Helpdesk technology is one of the most valuable tools in the CX environment today. As the world of customer service becomes more complex and “omnichannel”, teams need an aligned environment for accessing valuable information, and tracking support tickets.
Helpdesks bring everything your employees need to deliver exceptional service together in one easy-to-use environment. The right tools can make it easier to track customer conversations across platforms from SMS to social media. They also provide knowledgebase articles, self-service tools, automations, and bots to boost agent efficiency.
The question is, how do you choose a helpdesk vendor you can trust in 2022? As demand for helpdesk technology increases, the available options on the market are evolving too. Here are some quick steps to help you choose the right vendor this year.
Step 1: Understand Your Audience
First things first, you’re going to need to determine who you’re going to be serving with your helpdesk technology. The first fundamental audience you’re going to be looking at is your employees. Helpdesk environments are primarily intended to make life easier for your team members, so they can manage customer service requests more effectively.
With this in mind, think about how your team members are likely to be using your helpdesk tools. Which platforms do they need to align in a unified inbox to track customer conversations (SMS, email, voice, etc)? What kind of resources will they need to have available within the helpdesk to ensure they can deliver the right service, such as knowledgebase articles and bots?
You may even want to look into tools to help your employees remain as productive as possible when working in a remote or hybrid environment. Troubleshooting tools and service desk technology built into the helpdesk can make it easier for team members to solve technology problems without IT help.
If you’re going to be serving an audience of B2B customers, there’s a good chance you’ll need to think about installing a customer service portal too. This is a portal within your helpdesk where users can submit and track ticket requests, access self-service features, and even check FAQ articles.
Step 2: Align with Your Existing CX Technology
After you know who you’re serving with your helpdesk solution, and what they’re likely to need, the next step is making sure everything can align with your existing CX tools. A helpdesk is just one component of a comprehensive service strategy. If you want to be able to align all of your customer data and service requests in one place, you’re going to need your desk to integrate with your CCaaS ecosystem. Make sure you can collect data from all the contact centre tools you use.
Since helpdesks are also a source of useful information for employees and customers alike, it’s worth ensuring you can link other applications and tools into the environment too. You may want to connect your helpdesk to your ERP system, or implement stock tracking tools so you can give your customers an update on their order in seconds.
One of the most common tools to connect with your helpdesk technology is a CRM (customer relationship management) platform. This will give your agents a complete view into your customers and their previous purchases. The more information your agents have about each client, the more they can personalise and contextualise the support strategy.
Step 3: Explore Feature Sets
Once you know your vendor can align your tools with your existing strategy for customer service, the next step is examining the available features on offer. Most helpdesks will come with a handful of consistent features, like omnichannel inbox alignment, so you can track a customer conversation and service request across multiple platforms and stages.