Getting customer service right is a challenge. Even with the best team and the best training, there is still work to do. Having the right customer service tools for your support organization to be successful is of paramount importance. In this post, we will cover ticketing systems like Jira and Gorgias, communications tools like email, chat, and phone, and CRMs like Asana and Salesforce.
Ticketing systems
The heartbeat of any great customer support or customer service team is its ticketing system.
A customer support ticketing system is a software application that helps organizations manage and track customer service interactions. It allows customer service reps to create, update, and track tickets (issues) and related information such as contact information, problem description, and resolution steps. Most ticketing systems also offer reporting features so you can see how many tickets your team is handling, how long they are taking to resolve, and other valuable information.
There are a number of great ticketing systems out there, but three of the most popular for customer support teams are Jira, ZenDesk, and Gorgias.
Jira
Jira is a popular ticketing system used by many companies including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. It offers a robust set of features including issue tracking, project management, and collaboration.
Jira is a popular ticketing system used by many companies including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. It offers a robust set of features including issue tracking, project management, and collaboration. Some of the key benefits of using Jira for customer service are:
– Ticket tracking: Jira allows you to track tickets from creation to resolution. See who is working on the ticket, what stage it is in, and when it is resolved. This information can help you keep your tickets organized and ensure that they are getting resolved efficiently.
– Collaboration: Jira offers a number of features that allow for collaboration between customer service reps and other team members. This can be helpful when trying to resolve customer issues.
– Reporting: Jira provides a number of reports that can help you track your team’s performance. You can see how many tickets your team is handling, how long they are taking to resolve, and what areas need improvement.
ZenDesk
ZenDesk is another popular ticketing system used by many companies including Apple, Facebook, and Twitter. It offers a number of features such as ticket creation, customer support chat, and phone support.
Some of the key benefits of using ZenDesk for customer service are:
– Ticket creation: ZenDesk allows you to create tickets from within the software or from your email inbox. This can be helpful if you have a lot of customer inquiries coming in through email.
– Customer support chat: ZenDesk offers a live chat feature that allows you to communicate with customers in real-time. This can be helpful for quickly resolving customer issues.
– Phone support: ZenDesk also offers phone support so you can call customers directly from the software. This can be helpful for times when you need to escalate a customer issue.
Gorgias
Gorgias is a newer ticketing system that is quickly gaining popularity. It offers a simple and easy-to-use interface as well as some powerful features like automatic ticket creation and advanced search.
One of the best things about Gorgias is that it integrates with a number of other applications. This means that you can create tickets automatically based on interactions in other applications (such as email or chat), and you can also pull information from other applications into Gorgias to help you resolve tickets more quickly.
Some of the key benefits of using Gorgias for customer service are:
– Ticket management: Gorgias allows you to manage your tickets in a simple and easy-to-use interface. This can be helpful when you have a lot of tickets to handle.
– Automation: Gorgias offers automation features that allow you to automatically create tickets, update tickets, and resolve tickets. This can help you save time and improve your team’s efficiency.
– Reporting: Gorgias provides a number of reports that can help you track your team’s performance. You can see how many tickets your team is handling, how long they are taking to resolve, and what areas need improvement.
Communication tools
In addition to a great ticketing system, your customer service or support team also needs great communications tools. Communications tools allow customer service reps to communicate with customers via email, chat, and phone.
Email is the most common form of communication between customer service reps and customers. It is a great way to exchange information back and forth and it allows for a record of all communications between the customer and the customer service rep.
Email is also a great way to build relationships with customers. By responding to emails quickly and providing helpful information, customer service reps can build trust and rapport with customers.
Front of Site Chat
Chat is another popular form of communication between customer service reps and customers. It is a great way to get quick answers to simple questions. Many times, chats can be resolved much faster than emails because the customer and customer service rep can exchange information in real-time.
Phone Support
Phone support is still a popular form of customer service. It allows for personal interaction between the customer and the customer service rep and can be a great way to resolve complex issues. However, it is important to note that phone support can be expensive because of the cost of having customer service reps on the phone.
Slack for Support
Newer to support interactions is Slack. Slack is like many instant messaging tools of old and has taken business communication by storm. While Slack was originally intended for internal teams looking to chat with coworkers and colleagues, it is now finding its way to support organizations. Tools like Zapier and Foqal make it easy to use Slack as a central hub of support communications.
CRMs
In order to effectively manage your customer service or support team, you will need a CRM (customer relationship management) system. A CRM system helps you track and manage your customer interactions. It allows you to store customer information, track customer support tickets, and create reports.
Customer support teams use CRMs to track and manage their customer interactions. A CRM allows you to store customer information, track customer support tickets, and create reports. This information is invaluable for customer service reps as they work to resolve issues and keep customers happy. Additionally, a CRM can help you identify potential customers and track your interactions with them.
There are a number of great CRMs out there, but two of the most popular when it comes to customer support are Asana and Salesforce.
Asana is a popular CRM system used by many companies. It offers a robust set of features including task management, team collaboration, and reporting. While Asana is often used as a project management tool, it works very well for support organizations that need to track tickets that are a little more complicated in nature. Asana allows users to assign tickets to other team members, keep notes and order information with a ticket, and set stages/status of a ticket while it is being worked.
Salesforce is another popular CRM system used by many companies. It offers a robust set of features including customer relationship management, sales force automation, and marketing automation.
The Right Tools for Support Make All the Difference
The customer service industry is a challenge, even with the best team and training. To be successful you will need to have the right tools for your support organization. It is important to recognize that there is no “one size fits all” set of tools for support. Your needs and the needs of your customers are different than every other business. That said, successful support is based on communication, organization, and structure.
A combination of communication tools to receive and reply to tickets, a CRM for tracking customer behavior, and a ticketing system for addressing issues are the foundation you will need to provide excellent support. To learn more about how wrrk can handle the support needs of your eCommerce company at a fraction of the price of building your own team, contact us here.
