Help Desk Software

Help Desk Software Overview

What is Help Desk Software?

Help Desk software organizes and automates customer support processes. Other names for Help Desk software include:

• Customer service software

• Service desk software

• Customer support software

No matter what it’s called, this form of software has the same goal. It creates a single point of contact for users to connect with a company. When customers cannot solve a problem, they can easily reach out for support and for self-help knowledge.

Some help desk solutions offer both self-service and ticketing for support personnel. Others focus on either a knowledge center or a ticketing center.

Most help desk software integrates with live chat software and call center software. (Alternatively, some customer service suites offer these capabilities built-in.) Most will also integrate with related platforms, like a CRM.

Integration makes the software more functional and information more accessible, contributing to a smoother experience for the support agent and for the customer requesting help.

Ticketing System

The ticketing system is the most important part of help desk software. Customers use a portal to create a support ticket. The ticket is then submitted to the right person or department.

With a project management approach, help desk software lets users track, prioritize, and route tickets. This process can be automated or directed manually, often with collaboration across departments.

Multi-channel support uses the same ticketing system across multiple channels. This includes live chat, email, web forms and phone, and may also include social or other channels. The system integrates the progress of a ticket into a single interface, regardless of where the issue originated.

Based on user feedback in reviews, there are certain things to keep in mind. Look for these features as you’re determining whether a ticketing system is right for your use case:

• Customer ticket fields

• Billing based on support usage

• Differentiated support for various accounts

Self Help Knowledge Base

Help desk software often lets teams create self-help resources. This helps customers to answer questions on their own, without submitting a ticket. This is known as a self-help knowledge base.

Sometimes this is in addition to a ticketing system, and sometimes it stands alone. A knowledge base can take different forms, including:

• Discussion boards and forums

• FAQs

• How-to articles

• Pop-up tips & recommendations

Customers can often solve their problem using these resources. This means fewer support tickets and more efficient work for support agents. Many help desk tools also include the ability to create an internal knowledge base that can help agents answer questions more quickly and accurately.

Platforms like Zendesk and Desk.com include both self-help and ticketing options. Other tools, like Parature, are point solutions for a self-help knowledge base. Knowledge base point solutions let users create and share self-help knowledge with customers and support agents.

Social Support

Social support integrates your help desk with social media platforms to bring a new level of service to customer support. This integration allows social monitoring, issue tracking, and engagement. Examples of products that enable social support include Freshdesk, Zoho Support and HappyFox.

Social support tools help agents communicate directly on social media. As customers ask questions or share complaints on social media, agents can respond faster and more publicly. Usually, agents can respond to Tweets or Facebook posts within the help desk interface. This helps keep social media support organized alongside other support channels. Even without a ticket, social media communications are an important way to interact with customers.

Help Desk Software Features & Capabilities

Ticket & Case Management

The core of most help desk solutions is the ticketing system. Common features for ticketing and case management include:

• Ticket creation - Allows users and agents to enter new support requests.

• Ticket response - Allows agents to follow up with customers. This often includes automated responses.

• Workflow/Escalation - The ability to route tickets to appropriate support personnel.

• Documentation and collaboration - Agents can attach files and notes to tickets, maintaining a record of every interaction.

• Service Level Agreement Management

Self Help/Community

Many help desk products support self-help options on top of ticketing. These community resources can take pressure off of agents by facilitating self-service. Features around self-help and community include:

• Forum functionality for customer discussion.

• A searchable knowledge base.

• Public Q&A for the benefit of other customers.

• Internal knowledge base to help agents answer support questions.

• Surveys and polls, for customers to submit ideas and leave feedback.

Multi-Channel Communication

Most help desk solutions enable communication via multiple channels. Multi-channel features give easier access to support for customers. Multi-channel communication also creates a more convenient platform for agents. Common multi-channel features include:

• A customer portal for users to submit tickets and access self-help resources.

• Live chat within a software product or on a company website.

• Phone support. This includes call recording, contact database, Interactive Voice Response, call routing, and call scripting.

• Social integration with platforms like Facebook and Twitter. This often includes “social listening” tools for brand activity monitoring and reporting.

Pricing Information

Help desk software is usually priced as per agent per month. This means the price grows the more support agents the organization needs. Vendors typically offer a discount for annual billing. It is also usual to find multiple editions, with price dependent on features.

For the typical subscription model (per agent per month), pricing starts at under $10 for basic features. Subscriptions can run up to $200 per agent per month for a more enterprise level of service.

Some small vendors provide software to other small companies. As a result, some packages are priced differently than normal. These pricing models include a one-time license purchase and a volume-based subscription model.

Some ‘freemium’ packages are available, such as Freshdesk for small businesses. Companies can use basic features for a limited number of agents without paying anything. Then they can add more features or more agents when they grow. These may work well for startups or small companies that just need the essentials.