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Delivering outstanding customer service has never been easier with today’s technological advances. As businesses take advantage of customer support software, they see an uptick in customer satisfaction, bringing greater results and profits. Not only will customer support software enhance service to those who pay the bills, but work productivity increases, too. If you are just starting out in business or been around for several years, installing a customer support software such as Vision Helpdesk will make the business flow more easily. The vast majority of marketing leaders (91%) feel that in the near future, competition in business will rest solely on the customer experience. What ways does a customer support software help businesses?

Efficient problem resolution

Any company knows customer problems are an issue. If problems are not resolved promptly, it could mean a loss of business and possibly bad word-of-mouth advertising. A help desk gives businesses an efficient way to resolve the problems efficiently. Let’s envision for a moment what happens without a help desk software.

Customer A has a problem with a product. He checks the website for information. Seeing the contact information, he sends his request through that channel. On the other end, the email lands in the inbox of the front desk receptionist. That person’s job is to distribute all the emails to the appropriate department for remedy. There are more requests than usual that day and so the email does not get to the proper department until the following day where it sits a while more. By this time, Customer A decides to call the company. Unfortunately, the person handling the phones does not have a copy of the request or know what the person is talking about. After a long explanation by the customer, the receptionist transfers him to the right department. However, even after reaching the appropriate department, the issue is not front and center. Customer A must once again explain the problem. Imagine the growing frustration!

Now let’s look at this scenario with a help desk in place. Upon visiting the website, Customer A notices several options for reaching the company such as:

• Email
• Chat
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Telephone
• Help desk

The customer sends an email to the company and the help desk instantly categorizes it based on rules-based criteria. The proper department is notified immediately about the problem and prioritizes it accordingly. Furthermore, the project manager provides immediate feedback to the customer establishing a relationship. Everyone is in the loop if the customer would happen to call. With a system like Vision Helpdesk in place, customer problems are resolved efficiently.

Customization of rules-based Criteria

What makes a help desk run so efficiently? Automation of repetitive and manual tasks saves time thus boosting efficiency. This is accomplished by using rules-based criteria. The Vision Helpdesk is set up to give users several ways to customize rules dictating what happens to a ticket. When a ticket comes into the system, several steps need to be taken before the ticket is closed out. By creating rules you have the ability to:

• Automate your tickets: Set up rules that automatically organize and categorize your tickets. Use defining terms to assign tickets to urgent status, then have those tickets sent to management (or whoever is designated to handle urgent matters).
• Create escalation rules: Escalation rules are designed to make sure no customer falls through the cracks. It simply means you define a rule stating at what point the ticket will need to be escalated to the “next level” of management or critical status. You also define exactly what happens at that next stage. For example, you may require tickets from “premium customers” receive a response in 10 minutes. If this doesn’t occur, the ticket is sent to employee X. Or you could have an email sent to you.
• Create Service-Level Agreements (SLA): Based on the escalation rules already in place, you are now in a position to deliver a Service-Level Agreement (SLA) to certain clients. This agreement simply promises them you will deliver a response in the amount of time upon which you agreed. Having such an agreement is an attractive marketing tool to use with your clients.

Boost team collaboration

Team collaboration is necessary to ensure a seamless operation. Employees do their best work when they feel like a valued part of the team and are motivated to excel. Vision Helpdesk provides employees with a way to communicate, collaborate, and keep inspired about their work. Using a private social network, employees can collaborate on projects by exchanging files, sharing information, and discussing tickets. Additionally, the help desk features a tool to help you gamify your platform. Employees are motivated by the rewards and leveling up. Finally, a task management page allows everyone to get on track. Create and distribute tasks within seconds with the task manager. Agents can post remarks on the page, and progress reports get sent to the task creator.

Enhanced systems based on metrics

Help desks deliver vital information and metrics. By tracking data such as time spent completing a work order or time spent to resolve a problem, management can then ensure the workflow is at optimum efficiency. For example, if after analysis of the data, it is determined that department A more quickly resolves problems related to certain job categories, then it makes sense to begin assigning those tasks to that department. As managers analyze metric trends looking for patterns, they discover strengths and weaknesses. Help desks help businesses identify these areas to increase productivity.