Technical Writers: The Unsung Heroes of Customer Experience

Technical writers make content helpful, accessible, and easy to understand

When was the last time you purchased a product or service and had questions about how to use it? Perhaps you searched for answers on the web, but the information you found was confusing, incomplete, or outdated. Or maybe you tried contacting the customer support call center, only to be put on hold for hours or transferred from one representative to another.

If you've ever been in this situation, you know how frustrating it can be. But did you know that there's a group of professionals who work tirelessly to ensure that consumers can easily find answers to their questions and have a positive customer experience? They are technical writers, and they are the unsung heroes of customer experience.

Technical writers are the unsung heroes of customer experience.

Technical writers are responsible for creating documentation that helps consumers understand how to use a product or service. Documentation can take many forms, including user manuals, online help systems, on-boarding information, community content, video tutorials, and knowledge base articles. They aim to provide clear and concise instructions that consumers to succeed.

But technical writers do much more than just write step-by-step procedures. Increasingly, they are expected to be experts in information architecture, content design, usability, accessibility, and content strategy. They work closely with product designers, developers, and customer support teams to ensure that the documentation is accurate, up-to-date, and meets the needs of the target audience.

In short, technical writers are the glue that holds the customer experience together. They ensure that customers can easily find the information they need to use a product or service, and that this information is presented in a way that is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

Without technical writers, the customer experience would be chaotic and confusing.

Despite their importance, technical writers are often overlooked and undervalued. Many people assume that creating documentation is a simple and straightforward task, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Technical writing requires a unique set of skills and expertise, and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to create documentation that truly meets the needs of consumers.

Not everyone undervalues the work of technical writing pros. The Academy Award of the Web — The CODiE Awards — added a new category to their annual effort to recognize the best of the web, The new category, Best Knowledge Center/Help Site, was added to the awards in 2023.

So, the next time you use a product or service and find the documentation to be helpful and easy to understand, take a moment to thank the technical writers who made it possible. They are the unsung heroes of customer experience, and they deserve our recognition and appreciation.