Choosing the right piece of software for your business can be tricky. You need to weigh up the pros and cons, consider pricing, and work out how to integrate it into your business processes.
When it comes to help desk software, there are some extra considerations. This article will take a look at five of them.
First, though, let’s define exactly what help desk software is and how it can help your business.
What is help desk software?
Help desk software is a company’s first line of defense when it comes to customer support. The help desk is responsible for tracking, managing, and resolving customer issues, whether technical or non-technical (that is, not related directly to technology).
Help desk software often has features that allow companies to implement self-service solutions, as well as ways of integrating with CRM software.
It can be a little confusing as there are three different definitions of help desk software: customer service and suppor, technical support desk, and self-service solutions. The term help desk will usually refer to the first definition.
Here’s what you need to consider when making your choice.
1. How does the software maximize productivity?
Productivity is one of the main reasons to implement help desk software. This is designed to make it easier and faster for support staff to resolve customer issues. It can help with tracking time, managing tickets, and automating repetitive tasks to free up your workforce to do what they do best – provide a great service.
How easy is it to use?
Your help desk software must be easy to use. Not only do you want your support team to be able to navigate the software with ease, but anyone who will be working with it on a day-to-day basis, such as group leaders or managers. Ensuring your chosen software is user-friendly for staff and customers will result in less time lost on training and downtime.
Can it handle escalation and prioritization?
Escalation is the act of transferring an issue to a more experienced member of staff. Prioritization refers to sorting support tickets by importance and in order of severity. Both are key aspects of tracking, managing, and resolving customer issues – a vital process for any company that relies on its customers for revenue.
2. Is the software scalable?
You need to make sure you can scale this support software alongside your organization. As a business grows, so will its customer base and number of issues.
It’s important that your chosen help desk software is scalable and flexible enough to grow with it easily, otherwise, you may find yourself in a position where you have to change systems to accommodate new business processes. Be wary of choosing software you might find difficult to scale in the future.
How many agents have you got?
This is one of the most important questions when choosing help desk software. The number of agents you currently have working on the help desk will determine how many users there are for a given license, as well as how easy it is to scale up in the future. This will make a difference if your business grows, affects general software and VoIP pricing, and will require more staff.
What are your plans for future growth?
If your company is looking to expand, make sure you choose software that can grow with it. As mentioned above, this usually means choosing a scalable solution that will be easy to adapt and change in the future.
Do you provide 24/7 customer support?
If your business doesn’t operate 24/7, consider the number of hours you provide customer support and choose a help desk software solution that will accommodate this. You’ll also need to make sure it can deal with any time zone differences your customers may be experiencing.
3. Is it commercially viable?
It’s also important to look at pricing. You need to make sure you can afford any solutions you choose and keep this in mind as your business grows or changes over time.
What is your budget?
How much are you willing to invest in your help desk software? It’s important to consider this during the decision-making process and understand that more money may not necessarily equal better results.
Do some research into the products on offer before you buy so you know what your options are and can make an informed decision. You will also have to consider other costs, like buying the best headset for conference calls.
Have you worked out the ROI?
It’s also worthwhile calculating the return on investment for help desk software. By assessing how much time you will save as a company, you can calculate whether or not it’s worth the investment. This number varies from business to business and is one of many factors that should be considered when choosing a solution.
4. What other features does it offer?
The features that come as standard with a help desk software package may vary. You should always take time to consider what these are and how they will work for your business before making a purchase. Here are some of the most important features to look out for:
Remote access
Make sure the help desk software solution you choose offers remote access for agents. This will save time and money as it means support staff can work remotely rather than having to be in the office to receive tickets from customers.
A self-service portal for customers
Providing a self-service portal for customers is an incredibly useful tool. This allows users to interact with their accounts without having to call you or use chat services and helps them resolve issues on the spot.
SMS alerts for agents
If your help desk agents are working outside the office, it’s useful to have an SMS alert system in place to notify them as soon as they receive a new ticket from a customer.
5. Can you track data?
Most SaaS-based products offer the ability to track data. This gives you a much better insight into how your business is performing and means you can identify trends and use this data for future decision-making. Here are some of the most important metrics to track:
- Tasks completed
- Tickets assigned
- Number of logins
- Average call duration
- Average customer satisfaction rating per agent
In summary
Help desk software can be hugely beneficial to a business. However, you need to consider the points above before you invest in it. If a help desk software ticks all of your boxes, test it out on a monthly subscription before paying for a whole year.
