The right helpdesk software platform can transform the way that small businesses manage customer support, and enhance how they deal with in-house issues as well.
If you’re looking for a new helpdesk solution but you don’t know where to start, our guide to the top contenders will give you the info you need to find and procure the right package for you.
LiveChat
It might sound like a one trick pony, but LiveChat is actually a fully featured helpdesk system that has scalable options for tiny teams right up to enterprise-level operators.
It offers a unified interface through which you can wrangle a variety of channels, ranging from emails and instant messages to SMS and beyond.
There’s also support for third party services, including the likes of WhatsApp, Shopify and more besides. So if you’re adding it to your existing stack, it’ll be a breeze.
HelpSpot
Another of the excellent small business helpdesk software products on the market right now, HelpSpot is email-focused and aims to offer the same high quality, user-friendly experience as you’d expect from well known email ecosystems, including Google Mail.
When you’ve got a lot of support messages to follow up on, this software streamlines everything for you, making it easy to assign tasks to specific team members, get an overview of what emails are waiting for action, and automate tedious tasks so you don’t have to do them by hand.
Freshdesk
If efficiency is important to you, then Freshdesk makes a compelling argument for being the most well optimized of the bunch.
Being able to manage a shared inbox for the whole team can save you lots of time, and will improve your overall organizational abilities. Premium versions of the platform include the ability to track how time is spent, issue satisfaction surveys to get feedback from customers after a support experience is complete, and analyze performance across the entire department to glean actionable insights.
Zendesk
A well known brand in the helpdesk software arena, Zendesk has risen to prominence thanks to its versatility and its ability to catalyze workflows by simplifying them.
Dashboards dedicated to performance analysis are a selling point, meaning you can get a snapshot of how things are going and where you’re falling short, as well as where you’re succeeding, whenever you need it.
There’s no unpaid version available, so while it’s not suitable for brand new businesses, small firms with a few team members onboard will find a lot to like here.
Zoho Desk
There’s a lot of shared features across all of the helpdesk solutions we’ve mentioned so far, and Zoho Desk is competitive in this regard.
Where it does stand out from the crowd a little more is in its impressive knowledge base functionality. This is useful for businesses than want to empower users to solve their own issues without necessarily needing to contact a human support agent.
HappyFox
If what you mainly need is a helpdesk package that will deal with customer support queries, rather than with internal employee concerns, then HappyFox could be the right choice.
It’s user-friendly and well designed, while offering excellent support ticket management potential, speeding up how quickly you can cope with large volumes of requests.
While it lacks the expansive integration abilities of some of its rivals, in the right hands it will work wonders.
Wrapping up
Be methodical about comparing helpdesk software before you go ahead and select a solution for your small business. Time invested in choosing wisely will be repaid with interest once you’ve pinpointed the most appropriate product.