With quick and unprecedented evolution of digital technology and wider availability of blazing fast internet access, business –customer relationship is also morphing. Offering excellent support to the customer is the key to customer satisfaction and retention and it had always been so. However, the means to offer support to the customer has changed, driven mostly by technological changes and changing needs of the customers. Gone are those days when a customer support team with telephonic support setup was what most businesses had in place. With IT becoming a central part of business operations everywhere, most companies use support desk software solutions to serve customer needs.
Benefits of using helpdesk software solutions
There are numerous and proven benefits of using customer support software for businesses. It does not matter if you have a company making baby attire or your venture deals with automobile accessories- customer support software is the means to survive competition and make revenue. The major benefits of using suitable help desk solution include:
- Enhanced helpdesk efficiency, less time required for grievance and query resolution
- Better resource sharing and collaboration between teams
- Enhanced customer satisfaction- leading to enhanced retention
- Better visitor to buyer conversion
- Strong brand image development along with positive word of mouth
Factors to analyze when you want to select the most apt customer support software
There is no shortage of helpdesk software solutions but you should not pick randomly. You should assess and compare such software carefully to ensure you buy the right customer support software for your venture. You need to compare these solutions on some vital parameters and it is also necessary to evaluate the needs of the organization well.
- User friendly, simplistic UI- The helpdesk software should have a simple UI that users do not find baffling. This will be useful for both the employees who would be using the software and the end users- as in the customers. The software should ideally have an aesthetically appealing UI, with easy to locate buttons and links for smooth navigation. Not all the customers will be tech savvy and still they will need to access the support team, online or by other means.
- Integration and compatibility with software, apps- This is a major parameter to consider when you shop for support desk software for the company. Your company already uses different software applications for operational needs. This may include accounting software, database, cloud based services and security solutions like firewall and antivirus etc. The helpdesk solution has to be compatible with these existing applications. Otherwise, you will end up paying extra and complications will arise- affecting the workflow. It will also be great if the software solution has integration with popular social media services.
- Ease of deployment and configuration- The customer support software chosen by you should not be difficult to deploy. You will not like it if installing the software and configuring it to suit operational needs takes a lot of time, leads to making many changes and productive time is wasted. Look for software solutions that are easy to deploy and configuration does not require much time. Besides, you should check the necessary changes in hardware and networking setup that may be required for deployment of the helpdesk software.
- Mobile friendly application-If the helpdesk software you choose is cloud based service, ensure it is compatible with top mobile OS platforms. This is very crucial since a majority of people, including your company’s customers use mobile devices for most internet related tasks. If the SaaS solution is not optimized for mobile devices, a major percentage of users will not be able to access it properly.
- Option to embed all customer support channels- The customers have really smartened up in the last decade. They are no longer content with limited means of support from the businesses. So, the helpdesk solution you buy for your company should have the provision to embed various channels of support. It should support VoiP, live chat, email and social media under one umbrella. This will ensure the customer can use various means to contact the support team while accessing the same UI and software.
- Extensive data analytics and reporting features- To learn about the mindset and preferences of the customers, you need to gather data in huge amounts. This information can be obtained through online surveys, chat sessions and emails, for example. The helpdesk software chosen by you should have extensive data compiling and analytics capabilities. It should also have report generation features. This will help you use the collected labyrinth of data and generate reports and analysis. Thereafter, you can take decisions about making changes in product lineup or service methods to cater to customer needs better.
- Support for task automation- Nowadays, an increasing number of companies are opting for automation of basic and repetitive tasks related to customer service. While this trend is now prevalent in MNCs and technology giants, it is only a matter of time before midsized companies follow suit! So, you should ideally look for helpdesk software solutions that support automation deployment. Examples include integration of programmed chat bots in live chat setup. This can be quite handy when human support agents are offline and customers ping for query resolution. With the helpdesk software handling such basic tasks through automation, agents can focus on more serious and complex tasks.
- Customization and multilingual support- Not all your company’s customers are likely to speak in English or any specific language. The support agents and customers speaking in different languages will face fewer hurdles if the help desk software supports multiple languages. Having inbuilt translation feature will be an added bonus. While agents can resort to online translator apps, having the support in the software itself is definitely more desirable. Besides, the software solution should be customizable in nature. Based on operational needs, all features may not be used at all times.
- Support and update cycle- Your brand image and reputation depends a lot on how the customer service and sport is offered. So, you need to buy help desk solution from a company that offers robust, 24x7 support. You will need to get the entire system back in shape when any snag takes place. Get these facts clear before you buy the software.
Things to be analyzed before making a call
While the features and pricing of a help desk software solution play key role in selection, a few other factors have to be considered before zeroing in on the apt solution. These are:
- The customer support software may have a lot of features but you have to analyze how many of those features are relevant for your company needs. If it has a lot of features and you may not need a majority of those – looking for other options makes sense.
- The software should have features that are beneficial for both the support agents and the customers, eventually.
- You can go through the reviews of such help desk software solutions online before making the final selection. Online reviews tend to be mixed but you can check out the feedbacks of users in your sector to get a fair idea on its viability.
While they’re both good options, different types of companies require different marketing styles as well as customer service.
This tool of marketing refers to a company’s ability to interact with its potential clients on multiples channels and platforms.
What is omnichannel support?This tool is somewhat different to the previous one.
The omnichannel support system provides customers with a well-rounded and integrated experience.
As far as customer service is concerned, this keeps both the business as well as its customers pretty satisfied.
When you use an omnichannel support system, your customers’ interactions with your business will be seamless – even across multiple channels.
To scale businesses nowadays is very hard and need to keep more effort on to that.
In past days it is wearing different hats like sales and marketing where understanding taxes and corporate compliance that can involve interacting with users on a daily basis.
Don’t put more focus on the short-term outcome of your work.
It is better you need to look to the long term and you can build sincere value and look to help the users.
This is the first thing you need to do quickly for growing your business is by building a sales funnel, there is some front-end work involved sales funnel needs to be carefully conceptualized before it's created.
Finding the ads that have been running for the longest and emulates, allows you to uncover any advertiser's online strategy.
