The help desk challenge

Choosing a customer service help desk platform can be a daunting project. There are lots of great vendors out there, including but not limited to Zendesk, Intercom, Kustomer, Freshdesk, and many others.

In this article, we aim to help you decide which items are important to your business and develop a selection process.

When evaluating help desk software tools, one of the most important factors to consider is how easy it will be to implement in your organization. You will want to consider the following:

• The size of your team and how much training will be required

• How much help desk customization will be needed

• How integrated the help desk software is with your other systems

• The level of technical support available from the vendor

• Consider industry-specific requirements

It's also important to consider the cost of the software and whether or not there is a trial period or free version available so you can test it out before making a purchase.

What is a help desk platform?

First, let's define what a help desk system is and why e-commerce brands use such tools.

Help desk software is a computer program, usually browser based, that enables customer service agents to manage customer support tickets. Help desk systems typically include a ticketing system, knowledge base, and reporting features. Help desk software allows e-commerce businesses to efficiently track and manage customer interactions, resolutions, and complaints.

Help desk training & ease of use

If you have a small team, you'll want to choose help desk software that is easy to use and doesn't require a lot of training. Zendesk, Intercom, and Freshdesk are all great options that are easy to learn and don't require a lot of training. If you have a larger team or a more complex help desk process, you'll need to consider software that offers more customization and integration options.

Once you've considered the above factors, you should develop a list of potential help desk software providers and reach out to them to request a demo or free trial. This will help you get a feel for how the software works and if it's a good fit for your team.

Customization

Help desk software often requires some level of customization in order to meet the specific needs of your customer service organization. This can include adjusting fields, setting up workflows, and configuring settings. Make sure to research and ask each vendor about the level of customization that is possible and whether or not they have a team of developers available to help you make the changes you need. Try to provide real-life examples or use cases to the vendor, where you believe customizations may be needed.

From there, make sure you understand what the costs will be to successfully achieve those use cases. Be sure to consider the vendor's direct costs, as well as the investment in time your internal IT and other staff members will need to make.

Integration

Often, help desk software is only as good as its ability to integrate with the other systems in your organization. In particular, you'll want to consider how well the help desk software interacts with your other eCommerce checkout solution (e.g. Shopify or WooCommerce), credit card processing software (e.g. Stripe for processing customer refunds), technical product systems (e.g. using a serial number to provision an app or device), and other mission-critical systems.

Each vendor's website should provide you with a list of popular integrations as well as information on how easy it is to set them up. Talking to a sales rep from each vendor about this topic is also a worthwhile exercise.

Technical Support

When evaluating help desk software, it's important to consider the availability and skill of technical support provided by each vendor.

Ironically, we hear many stories about poor customer service delivered by help desk software vendors. Good customer service should include a help desk interface that is easy to use, has a robust knowledge base, and offers timely responses to questions. Be sure to put the vendor's support team to the test during any free trial you engage in. We find brands are sometimes surprised by poor response times, poor quality of response, and what types and hours of support are actually available. Be sure that any free trial includes the level of support you can expect from the specific price tier you are considering.

Industry-specific requirements

Are there any features or other requirements that are unique to your industry? For example, strong data security is a must in any industry, but some industries require additional scrutiny. Unique data protection laws are common in medical device, pharmaceutical, financial, and similar industries.

As another example, some product categories require unit-level traceability, usually managed via serial numbers. Can you help desk software accommodate serial number lookup if needed?

These are the little details that can make a big impact in terms of reducing friction in your customer experience.

Parting thoughts

When it comes to help desk software, there are a lot of factors to consider in order to find the right fit for your business. We've outlined some key considerations, such as cost, ease of use, customization needs, and integration requirements. It's important to remember that help desk software is only as good as the effort you put into purchasing, configuring, and maintaining it.

At Rush Order, we generally default to Zendesk as our primary help desk tool, but we also staff our customer service agents in a variety of our clients' tools. We are happy to entertain questions and share our experience in a variety of these help desk environments. Feel free to schedule a time to chat with us.