What is customer support software? Customer service support software is a group of tools that help gather, analyze and respond to customers’ requests. Outsourced contact centers usually use software to provide clients with efficient and timely service through multiple communication channels. Each type of software has a purpose and handles specific inquiries. Therefore, it is essential to differentiate between various customer support software and know the key benefits of their examples. Let’s take a closer look at different contact center software to decide which tools are relevant for your business.
What tools help agents support customers
Help Desk Software
Help desk software is usually the basis of customer service outsourcing work as it helps unify all the customer interactions. It also handles support requests from channels, such as live chat, social media, email, and phone, creating a united database. Help Desk Software is one of the excellent call center tools for regulating customer requests and organizing user-friendly experiences for agents and clients.
An example of Help desk software is Service Hub. It has a useful feature of automation to direct messages to the proper routes, assigning every request to an agent’s inbox in a few seconds. Service Hub also offers a bots service that provides customers with answers to popular questions on the contact center platform. The software is helpful for medium-sized companies, but larger businesses have special plans.
Knowledge Base Software
This tool helps companies manage, store and update self-service content. The software contains video lessons, articles, and answers to popular questions.
There are two groups of knowledge bases: external and internal. The content is free and open to use with an external option, whereas an internal base requires creating an account to manage the information. Thus, an internal knowledge base can be focused at employees, and an external one can offer the customers to login and explore the valuable content.
Document 360 is an example of such software with a convenient interface and search engines allowing to create external and internal databases. It also offers advanced analytics, IP address security, localization useful for call center software and charges per month so is more suitable for bigger companies. Another market-proven knowledge base is HelpJuice allowing companies to design their databases to match with brand image. It also has a feature of common editing when multiple people can collaborate on articles helping each other manage customer service issues.
CRM Software
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software assists companies in tracking customer interactions. For example, it is used mainly in sales but can be easily applied as call center management software, for example. CRM gathers information about customers in one place, helping to anticipate their needs and provide them with a personalized experience.
One of the most popular CRM is PipeDrive, which has a unique visual and keeps the company updated on every stage of communication with a customer. The tool has a drag-and-drop interface that easily adds contacts or moves content between stages, making it the best call center software. PipeDrive can also be connected with live chats or social media interactions to spot the essential information and put it directly in the customer’s profile.
Social Media Monitoring Software
This software type helps gather and monitor relevant data across social media and regulate customers’ requests via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. This tool is useful in call center monitoring software when the company personalizes communication styles to specific demographics based on social media research.
Social media monitoring software Hootsuite and ZohoSocial are suitable for small companies and large businesses. They provide one dashboard for all kinds of actions, such as scheduling posts through different social media channels, tracking customer questions, managing paid social content, and analyzing competitors’ strategies. These systems can advise companies on the best date and time for their publications and manage income from marketing campaigns.
Service Desk Software
It is also called a ticketing system and primarily focuses on IT issues as call center management software. Service desk is used to manage external and internal questions for outsourced technical support and manage direct customer questions. For example, service desk software often helps fix bugs reported by clients. Thus, it does not involve direct communication with clients but allows virtual communication with them.
For example, call center software solution Zendesk features multi-channel ticketing uniting different communication spots in a single place. Thus, the IT team can effectively manage troubleshooting for customers and other employees. This tool solves common problems faster by applying macros schemes and providing customers with real-time updates.
The Bottom Line
When choosing suitable customer support software, the companies should analyze the type of service they offer and their resources. It is also essential to come up with must-have features for the software, so it integrates with the business needs. Experienced outsourcing contact center service providers, like WOW 24-7, always try to adapt to the client’s needs and offer the most convenient software. It shows the level of customer focus and allows the company to control the process using a single point of control.
If you want to analyze the work of customer support software in progress, book a call and find out more about modern tools to reach your clients.
