Several Times the Normal User Volume, No Added Headcount: How Pococha's FAQ Survived the COVID-19 Surge

Pococha / DeNA Co., Ltd.

Live Streaming / Entertainment·1,001+ employees·Customer Support

Several Times the Normal User Volume, No Added Headcount: How Pococha's FAQ Survived the COVID-19 Surge

At a glance

• Inquiry rate dropped significantly from the first month of launch
• Scaled to several times the normal user volume during COVID-19 without adding support staff
• 4 distinct use cases across user support, talent agencies, internal knowledge, and creator resources
• Users spontaneously shared the FAQ on Twitter, recommending it to other community members

The Challenge

Pococha, DeNA's live-streaming app with over 1.8 million downloads, operates at the speed of real-time community culture. The 10-person support team wasn't dissatisfied with their existing FAQ, but as they planned to scale the service, COVID-19 stay-at-home demand pointed to an imminent surge in new users. The team needed to improve support efficiency fast, enabling more users to resolve questions on their own. The highly active community, while energetic and positive, also meant misinformation could spread quickly. Support had to stay accurate and accessible at scale, without the option to simply hire more staff.

Why Helpfeel

What convinced the team was Helpfeel's ability to respond to the vague, conversational search terms real customers naturally use. Multiple team members, including producers, independently flagged Helpfeel in separate Slack channels after seeing it. During the detailed presentation, Helpfeel provided concrete metrics that FAQ systems should aim for and outlined a clear improvement roadmap. The ease of content editing sealed the decision.

What They Did

• Migrated in approximately two months with minimal internal resources. Helpfeel handled content migration and search keyword configuration. Pococha's main task was updating embedded FAQ links throughout the app.
• Refined wording with user-perspective language. Core FAQ content carried over largely unchanged, but Helpfeel's team made targeted suggestions on phrasing to communicate more clearly from the user's viewpoint.
• Expanded to four distinct use cases after the initial user-facing FAQ deployment: a knowledge hub for top streamers ("Ask a Senior Liver"), a dedicated FAQ for talent agency staff (replacing PowerPoint documents), and an internal knowledge base (migrating from spreadsheets to Scrapbox, the document service underlying Helpfeel).
• Embedded FAQ links throughout the app to surface answers at the moment users needed them, reducing friction and improving discoverability.

Results

Results appeared immediately. From the first month, the inquiry rate dropped significantly while FAQ page access increased simultaneously. Internal feedback was consistently positive, highlighting strong search performance and ease of editing.

When COVID-19 drove stay-at-home behavior, user numbers grew to several times the previous level, a far larger surge than originally anticipated. Despite this, the number of inquiries did not increase proportionally, and the support team was able to manage the volume without any additional hiring or capacity expansion.

Users began voluntarily sharing Helpfeel FAQ links on Twitter, a sign that the FAQ had become genuinely useful enough to pass along. Pococha's highly engaged community of users who want to help spread accurate information about the app's proper use and rules amplified the behavior of turning to the FAQ first when questions arose.

"When COVID-19 drove stay-at-home behavior, user numbers grew to several times the previous level, a far larger surge than originally anticipated. Despite this, the number of inquiries did not increase proportionally, and the support team was able to manage the volume without any additional hiring or capacity expansion."

Ayaha Nakagawa, Customer Support, Pococha / DeNA Co., Ltd.

Looking Ahead

Pococha will continue to evolve without fear of change, responding to the ever-shifting needs and communications of its users. Because the app itself operates in real time, support must also function in real time. Helpfeel has enabled the team to quickly collect information about what users are wondering and rapidly produce accurate responses. The team intends to continue using Helpfeel to accelerate the speed of user support and deepen the penetration of Pococha's community culture.

“When COVID-19 drove stay-at-home behavior, user numbers grew to several times the previous level, a far larger surge than originally anticipated. Despite this, the number of inquiries did not increase proportionally, and the support team was able to manage the volume without any additional hiring or capacity expansion.”

— Ayaha Nakagawa, Customer Support, Pococha / DeNA Co., Ltd.