Item: Intercom
Rating: 9
Author: Andy Baird

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Intercom both as a Sales tool, and as a Support Tool in our Software as a Service Platform. It's great to have a platform that assists users from first trialling our product, all the way to becoming long term subscribers of the product. It's fantastic that it integrates with our platform so we can bring dynamic properties through from our Product into Intercom, which can then be used to drive trials forwards, and also keep our users engaged.

Pros and Cons

Follow Up Series
Logic and Segmentation
Follow Up and Automation
Custom Properties
AI and Automated Prompts and Suggestions
Product Documentation

CRM Features could be better
Segmentation of Support vs Feature Requests
Clarity of Message Delivery (Email, Chat etc.)

Return on Investment

Increased Website Conversion
Reduced Response and Resolution Times
Automated Customer Onboarding
Increased Trial Completion
Automated Query Responses

Usability

Intercom is almost always easy to use, interface is straightforward and can be customised to suit individual's needs. Where it has been challenging support is there to come back with answers on how it can be configured or set up, but I almost never need them.

Integrations

Intercom is our primary Sales and Support System, we have Segment that sends all of our data between our systems, so data is pumped into there and it flows out to Intercom and all our other systems. Intercom connects to our Email Marketing software so both of those are synchronised to keep track of unsubscribes in both platforms. It's tightly integrated to our Software as a Service Platform so that we can manage user's accounts from within Intercom. We have also integrated to our payment and reporting systems so that Intercom has all the data it needs.

Alternatives Considered

HubSpot Sales Hub and HubSpot Service Hub

Intercom is a very intuitive system that is relatively easy and quick to set up, the majority of what you need is there and ready to go. Where HubSpot has the edge is on the CRM functionality it has, while Intercom has tagging and segmentation, it doesn't have the depth of CRM features (call tracking etc.) that HubSpot Sales has.

Key Insights

Do you think Intercom delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Intercom's feature set?

Yes

Did Intercom live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Intercom go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Intercom again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Twilio Segment, TrackJS

Likelihood to Recommend

Intercom is fantastic to use when you are selling Software as a Service, it was first recommended to me by a team member who had seen it used it in a Travel Company and an Education Company. It doesn't have the fully featured CRM functionality of some platforms, but it really shines for automated messaging, following up with users, and automated replies based on Support Articles. Both our Sales and Support teams rely heavily on Intercom, to both drive sales forwards, and support our long term customers. We've tightly integrated it to our Product so the status of the account and how active it is is represented in Intercom.

High Quality Sales and Support Platform

Overall Satisfaction with Intercom