If you’re drowning in support tickets that ask the same “How do I…?” questions, or you’re tired of writing out the same step-by-step instructions over and over, this guide’s for you. We’ll walk through how to use product tours from Arcade right inside your helpdesk replies—so you can spend less time typing, and your customers can stop guessing what button to click next.
This isn’t about chasing the latest shiny tool. It’s about making support easier for you, and less frustrating for the people reaching out. If you handle customer support, run a small team, or just want to get repetitive support off your plate, let’s get into it.
Why bother with product tours in support tickets?
Text explanations and screenshots only get you so far. Customers skim, miss steps, or get lost (“Wait, where’s that menu?”). Video can help, but it’s passive—people watch, then try to remember what they saw.
A product tour, like the ones you build in Arcade, lets customers click through the flow themselves. It’s interactive, bite-sized, and actually helps them do the thing they’re stuck on. When you drop that directly into a helpdesk reply, it saves you time (no more typing out the same answer) and actually helps the customer solve their problem faster.
What works
- Short, focused tours: One task per tour. Don’t try to teach everything at once.
- Embed or link directly: Most helpdesks let you paste a link or iframe. Easy.
- Reusable: Build once, use everywhere—ticket replies, docs, onboarding emails.
What doesn’t
- Tours that are too long: People click away. Keep it under 60 seconds if you can.
- Assuming the customer will “just figure it out”: Some folks need a nudge. Add a quick intro sentence.
- Ignoring analytics: If no one’s clicking your tour, it’s time to tweak it.
Step 1: Build a product tour in Arcade
If you haven’t tried Arcade yet, it’s a tool that lets you record guided, interactive product tours—think walkthroughs, but people can actually click through steps. You can build a tour in a few minutes.
Getting started: 1. Sign up or log in at Arcade. 2. Record a flow: Hit record, walk through the task you want to demo (e.g., “How to export a report”). 3. Add steps and captions: Keep it simple. Each step should have a clear caption (“Click ‘Export’,” not “Navigate to the upper-right quadrant of the analytics dashboard…”). 4. Preview your tour: Does it make sense? Would someone new get through it? 5. Publish: Arcade gives you a shareable link, and sometimes an embed code.
Pro tip: If you’re getting the same question a lot, build the tour for that first. Don’t overthink it—better to have a basic tour now than a perfect one… never.
Step 2: Share your Arcade tour in helpdesk replies
Once you’ve built your tour, it’s time to actually get it in front of customers. Here’s how:
A. Decide: link or embed?
- Link: Works everywhere. Paste the tour URL directly in your reply.
- Embed: Some helpdesks (like Zendesk, Intercom, or Freshdesk) let you add custom HTML or iframes. This puts the tour right in the ticket or chat window.
Reality check: Embedding looks slick, but some helpdesks strip out iframes/HTML for security. If in doubt, just use the link.
B. Add context in your reply
Don’t just drop a link and run. Customers appreciate a sentence or two explaining what they’re about to see.
Example reply:
Hi Sarah,
Here’s a quick interactive guide showing how to export your report: [Link to your Arcade tour]
Let me know if you get stuck on any step!
C. Use quick replies or macros
If you’re getting the same question every day, set up a canned reply with your Arcade tour link. Most helpdesks have some kind of “macros” or “saved replies” feature.
- Zendesk: Use macros to insert text + links.
- Intercom: Save replies with Arcade tour links for common issues.
- Freshdesk: Canned responses work great here.
Pro tip: Update your macros when you make a better tour. Don’t let them get stale.
Step 3: Keep your tours updated (without losing your mind)
A broken tour is almost worse than no tour. If your product changes a lot, you’ll need to revisit your most-used tours now and then.
- Review analytics: Arcade shows you which tours get used (and which steps people drop off at). Focus on the ones that get the most traffic.
- Set a calendar reminder: Once a month, check your top 3 tours. Does anything look outdated?
- Make small updates: Don’t worry about redoing everything. Change captions or re-record just the steps that have changed.
Stuff to ignore: Don’t stress about updating tours that barely get used. Focus on your top repeat questions.
Step 4: Track what’s working (and what’s not)
You’re doing this to save time and help customers faster. If it’s not working, change it up.
- Ask your customers: Did the tour solve their problem? Was anything confusing? A quick follow-up question goes a long way.
- Look at ticket stats: Are you getting fewer follow-ups on issues with tours? Time to celebrate.
- Watch for patterns: If people still reply “I’m stuck,” maybe your tour is missing a step—or maybe this is just a weird corner case.
Reality check: Product tours won’t magically fix every support problem. Some customers don’t want to click through anything. Give them a backup option when needed.
Step 5: Build a mini-library of your best tours
As you build more tours, you’ll have a library you can link to in tickets, docs, onboarding guides, and more.
- Keep a cheat sheet: List your most popular Arcade tours somewhere your team can copy/paste from.
- Link in your help center: If your helpdesk supports it, add Arcade tours to your FAQ or knowledge base articles.
- Share with your team: Make sure everyone knows where to find and share these tours.
Pro tip: Every few months, prune old tours that aren’t getting used. You don’t need a hundred demos—just the ones that save you time.
What to skip (and what not to worry about)
- Don’t make a tour for every little thing. Focus on questions you get all the time, or stuff that’s genuinely confusing.
- Don’t obsess over branding or polish. A rough but accurate tour beats a slick, outdated one.
- Don’t expect everyone to use the tour. Some folks just want a written step. That’s fine.
Summary: Start small, keep it simple
Sharing Arcade product tours in your helpdesk replies isn’t about automating away every support conversation. It’s about saving you time, helping customers faster, and cutting down on repetitive typing.
Start with your top 1-2 repeat questions. Build a tour, share it, and see how it works. Don’t get bogged down chasing perfection. As you learn what actually helps, update or expand your tours. Keep things simple and iterate—your sanity (and your customers) will thank you.