4 Best Help Desk Software for Small Business in 2020

In this article, we are talking about the 4 best help desk software for small business in 2020, what are the recommended help desk features, its benefits, and 4 software for you to check.

Introduction

For people planning to start a small business, taking that first step can be the most daunting challenge to overcome but fortune does favor the bold. However, unbeknownst to many, the hardest part is yet to come; it is when the business grabs pace that you are tasked with the more worrying job of keeping up. You must ensure that you’re performing efficiently and smoothly providing your customers with the best service so that they don’t end up turning to your competitors – this is where desk help software comes in.

Many small businesses tend to think that they can manually deliver unparalleled customer service because of their small scale, but research implies the opposite. That’s why formulating significant investments to strengthen customer experience from the start, such as the method of employing help desk systems to fortify customer support quality, aids massively in gaining a firm footing and also ensures returning customers.

What is Help Desk Software?

When running a business, you need to communicate with customers by wielding something other than just a conventional email account or helpline number; that is where help desk software makes its grand entrance. This software refers to a spot that customers can quickly turn to get service from you without having to wait. This software arose as a means to organize and regulate online communication, which then incorporated to encompass email, phone, self-service, feedback management, knowledge base, community, and social media.

However, ultimately the help desk software’s central mission is to simplify your communication system. There doesn’t need to be anything wrong with a business’s way of communication for them to employ help desk software. Still, there is so much more it offers that makes it an absolute necessity for every business. The proper equipment can help you save heaps of time and money while keeping you at the peak of your effectiveness and productivity level. It can furthermore enable you to specify trouble areas and refine your support process so you can regularly improve your system.

Help desk software is useful for small businesses in the following ways:

• Helps build a relationship with the recipient of your services and ensures that they stay satisfied.
• Keeps all requests in one place and even compiles further data with every exchange.
• Maintains tracking of particular discussions catalogs them away and summons them up as promptly as possible.

Features of Help Desk Software

You must consider certain factors before you choose the perfect help desk software for your business. Some of the key features to look out for are:

·        Omni Channel Presence and Support

The customer must be able to reach you from any medium of their preference and, to be a truly valued business, you must be accessible on those channels. Performing research to discern the best communication mediums of the target audience can be the initial step in that direction. However, in this millennial age, a business is expected to be able to deliver customer support through voice, email, social media, and also a chatting system.

·        Automated Ticketing

The tremendous advantage of having help desk software is to increase proficiency and all-around undertakings. Help desk software that can automate redundant chores is the absolute necessity to formulate a ticket for every exchange and prioritize them based on the established parameters and also allocate the tickets to the accurate queue on the medium of its origin. Moreover, it needs to be aptly equipped to outline particular events and have time-based regulations to activate a set of actions once the assigned time has passed or when an event has occurred. All these automation mechanisms lessen the manual workload and increase productivity, freeing agents from excessive manual labor.

·        Customers’ Sentiment Analysis

Help desk software discerns the mood of the customer and utilizes natural language processing (NLP) to examine the sedentary media dealings, for example, an email interaction or chat. Based on this exploration and emotive state, it can allow a score to a specific customer; this and some other determining factors like the significance of the ticket, its priority status, and the number of unanswered messages can be wielded for forming the heat map and helping the agent prioritize the tickets established on their importance and criticality level.

·        Reporting

Data usage must be straightforward but also beneficial. A good help desk software gives an orderly understanding of the related metrics for quicker decision making. Along with live monitoring of the systems performing their operations, it is crucial to receive reports as well. And they should not just be the basic or default system reports, any authentic software worth its salt authorizes the fetching of customized reports for better and insightful performances.

·        Self Service

A help desk software that includes a self-service portal will only heighten the business’s credibility. It will also allow the team members to decipher problems on their own without having to get help from higher-ups. With the help of these portals, customers will be able to submit their tickets and track them. These can incorporate answers to frequently asked questions and other important announcements within the business set up.

·        Customization Options

Your ticketing system should not bind you to its restrictions; it should be adjustable enough to suit your specific needs so you can get the best out of your help desk software. It should propose a workaround in which you are permitted to modify the source codes and tailor the features according to your business’s demands.

·        Comprehensive Alert System

A sound help desk software system has different tools to issue notifications about system movements and activities to all users. Any shift in status will prompt a message through notification emails that are delivered to customers. Such emails may include a link to your portal, where all details about that specific action are published.

·        Tracking System

A recorded history should be kept for various reasons: to track the development of a project or to outline the origin of a situation. Even when a certain issue is settled, the ticket should reside in the system and stay labelled as finished off but never eliminated, since you never know when you are required to go back to a specific ticket history.

If you get a help desk software that has all these features, your customers and agents will benefit immensely. Your customers will appreciate the convenience of being able to communicate and express their concerns while staying updated; similarly, the people dedicated to the help desk can answer back quickly and productively. It’s a win-win situation.

Benefits of Using Help Desk Software

Using help desk software is greatly beneficial, even for a small business. We have listed some of the benefits below:

• It seamlessly deals with online and offline, pre and post-sale questions and issues – making a business thrive.
• It ensures that a business proposes 24/7 customer support and integrates various self-help characteristics that customers benefit from.
• This system aids with time management of workers who can then focus on issues that are not solvable by the software.
• It is the middle point through which crises are distinguished and managed. It simplifies the business process. Another one is playing a primary role in the administration of information systems and in helping businesses focus on their goals and plans.
• It identifies trouble areas and looks for solutions while proficiently tackling the audit trail. One more is expanding management and inspects hitches in the system, then lends enormous breadth for modification.

Top 4 Help Desk Software for Small Business in 2020:

After careful research, we have narrowed down the best help desk software for small business into the four mentioned below.

1.      Zendesk

Zendesk is an exclusive, cloud-based customer service application that is constructed with a singular aim: to enhance communication between a business and its customers. This software is excellent for small businesses as it works smoothly no matter the amount of customer support agents. It offers numerous tremendous features that aid to expand customer services, boost productivity, and increase the customer satisfaction rate. Zendesk is considered to be a pioneer amongst help desk software as it provides many top-notch services and features.

One of its unmatchable facilities is the ticketing management that maintains a record of all communication for every single ticket. It also lets agents affix notes to any ticket, which makes it manageable for numerous agents to work on a sole ticket, if needed, or for the upper management to study and review any support issues. The tool supports multi-channel, offers exceptional reporting, both public and private forums, and much more. It offers various pricing plans for different modules. You can also get a 30-day free trial.

Pros

• Allows multiple users to access progress reports
• Tags and tracks issues
• Has a 30-day free trial period
• Works great with many agents at a time
• Integrates well

Cons

• Minute bugs here and there
• Can be a little complicated to learn

2.      LiveAgent

LiveAgent is award-winning software that is created to be understandable and automatic, thus being easy to use, learn and implement, and is suitable for small businesses. With all the interface components handily available and well-constructed, users can master the system in a short time. It lets you evaluate the help desk execution and produce multiple reports that determine the excellent support representatives and gauges the customer satisfaction rate. It also proposes a complete package of multilingual assistance. Security-wise, all interaction between your browser and LiveAgent is encrypted.

The most common way to get LiveAgent is through one of their SaaS plans, where you can obtain an annual subscription with monthly payments. It extends affordable pricing plans and you can select a service that is suitable to your needs and budget.

Pros

• Alerts even when offline
• Multilingual
• Ticket tracking
• Real-time access

Cons

• Lags occasionally
• Integration can be improved

3.      Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk delivers small businesses with an abundance of support choices and channels that encourage them to distribute high quality and immediate customer service; this enables you to establish stronger relationships with your customers, ensure profitable business, and higher revenues. With Zoho Desk’s integrated help center strategy, small businesses can propose multiple support channels that suit them best and meet the precise customer preferences. You can elect to address customer problems and questions via a wholly serviceable ticketing system or provide support through its call center option.

It offers three priced packages and a free version that is loaded with essential business support features. There is also a 15-day trial available free of cost for businesses and individuals who would want to test it out.

Pros

• Excellent for massive project management
• Has a 15-day free trial period
• Automatic integration
• Simple to set up

Cons

• Analytics is often faulty
• Not multilingual

4.      Cayzu

Cayzu is a help desk software and customer support outlet that lets you effortlessly organize all of your support interrogations to a single cloud-based portal. It addresses requests from numerous channels with a spontaneous ticket-workflow network that stimulates team collaboration when delivering customer support.

The tool offers several features to help automate your help desk, increasing your business’s overall productivity. It promotes smooth collusion amongst support workers across your business to eradicate any guesswork by the customer service.

Cayzu transmits reporting options, giving a clear understanding of how everything is working. With its global support, it can handle multiple languages and time zones. It is deemed by many to be perfect for small businesses.

Its subscription plans are merciful on the pocket and comprise a free setup, on-board help, support, training, and updates with no additional costs.

Pros

• Restricts damages
• Streamlines overall workflow
• User-friendly interface
• Simple and flexible

Cons

• No place for inventories

Conclusion:

Customers are what make a business flourish or flounder, no matter what its magnitude is. Keeping customers happy and satisfied is the number one rule of any marketing strategy. Once you ace the objective of having your business loved by many, you have successfully created a long term haven for yourself, and empowering your workers with the appropriate gear will further enrich your business.

Best help desk software for small business not only lessens the burden and probability of errors but also eases workflow and performance, enabling you to carry out tasks to the best of your ability without worrying about any undetected, underlying issues. We hope that this article helps you determine which software will be perfect for your needs.