Are you interested in getting a suitable online help desk tool for your business? Why do you need it? Some of the benefits in getting one include a reduced ticket volume of customer support tickets and an increase of your employee’s productivity. It’s vital to find the best one for your business and this article will help you explain why you need it. We’ll also include a brief history of it for your reading pleasure.
What Do You Need to Know in Help Desk?
Basically, a Help Desk Software provides your customers with the information technology support they need and provide any information related to it. Its main function is to troubleshoot technical issues and guide your customers about their technical concerns with your services or product. Answering questions about your electronic equipment such as computers and troubleshooting any issues with their software is good example of it.
Help desk will greatly enhance your communication with your employees and customers. It provides your employees the guidance and support they need to be able to resolve your customer’s issues as quickly as possible. It promotes unity between your departments because they all work together to resolve your customers technical issues.
Not only that. It also offers a systematic ticket management for you to be able to know exactly where to find your customers data. Your customers can contact you to make a follow up of their request or concern by providing you a ticket number or a reference number.
Another common feature help desk provides is providing excellent customer service to your customers’ technical concerns or issues. Your customers will be able to communicate to your employees faster with the platforms you’ve chosen to connect with them. Your business will have a more effective way of communicating and they will be able to see any issues or unresolved conflicts immediately and it reduces any issues your customers may have in the future.
Other features an online help desk tool has are:
- Customer database storage
- Manage, edit, add, remove customer records
- Solve issues, resolves complaints and answer customer inquiries
- Ability to attach and share files
- Create your own knowledge base
- Separate support help for your employees
- A conversion from emails to ticket for reference
- Know where your customer support service stands by your customer surveys
Aside from the features mentioned, there are other features that are only available in certain help desks. To know more about these features, read CrowdReviews.com’s reviews of online help desk tools.
Quick History of Help Desk
Before the telephone was invented, companies were able to resolve any product issues talking with their customers in person. The customer needed to go to a branch or the company’s store together with the product to get their issue resolved. This process changed drastically in 1876 when the telephone was invented. Customers were now able to call to complain or talk about an issue with the product or to get help with a technical issue. After that, the invention of the mainframe computer helped the process easier because customers can access it to address their issues.
Help desk support and customer support became very popular in the 1960s when call centers started. They trained both customer and technical support staff to support and answer any customer questions or concerns in an efficient and a systematic way. People started to outsource their staff in the 1980s in various countries such as the Philippines and in India. 10 years after, live chat and email support was introduced and it was considered a great way to communicate with customers.
Online help desk software became very successful in the year 2000 onwards. The beginning popularity of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media channels paved the way for such to be more effective. There are four main platforms of help desk and these are: chat and email, phone support and online (via your website). Nowadays, you can also use an option to remotely help your customers even further using the software. If you would like further reading, you can read DSSResources.com’s A Brief History of Decision Support Systems article.
Buying the right software
Buying the right Help Desk Support can influence your business greatly. Below are things to consider when buying the right software.
- Budget accordingly. Each software has its own price, depending on the features you need. Find the right solution software without sacrificing price. It is recommended to try out a software by utilizing a free trial before buying one.
- Determine your company’s priorities. Do you want to focus on creating an automation to reduce redundant tasks? Do you want to focus on providing better help desk service? Find out what your company needs and look for features that can help your business. Each software has its own specialties, so it’s best if you buy the one that matches your business priorities.
- Check their reputation. Credibility is a very important factor in your business. You should not be able to gather more complaints on your products or services when you have this software. Make sure the company you choose is credible and capable of delivering what they offer.
- Find out about their security protocols. The security policy of the software is important to make sure your customer information is kept private. No one should be able to access any sensitive customer data especially their names, addresses and passwords. It is best the software has encryption features so they can protect your customer’s information from hackers and other malicious software such as malware and computer viruses.
- Check and see if they match your business goals. Get a software that meets your business goals and they are happy to do that for you.
- Make sure they grow with you. Getting this software is a big investment in the long run. It should be scalable so that you don’t have to transfer to another software if it reaches its limit while your company is still growing.
- See if they have incorporated your other software. This is optional, but it is better to have your help desk integrate with your other software for easier access and seamless connectivity with your other application.
- Promotional strategies. Another optional feature, but you can opt for a software that can advertise your company’s name and make sure that it provides a good impression to your customers. Company branding is important if you want more people to recognize your brand.
Each help desk tool has its own features that can make or break your company. If you want to know more, there’s a helpful article by TechRepublic.com about 10 points to consider in selecting the right help desk. You can also check on CrowdReviews.com’s reviews of online help desk tools to find out what software is the right one for your business.
How It Impacts Your Business
Helpdesk and customer support tools are very helpful to a business. It allows businesses to be organized with the way they handle their customer issues. They keep a record of their customer issues and are categorized by reference numbers or ticket numbers. Customers can generate their own ticket by calling your business and stating their concerns or you can provide them a reference number if your employees initiated the contact or if they need a different department to resolve their issues.
They help with responding to your customers queries in a timely manner and notify you of any updates and repairs that need to be done immediately. Issues are always seen and are not forgotten or disregarded because of notifications. Issues also can be marked as resolved and can be archived to be used in the future.
Communication is greatly impacted by help desk because it has the type of platform where your customers can communicate with you. They can call, chat or email you. The most common way customers communicate is by calling. But you also need to check if the platform is suitable for your customers especially if you have international clients. To know which platform you would like for your business, you can read Zendesk’s Platforms of Customer Service Infographics.
The most important thing is their main focus: customer service. This will lessen your chances of your customers having a bad customer experience. A positive customer service experience will be a valuable asset to your company.
Even though help desk has been in the industry for quite some time, it doesn’t mean that it’s not used in businesses anymore. In fact, it has gained more popularity because of the way it improves businesses and customer-relationships. More and more companies are including support in their help desk especially if they are a growing business.
Again, help desk impacts your business greatly especially in providing excellent customer service. Customers become more loyal and are unlikely to leave your business. So what are you waiting for? Start and learn more about the best online help desk tools that can help your business as you visit CrowdReviews.com.
Jeev Trika
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