Ever since companies have realized the importance of customer experience and its direct contribution to the company’s bottom line, they have been promoting a customer centric culture and looking to find ways to improve customer satisfaction. Simply acknowledging the need of better customer support and customer service experience by itself is not enough. Actions are needed. The measure that yields the most notable result in achieving the goal of delighting the customer, is to implement a Helpdesk Ticketing System.
What is Helpdesk Ticketing Software?
Helpdesk software (it goes by many names – helpdesk, customer support desk, or service desk software) is a computer program which enables customer service departments to take, keep track, and resolve customer requests. Helpdesk software is the single system where both customers and internal employees can direct questions, requests, or problems, and have them resolved in a timely and efficient manner. Helpdesk Solutions have built-in Ticketing System that organizes customer issues for a faster resolution, tracks and ensures compliance with Service Level Agreements (SLA), and organizes requests and responses into a knowledgebase and FAQs. It also provides agents with variety of tools that promote collaboration to respond to queries properly and immediately.
Benefits of Implementing Helpdesk Ticketing System
Numerous are the benefits of adopting a Helpdesk Ticketing System. The key benefits grouped in three categories are:
Benefits of Helpdesk Ticketing System related to Customer Satisfaction
Faster Ticket Resolution
This is one of the main advantages of adopting a Helpdesk Ticketing tool and the one that is immediately noticed by customers, helpdesk agents, and managers. Customers are only concerned about their own issues and how to have them addressed as fast as possible. Helpdesk ticketing systems achieve faster ticket resolution through precise ticket routing, ticket automations, collaboration among agents, and quick access to product specifications.
Resolve Tickets Accurately
Every customer issue is different and require a different area and level of expertise. At the same time each helpdesk agent has an area in which they have a lot of experience and knowledge. Automatic Ticket Routing to the most appropriate helpdesk agent based on request topic and agent qualifications and skills, guaranties accurate ticket resolution. You customer will highly appreciate this because your helpdesk ticketing system ensures they get quick, accurate and helpful answer every time.
Resolve Tickets Consistently
With the help of quick access to internal knowledgebase and FAQs with documented common issue resolutions and best practices as a reference for future use, the next time a similar issue is received, the helpdesk agent can quickly search the knowledgebase and provide quick and consistent response to the customers query.
Automated Updates to Customers
Customers like to be in the known with respect to what is happening with their requests and issues. Of course, to have helpdesk agents send these notifications manually is inefficient and would only increase response times. With the use of a helpdesk ticketing software, sending ticket updates in an automated fashion becomes easier, allowing customer service agents to focus on reducing resolution times instead. At the same time the customer is kept in the loop throughout the life cycle of the ticket.
Multichannel Customer Service
Customers like to connect with customer service departments and raise issue through their preferred communication channel. Some prefer to call when they experience an issue, while others prefer to initiate a web chat or send in email. There are customers who prefer to use multiple communication channels for a single request, e.g., to send an email with printscreen of the issue, and explain in further details by phone. Advanced helpdesk ticketing systems are designed to function seamlessly on multiple communication channels and have all requests still funneled in a centralized ticketing system for routing and tracking resolution progress.
Benefits of Helpdesk Ticketing System related to Agents Productivity
Automatic Ticket Creation and Resolution
With automated ticket creation managers can set up rules to automatically convert customer emails, phone calls and web chat requests into tickets and route them through the ticket management system. Helpdesk agents’ time is saved and no customer issue slips through the cracks or is missed. The helpdesk agent can focus on solving customer issues instead of wasting valuable time in manually creating new tickets or adding communication to existing tickets.
Similar to the automatic ticket creation, helpdesk ticketing systems also allow for automatic resolution of tickets, for example when answered tickets don’t get response from the customer for 14 days. This is another way helpdesk ticketing solution saves agents time and efforts.
Unified Agent Interface with Communication History
Modern helpdesk systems provide unified agent interface where agents can have a single 360-degree customer view of customer information (personal information, business and product specific information, communication and interaction history, opened and resolved tickets, etc.), and at the same time a single unified ticket view with all relevant for the particular ticket information, including customer information, product information, communication history relevant to the ticket, etc.
Having this information at hand can greatly improve support agent’s efficiency by providing visibility to similar past customer service issues and the steps taken in the past to resolve them. In addition, it can also improve the quality of customer interactions by preventing your helpdesk team from asking customers the same questions twice.
Internal Ticket Knowledgebase and FAQs
With the help of a ticketing solution your customer service team can easily create an internal knowledgebase with resolutions to common customer issues and FAQ pages with step by step instructions and guidelines for common troubleshooting scenarios or reference to product specifications. Ticket knowledgebase enables helpdesk teams to solve the same problem with the same solution – fast and efficiently. In addition, they are an excellent training resource for new agents in your helpdesk team.
Benefits of Helpdesk Ticketing System related to Business Efficiency
Ticket Prioritization
Managers and supervisors can set up automated rules to prioritize certain tickets in addition to letting customer support agents set ticket priorities manually. This can be particularly helpful with prioritizing customer service requests of VIP customers, or when prioritizing critical issues, so that they get resolved first. For example, you may want to keep your best customers happy by responding to their requests first, or to ensure that emergency requests impacting your client’s ability to use your product is handled before suggestions for improvements and other general customer service questions, regardless of which was received first.
Service Level Agreements (SLA)
Helpdesk Ticketing Systems help organizations monitor and comply with Service Levels Agreements. By keeping track of tickets SLAs and by notifying managers, supervisors and agents about potential ticket SLA violation, the ticketing solution ensures that necessary actions are taken on time and no SLA is violated.
Real-time Monitoring and Reporting
Helpdesk supervisors can monitor the contact center with real-time monitoring and dashboards. With the help of real-time data supervisors can allocate resources where they are most needed and achieve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction measured in terms of low wait times, low abandoned calls rate, high service levels, etc.
In addition to Real-time monitoring, helpdesk ticketing systems come with the built-in ability to track vital ticket-related metrics such as First Contact Resolution, Ticket Resolution Time, Average First Response Time, Average Response Time, Average Resolution Time, First Response SLA, and Resolution SLA – valuable statistics on which informed decisions can be made and actions taken.
Streamline Operations
Adopting helpdesk ticketing system streamlines operations, makes customer service more efficient, centralizes and organizes all customer service and support issues received in one unified platform, regardless of communication channel (phone, email, web chat). Thus, helpdesk agents can easily work on multiple tickets at once and prioritize their work as ticketing systems allows them to identify the most urgent requests and address them first. Ticketing software helps support teams work more efficiently because they aren’t wasting time going back and forth between inboxes, phone call systems and web chat applications, and trying to decide what to do next, but instead are working at full capacity on solving customer problems.
Factors to consider when choosing a helpdesk ticketing solution
Before investing in a helpdesk system, there are a few factors you need to take into consideration in order to ensure the helpdesk solution chosen is the one for your and is actually suitable for your business needs. These factors include:
Ticketing System Features
The more functionalities a ticketing solution has, the more control you will have in handling different work scenarios and customer service processes. Features to look for: ticket assignment and ticket transfers, ticket automations, ticket statuses, tagging and filtering options, SLA compliance, use of multiple ticket templates and ticket customization, knowledgebase and FAQs, 360-degree Customer and Ticket view.
Multichannel Helpdesk
Consider the communication channels your customers contact you, and choose helpdesk systems which support these communication channels. Most often these include phone, email and web chat. If your business has multiple phone numbers, multiple email accounts and web pages with chat as customer points of contact, then make sure the helpdesk system you choose has the capacity to integrate all of them. Make sure to check the systems technical integration requirements as well.
Integration
Verify the selected helpdesk system possesses the integration capabilities you need. These include Import and export of customer data (manual and automatic), API integration, phone integration, email integration, web chat integration, and ability to integrate with other systems.
User-friendliness
Software ease of use is extremely important and should not be disregarded when choosing a helpdesk system. Consider if the helpdesk system requires your helpdesk team and supervisors to have advanced technical skills, as well as how many “clicks” are needed to perform certain operations. Also, look for a helpdesk system which allows your helpdesk agents to have most (if not all) customer-related information needed to resolve the issue on one screen to minimize the switching between screens and applications.
Scalability and Software Support
Don’t forget to check with vendors their policy in terms of adding more features, adding licenses, additional developments of forms, IVRs, and screens as your business grows. Check the software licensing policy in details – how is the product licensed, concurrent vs. named user licenses, types of licenses (admin licenses, general user licenses, supervisor licenses, phone call licenses, etc.). Last, but not least, you will need software support. Check if it includes software updates, is software support limited to number of support issues raised, or unlimited, and how is the support conducted (over email, phone, remote assistance).
Database Capacity and File Storage
Make sure the helpdesk system you choose can accommodate your business requirements in terms of database capacity (usually this is taken up by your customer data, tickets data, communication data, etc.) and file storage (some systems store actional email communication, phone call recordings, and files for future reference).
Implementation Type: Cloud vs. On-Premise Helpdesk system
Some helpdesk systems allow for both Cloud and On-Premise implementation, others – allow for just one type of implementation. In general Cloud helpdesk systems are suitable for small customer service teams and businesses with no IT departments to manage the system infrastructure. In contrast, On-Premise helpdesk systems, are a better match for larger teams, companies which have the expertise to manage the system infrastructure, and for businesses who have legal requirements to store customer data in-house.
Budget
When evaluating helpdesk software, budget restrictions should also be considered. Identify what the subscription cost is, payment periods available, the cost of initial implementation and training, cost of support, upgrade costs, etc.
Conclusion
The benefits of adopting a helpdesk system are appreciated from both customers and organizations. With the help of a helpdesk ticket management system in place, businesses can delight their customers at any point of contact. After all, an exceptional customer service starts with an outstanding service desk.
Contact us and request a free consultation to learn more about Helpdesk Systems and to discuss how InfoServ Helpdesk fits in your business.