to Case Deflection Formula.

   

5. Define the URL structure for your articles. Use:

   Salesforce: <SF_community_address/article/{{URL Field}}

   Other search clients: ./article

   

Impact of Direct Page Views on Case Deflection

Stage One Case Deflection

Direct article views only influence Stage One Case Deflection.

They do not affect Stage Two Case Deflection, and the report remains unchanged regardless of whether Direct Article Views are enabled.

Once Direct Page View is enabled, changes occur in the Stage One and Cumulative Deflection tabs:

• Any session where a user searched and clicked on a result or accessed a Direct View article but did not visit support is counted as Stage 1 Case Deflection with Direct PageViews.

• There are only two possible scenarios in this case.

  

A key difference between Stage One Case Deflection and Stage One Case Deflection with Direct Page Views is the denominator in the case deflection formula:

• Stage One Case Deflection uses Search Sessions as the denominator.

• Stage One Case Deflection with Direct Page Views uses Total Sessions as the denominator.

The symbol used to represent them is in both scenarios.

The formula for Stage One Case Deflection with Direct Page Views is:

Example Calculation:

Total Sessions = 31

Stage 1 Successful sessions who didn't visit support = 5

Direct Article view sessions who Exit without performing Search or visiting Support = 1

Cumulative Case Deflection

Direct Page Views also impact Cumulative Case Deflection. In this case, all deflections in Stage 1 with Direct Article Views and Stage 2 are summed and divided by Total Sessions.

The formula is:

Cumulative True Deflection

The formula for the Stage 1 True Deflection (available in 25 'Q1 and later releases) is:

The key terms are covered in Analytics Settings.