Using an online help desk tool makes dealing with customers a breeze. The previous methods of using emails and spreadsheets are long gone and companies are automating their systems. The problem is there are too many available software and applications out there. They are offered in different packages and plans. Sometimes, it is hard to know which one to choose. Do you choose those with all the possible features but for a higher price? Or do you choose a software with only the needed functions for a much more affordable price. And what functions do you really need in the first place. How do you know which things to consider when choosing a help desk software? Here are some tips to help you when looking for your software.
Cost and Budget
First of all, you should have a budget. How much of the company’s fund is available for the automation of the help desk. If you want to go the cheaper route, there are always free trials. But once the free trial expires you have to look for another application to replace the old one. This gets tiring for the person looking for a new software and the customer care representatives because they have to learn a new system over and over. There are applications available that are totally free but riddled with advertisements and they only have the basic functions. You can use this if there really is no budget for the software but be warned that free tools may not have the best features. There might be times that the ticketing system will be faulty and customers might be forgotten. So for a company it is really not ideal to only use free trials and free applications.
Software can be usually bought at one time or paid monthly. The choice in this would depend on your budget. There are disadvantages to buying the software versus just renting it, so do your research carefully before deciding which route to go. After thorough research, you could also read help desk software reviews to know what others are saying about a particular software you are considering.
Features You Need
When you know your budget, it is easier to search for the software you need because you can narrow down and prioritize your options. The second thing you have to consider is the software features that have to be present in your help desk tools to really help with the customer support and to make the lives of customer representatives easier. Here are some of the features that should matter:
- Ticket management. This is the heart of the best online help desk tools. Without this, your software is useless. You have to choose a software that can bring an outstanding ticket management to the table. Ticket management includes auto assignment, logical ordering, brilliant tracking and urgency tagging.
- Comprehensive database. The second feature is the software’s ability to store all pertinent information. This means that all history should be saved in the database because they might be used in the future. This includes how easy it is to access relevant articles when a ticket comes in.
- Access to statistics. There are metrics used to measure the efficiency of your agents. Quick access to these metrics like ticket volume and waiting time will help your agents evaluate themselves to better do their jobs.
Email Compatibility
According to Microsoft’s Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report, 78% of Americans use emails regularly to contact customer support. So even if you want to scrap emails in favor of other channels of communication you shouldn’t because majority of people still uses the email. Now, there are help desk systems that are not compatible with some email servers and if you happen to be using one that is not compatible with any of the servers you use then it is not the right software for you. Because you use emails regularly to deal with clients, choose a software that can be compatible with the most popular services. According to TechTimes and Google Trends, Hotmail is the most popular from 2004 up to the present. It is followed Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and AOL. The problem you might be experiencing with email compatibility is that there are softwares that will accept one of the email services but not all. So be sure to do your research and read reviews of online help desk tools to know which software will accept all important email servers.
Database
This is not the comprehensive database that was mentioned. When you are choosing the best help desk tools, choose something that is database driven. This means that the application is controlled by data that is being fed to the program and not the program dictating the flow of the application. Here are some reasons why you should use a database driven application:
- Integration of systems is more established when you use database driven applications. Because your company will probably integrate the help desk solution with other applications, integration is very necessary.
- Data is easily shared between involved parties making collaboration easier with this type of software. The use of database driven software makes communication easier and improves efficiency, it also streamlines the process.
- When you use a database driven application, you save resources and time because the system is simpler. Adding new content is easier and quicker with this type of system. Navigation, like searching for relevant information, is also done more easily.
Personalization of Templates
It would look really bad if all your emails are impersonal. Of course, you could use templates, but make sure that they are personalized. Don’t send emails with only miss or sir on the heading. It would appear more personal if you use the client’s name. Not all online help desk tool will have the feature of personalization, so make sure that this feature is available when you are choosing your help desk software. Another thing is to make sure that you are branded when sending out the replies to your clients. Branding includes all the logos, copyright information and other legal information that is applicable. Including the brands in your reply will make your message more professional and legitimate. Unlike generic emails that look like they could have come from anyone and not necessarily from your company. According to a study done by Marketing Land, personalized emails are six times more likely to deliver transaction rates than those that fail to personalize their mails. When you personalize the mails that you send, you can have the opportunity to market your product. This is of course, with permission from your client. But don’t let any opportunity pass you by.
Ticket Management
This is the most important feature that your help desk software should have. All software regarding help desk will have this feature, so it is imperative that you pick the best one. Reading reviews of online help desk tools will probably help you decide which service provider offers the best ticket management. Here are some of the things that you have to look for when considering the ticket management feature of a particular software:
- Choose something that can tag tickets according to their urgency. According to IBM.com, tickets can be prioritized based on impact and urgency. Pick a software that can tag your tickets automatically.
- Another thing you should look for is the intelligent routing of all tickets. This means that those capable and experts on a certain field should get tickets that are relevant to their area of expertise. For example the software should give a ticket regarding troubleshooting to someone with knowledge of it.
- The important thing is the ticket tracking. The software you should get should be able to track how the tickets are faring. Are they already solved, how long are the clients been waiting, is there an agent ready to take on a new ticket, these sort of things.
Hosting Options
There are many types of hosting options and you should pick a software that will offer you different options. Some of the different types are the following:
- Free hosting. As the name implies, this is a free hosting. You won’t need to pay for anything. The downside to this is there are lot of limitations and you don’t know if your data and information are really secured. But if you are looking for a cheaper hosting option then this might be the solution for you.
- Shared hosting. This are servers with many users. This is also risky since you are using the servers with multiple users and your security might not be top notched. There are service providers that will offer this for a lesser bill but think carefully if this is really worth it especially if you handle confidential information.
- Cloud hosting. This is a new technology that used cloud computing as a hosting option. The data and information are saved in the cloud storage.
The features mentioned above are the only and top most important functions that should be present in your help desk software. However, different companies have different needs so you should still assess your needs before committing to any one service provider.
Want to know the top 10 best help desk software in the market? Check out the rankings at CrowdReviews.com.
Jeev Trika
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