This section will help you choose the right help desk software for you. It would help if you kept in mind many things, from customer expectations to challenging questions to your help desk vendor.
Define “Great Customer Service” for your business Start with a customer service strategy to create a reputation for outstanding customer service.
A customer service strategy is a key to creating a culture of service excellence. Understanding what customer service is for your business is key. Make sure that service standards are consistent across all departments.
Great customer service may be giving a 5-star rating or interaction to a customer service representative. Others might take a more in-depth approach and look at repeat customers’ or ‘loyal brands advocates’ as indicators of great customer service. It will allow you to get a clear understanding of your business goals and priorities so that you can find the right tool for you.
v Understanding Customer and Employee Expectations
You need to know what your customers want from you before choosing the right help desk solution.
Some customers may expect quick responses via live chat, while others want a mobile-friendly knowledge base. Monitor brand mentions on social media and keep an eye out for your competitors to understand your customers’ expectations. You can also directly ask your customers via surveys.
When we speak of employees, it is your job to make their lives easier and reduce their effort. Your agents’ productivity and efficiency are directly related to the tools they use. Before you finalize a help desk, it is important to seek suggestions from service managers and service representatives who deal directly with customers.
v Ask Important Questions about Your Help Desk Vendor
Once you’ve understood your customer’s needs and expectations, now it is time to ask important questions about the help desk vendors.
- How many users are they paying?
- What’s their average rating on software review sites?
- How easy can you contact them for technical or other assistance?
- What number of communication channels do they have? (email, phone, chat, etc.)
- Which other benefits/perks do they offer?
- How safe is your business data with them?
- Are they offering a free trial?
- What help desk metrics can the tool measure?
- These questions will give you a solid foundation for your research and allow you to see the pros and cons of each tool. After discussing them with your team members or CS professionals, you can ask more questions.
- Consider key Help Desk Features.
v Without considering the Features
your search for the best support desk software will be incomplete. Let’s take a look at the essential features your tool should possess:
- Issue Tracking
Issue tracking is the main feature of help desk software. Each customer request/issue can be converted into a ticket, allowing you to track the entire ticket lifecycle. You can share a dashboard with your agents to track the progress of each support ticket.
- Internal Collaboration
You may require more than one person or department to solve a problem. Your agents can collaborate internally with features like private notes and parent-child ticketing to quickly resolve tickets.
- Knowledge Base
The common thread in all great help desk tools is that they allow users to create a knowledge base from scratch. Customers can find the right help they need using FAQs, videos, tutorials, and other tools. It will reduce your ticket volume up to 80%.
- Live Chat
You can provide live support right from your help desk with live chat. You can also engage users by using a live chat plugin to increase your sales potentials. Chatbots can even be used to help customers with basic questions.
- Reports & Analytics
Your team will need all the information they can get from the best help desk ticketing software. Key customer service metrics can be tracked, such as first response times, customer satisfaction, ticket backlogs, and so on. Managers can monitor the performance of their teams from time to time.
v Scalability is the key.
It can be detrimental for your business growth to overlook the scalability aspect of help desk software. It is important to discuss whether the solution can handle many customers with customer service and sales teams.
Look for a help desk that will meet your evolving business needs.
Imagine that you only have one staff member, but your business grows. You will need a robust help desk ticketing system to handle increasing customer requests and issues.
Software that is scalable and updated in the future will help you manage customer communications better and collaborate effectively with your teams without losing any customer questions. Managers of help desks can be confident that their help desk tool is ready for rapid expansion in the event of rapid growth.
v Your Budget is the Most Important Thing
Budget is an important aspect of any customer service team, no matter how many members. If you don’t have a solid understanding of your budget, it is just a matter of taking a chance with your eyes closed.
- Do not be seduced by low prices or steep discounts. Quality features are not guaranteed at a low price. It would be best to choose a tool with all the features you and your team need without breaking the bank.
- Before finalizing any help desk tool, get the upper management involved. Your leadership should be transparent about where and how the money will go.
- Instead of spending a lot on an open-source tool, you can buy a cloud-based helpdesk software with flexible pay-per agent plans. Consider purchasing an annual plan as many companies offer discounts of up to 50% on these plans. Ask about hidden fees and costs.
v You can get a free trial, and it works wonders.
A few help desk vendors offer a free trial of their products. A free trial will give you a look into a help desk system and help you make an informed purchase decision.
You can get the tool you want without having to spend a dime. A trial version of the tool is a great way to test if they have all the features and functions that you expect. Many trials include premium features, so your team will know what they’re getting into.
It is enough time to evaluate a tool’s effectiveness and explore each feature in more detail. Ask your agents to take down everything they like and point out areas that are not working.
v Check out how well your team responds.
The battle for the right help desk software is only half of the battle. It is important to observe how your team reacts to the software and whether they face any difficulties.
Ensure that your team has basic knowledge about help desk skills before rushing to get everyone on board. You must explain how tickets are prioritized, escalated, canned responses, ticket resolution times, and other details.
For any assistance your team may need, contact your help desk vendor. You can find relevant FAQs, videos tutorials, and help articles at their help center.
To understand the comfort level of your agents with the tool, hold regular meetings and team discussions. The tool may not be right for them if they face challenges even after weeks of use. You will see increased productivity and less effort from your agents if you have the right tool.
Allow agents to create an internal knowledge base to share their best practices, tips, and tricks to make the most of the tool. An agent might share the amazing feature he found and how it solved a major problem.
Conclusion:
You have found the right place if you’re looking for a cost-effective yet feature-rich help desk tool. Software for help desks has been carefully designed to make customers and employees happier.
