Easy Guide to Pick The Best Helpdesk Software

Picking out the best Helpdesk CRM Software that compliments your workforce is a formidable task. Every helpdesk software seller offers its own list of USPs. There is no doubt that the right helpdesk software does exist out there, but one must know how to judge one before buying. 

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Corporate investments are critical and must be made with much thought. The Helpdesk CRM software you will invest in must be gauged and battle-tested as it is a vital step towards building your customer support infrastructure. Choosing the best helpdesk software will enable your team to consistently deliver the premium customer service that your customers deserve. Therefore, it is better to make an informed decision based on market trends and other conditions significant to the customer support industry.

To make an informed decision, first, you must figure out what defines excellent customer service for your company, what are your team expectations and how you intend to prosper. Once you check out in this part, we can guide you with different software features necessary for an ideal helpdesk software. 

 

The answer to this question will vary from business to business. Before delving deep into the ideal helpdesk software conversation, one needs to figure out the motive to buy the product. To understand this, you must figure out the following:

• What kind of support do you want to offer to your customers?
• What are your customers expecting from you?
• What is your support team expecting from you?
• How can you improve your current customer service?

Answering these questions will offer clarity into which helpdesk software is optimum for your business. 

With the motive being clear, let's focus on a few standard guidelines for choosing the best helpdesk software.

 

There are few things to consider when fixing the budget for a new helpdesk software. 

• Team Size: 
  Most helpdesk software's pricing plans are based on the number of agent logins. This is directly proportional to the number of people in your workforce. However, not all products are made the same way. Some software has hidden limitations, which is clear post-free-trial. Your ideal solution will let you reap maximum benefit at a lower cost. You can always upgrade as per your needs. 
   
• Software Compatibility:  
  Your support team won't just use one helpdesk software, but other solutions as well. These external integrations are also necessary to bring a holistic ecosystem. This will definitely increase your preliminary budget. Further, it is imperative to check which solutions are compatible with your existing solutions used by various departments in your company. 

All-in-all these factors impact your overall budget. But it is better to gauge these factors before the purchase than struggling later. 

 

There are a few fundamental features that your helpdesk software must have in order to support your team and customers. 

• Ticket Tracking:
  This is the primary feature which the helpdesk software is designed for. But how efficiently can it do and how much automation and workflow it supports. An email or chat can trigger a ticket automatically and it can get assigned to the correct support agents. The rule engine can do the distribution and escalation of the ticket and all the tickets are thoroughly tracked and visible over the reports. 
   
• Team Support: 
  Quite a few numbers of companies out there usually start with a shared support inbox. The emails are not segmented based on priority or department, creating a clutter. Managers can trace none of the data back to the agent-in-charge without extra hassle. Instead, having a team inbox for the entire support team will relieve the hassle.
  
  Agents can log in individually to check the queries and respond accordingly. Also, agents can transfer the enquiries to specific agents for inter-department support. Team inboxes can be curated with canned responses, calendar prompts, and more to increase efficiency timewise. Around 86% of service teams say having a helpdesk system improves their productivity levels, says Hubspot.
• Live Chat Support:
  Modern customers prefer live chat to any other form of touchpoints. It is a convenient and dependable way to reach out to customer support. It definitely brings speed to your customer support process. Usually, live chat attracts existing customers and engages active visitors to your website who might want to know more about your products. This, too, is a way for your lead generation via your website visitors. 
   
• Telephony Support: 
  Phone calls are a traditional form of offering support. Customers often prefer calling a business to elaborate on their issues or queries. Hearing another human voice is an added personalization that bridges the gap between the customer and the brand. Your helpdesk software should have a telephony support feature where phone calls will be registered as tickets and offer VoIP/SIP integration. 
   
• Social Media Support: 
  Customers are always discussing, comparing, and reviewing products/services on social media. This brings the brand under global attention. One poor review can revert years of hard work. Therefore, a dedicated team for social media is a common practice. This means your helpdesk software should have social channel integration, where your agents can look for good or bad reviews or customer complaints. Some software also offers keyword tracking to find a conversation so that your agents can find other customer comments on social media. 
   
• Analytics: 
  In 2022, if a CRM Helpdesk doesn't offer insights, then it is not even trying to keep up with the market trends. Every business prefers data-driven insights to understand what is working out for them. Your chosen helpdesk software should have a dashboard for analytics and reports showing agent performance and CSAT score. Your managers can also analyze ticket volume trends that help you improve your product or support. 
   
• Remote Agent Support: 
  Gone are those days when agents were restricted to cubicles. With the rise in work-from-homes, equip your remote agents with a mobile application that encompasses the helpdesk solution. It enables the agents to offer assistance on the go. The mobile app should allow ticketing response, forum response, knowledge base management, call support, and more. The mobile application shouldn't fall short before the desktop version, making it inconvenient for remote agents. 

Some other features to look for include:

• Knowledge base and self-service support
• Escalation levels 
• Automated workflow creation
• Open API integrations
• Cross-department collaboration
• Contact management
• Role-based access
• Ticket sorting
• CSAT Survey

 

Now that you know which fundamental features to look for, you can shortlist names of best CRM Services that compliment your business. There are several online forums dedicated to the customer support industry where you can find recommendations. 

You can sign-up for trials for your shortlisted solutions and see which one works out for you. Not all the necessary features might be available during the trial period, so be sure to consult the concerned product agent for more information. Test out the solutions with some support agents and collect feedback. The best helpdesk solution will be straightforward and self-explanatory without needing much help for setting up. 

 

Conclusion:

Choosing the best Helpdesk CRM Software can be critical to your customer support program. It isn't always easy to find the right solution when you have specific requirements based on your business. At C-Zentrix, we always comply with our customer's needs to curate and modify our product to support our client's business as required. Our helpdesk software checks all the boxes and aids you to serve your customer better.