The key to a successful business is happy customers and having a way of developing positive interactions is worth its weight in gold.
Being able to answer questions and be responsive to customers’ needs can help immeasurably but the fact is that this can be difficult and expensive to manage and that’s where help desk software comes in.
Given that customer satisfaction ratings generally are either flatlining at best or actually reducing, it means that businesses who make a concerted effort to improve relations with their clientele are likely to have a significant competitive advantage.
And here’s the important thing – more customer satisfaction = more sales.
Customer satisfaction leads to loyalty. This in turn increases your net promoter scores and the lifetime value meaning that every point gained in your customer satisfaction scores equals more money on the bottom line.
After all, you spend so much time and money acquiring the customers that it makes sense to put in some effort to keep them.
What putting in a helpdesk solution does for you (and your customers)
The benefits of a modern helpdesk solution split down neatly into two; the benefits for you and the benefits for your customer.
Being able to answer customer questions quickly and correctly increases their confidence in your brand and of course, solves issues that they are facing.
The customer doesn’t have to spend time searching around for answers, they know where to go and who to contact.
We’ve all faced situations where our needs don’t fit neatly into a box and we’ve had to call into a business to get help.
It’s pretty certain that we have also all had the same experiences; epic service, awful service, or service that’s just meh!
Having great service as a customer reduces your blood pressure, gives you a warm feeling about the business and gives you a business that you can trust meaning that you don’t have to search around for a new supplier every time you want to purchase.
For the business, the implementation of a helpdesk solution gives you a way to provide excellent service at a cost-effective price, promotes customer loyalty and allows you to solve issues quickly.
Internally, the business can develop a best-practice solution that can be delivered using the system. This means that your support people don’t have to find a new solution every time and that you can enforce some consistency in their responses.
You can also make sure that you don’t have multiple agents all dealing with the same customer and if they do, that they are all able to access the contact history to avoid your customer having to repeat the problem over again.
There are some longer-term boosts too
Having a good helpdesk system will give you access to excellent analytics showing you where problems frequently occur and triggering development to stop them in the future.
You can see instantly when new issues start to appear and nip them in the bud, after all, prevention is better than cure.
And you can also spot customer trends, especially if people are asking for a product or service that you don’t yet offer as this will point the way to additional revenue streams.
Having a great helpdesk is one of those rare times when you have a win-win situation.
How to choose the right solution for you
Choosing the best help desk solutions can be time-consuming so it makes sense to have an organised way to make your decision.
We think there are a few key things you need to think about.
What you want to get out of it
This is important because if you don’t specifically define the problems you are seeking to solve, then the likelihood that you will solve them is massively reduced.
Spend time analysing the issues you are facing and how you envisage the future looking.
What your budget is
Helpdesk solutions come in all shapes and sizes and their pricing varies just as much. Set your budget for the project right from the start so you avoid looking at solutions that are outside your range.
Be aware that a cheap-looking system now, may turn out to be incredibly expensive if you double your users.
Whether you need help
Some solutions need very little in terms of implementation help, some need consultancy time (and money).
If you have in-house expertise then you are well on your way, if not then think about how you’ll get assistance or choose a helpdesk that needs little in the way of configuration.
Most helpdesk products today are offered as a SaaS solution, meaning that they are cloud-based and you don’t have to think about installing them on your own server.
But if you choose an on-premise system then you may well need to call in extra help for the installation phase and possibly through configuration too.
If it will scale to your business
If you have a growing business then you need to make sure the helpdesk is going to scale with you. Nothing is worse than spending a lot of time putting in an awesome solution only to find out six months later that you have outgrown it.
Can you add more users? Are there transaction or account limits? Will the provider’s servers be able to cope with volume?
If it is not your intention to grow your business then make sure you are not choosing a solution that is over-specified for you as this usually means you are spending too much money.
What channels it will provide
A modern helpdesk solution should be able to collate questions, problems and points from a wide variety of sources.
Although people instantly think of phone or email support, good solutions will have multiple channels to interact with your customers such as support-specific Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, SMS or webforms and all of these should be easy to integrate and use.
It’s important to think about your customers here. Where do they hang out? What channels do they prefer? For example, don’t try and speak with home-bakers on Linkedin and don’t expect accountants to all be using Instagram!
The quality of support
It is a rare business indeed that doesn’t need support with an implementation so check out the sort of support your proposed provider gives.
Some companies offer free initial set up support but nothing after, some offer lifetime free support which comes at a price.
Helpdesks – a simple solution that makes a big difference
We’ve seen then that a modern helpdesk can revolutionise the way that you interact with your customer.
It can give them confidence, solve their issues and develop brand loyalty that is incredibly valuable.
For your business, having a quality system can foster efficiency with best practice usage and sensible use of resources.
Why not think about whether a helpdesk solution is right for your business, it could transform the way you work!