Customer Service software: purchase guide
What is customer service software?
Definition
Customer service software refers to relationship management solutions that facilitate interactions with customers and prospects to improve their satisfaction and loyalty.
Customer service software centralises customers' omnichannel requests (email, chatbot, phone, SMS, mobile application, video conferencing, social networks) and allows you to address them from an online interface. The latter usually includes:
- Requests for information or advice on a product or service via live chat or messaging
- Messages left on community spaces
- Options for customer support connect with customers to help solve a problem
- Tools to manage comments and reviews online
How does it work?
Customer service software work in four steps. First, it allows customers to contact customer service as follows:
- Send an email to a contact address
- Complete an online contact form, add attachments
- Send a message on a live chat
- Post a message on social networks
Internally, each message is the subject of a support ticket and is assigned to the right person based on pre-established business rules, which can automatically sort requests. These could be useful to:
- Categorise a request based on answers to a contact form
- Send messages from social media directly to the community manager
- Provide suggestions and preliminary answers through a chatbot
Support staff are given a user account that allows them to manage tickets in real-time. They can answer messages individually, such as:
- Requests for information before choosing a product or service
- Help requests regarding the use of a product
- Technical problem reports, which can be forwarded to technical assistance
- Messages left on social networks (comments, opinions, etc.)
The customer is automatically notified of the response to his request.
After the interaction, an automatic message can be sent to invite the customer to share their user experience and rate the quality of the interaction.
Hotlines follow the same pattern: the customer contacts customer service, answers questions from the voice server, interact with an agent and is sent a follow-up satisfaction survey.
These SaaS solutions allow you to manage your company's customer service via a browser or a mobile application.
What are the main features of customer service software?
Online support tools
Customer service tools allow you to multiply the touch-points with your customers: contact forms, chats, widgets (Web and mobile), etc. Each message is assigned to the right person based on the ticket allocation rules you have defined. The sender receives an acknowledgement of receipt.
Internally, the tool works according to the same principle as a task manager. The interface help agents track the tickets they were assigned to and the associated deadline. Through this dashboard, they can:
- Respond to multi-channel messages from their newsfeed
- Transfer the ticket to the after-sales service in the event of a technical problem
- Create subtasks and assign them to relevant agents
- Use a search engine easily find customer files easily
- Assign different priority levels to customer files and requests
An internal chat allows agents to communicate and collaborate with other team members from the same or other departments.
The customer is automatically notified of the response to his request.
The same principle applies to call centres:
- The customer answers questions from a vocal server (allocation rules)
- He enters into a relationship with an agent
- The call can be transferred to other agents
- A ticket can be issued and transferred to customer support
A dashboard and performance reports measure KPIs such as the number of customer interactions, customer satisfaction, and service quality.
Feedback collection
Automatic emails can be sent to customers to collect feedback, including:
- Scores and opinions on the products they have just purchased
- Satisfaction surveys after an exchange with customer service or support
Customers are also invited to share their experience (notes and opinions) online on the company's website, a comparator, social media, etc.
The customer portal
Dedicated portals allow customers to be created so users can search for answers to their requests themselves.
A community space allows customers to share their user experience on certain products, share tips and tricks, discuss themes related to the organization's activity, and more.
Q&A sections can help customers find the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
To interact with your company, customers can use:
- A live chat
- A module for opening and tracking tickets
A web widget inserted in the company's website allows customers and prospects to enter requests and be redirected to related articles.
More recently, chatbots with artificial intelligence can interact with customers more organically.
Integration with internal CRM software
The customer service tool automatically logs all interactions (tickets, exchanges: call, email, etc.) in your CRM.
This facilitates collaboration and productivity for customer service, support and sales teams.
Why should you use customer service software?
Customer service tools can improve the overall experience, and therefore loyalty. However, they have some disadvantages.
Advantages
- Measurement of customer satisfaction and definition of areas for improvement
- Improvement in the quality of customer service: the added feeling of proximity can be a source of brand loyalty and attachment
- Inspiring interactions can be collected: feedback can be used in R&D
- SaaS are evolutive software that constantly adapts to new customer expectations
- Centralization of interactions and history
- Non-intrusive and on-demand approach for the client
Disadvantages
- Attribution rules (questions and suggested answers) may be poorly perceived by clients seeking an individualised experience
- The use of bots is a double-edged sword: if the client requests complex information, the bot could fail to deliver relevant answers
The Best SaaS Customer Service Software
