Every Year, U.S. companies lose more than $62 billion owing to poor customer service. 33% of Americans say that they will consider switching to a different company if they are meted out poor service even once. Also, while Americans tell about a poor service experience to 15 people on an average, they tell just 11 people if they have a good experience.
These numbers are staggering, especially considering the fact that acquiring a new customer can be 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining a current customer.
Today, customers want quick responses, no back and forth, and a hundred per cent transparency. Naturally, these expectations pose a whole new set of challenges. Fortunately, there are ample customer service tools at our disposal to overcome these challenges. So, here we are with a well-compiled list of the 5 best customer service tools that you can use to enhance your customer experience.
1. Hubspot Service Hub
The help desk software would form the centrepiece of your customer service repertoire. Your clients would be mainly spending much of their time there, so it’s crucial that you choose a good one for the same.
Automation, a shared inbox, reporting functionality, and ticket organization are some of the major functionalities that your helpdesk software would need to cater to all your customers’ requirements.
To that end, Hubspot Service Hub offers a shared inbox that facilitates 1:1 communication with clients at a much easier scale. It has a powerful automation system, which would divert all the messages to the proper channels and give productivity a push. Bots can help you dish out instant responses to the most frequently asked questions.
If you are already using other Hubspot tools, you can integrate Hubspot Service Hub with Hubspot CRM, Sales Hub, and Marketing Hub. This will help you create an excellent experience for your customers.
While this tool was primarily designed for small to medium scale businesses, you can use its enterprise plans if you have a larger team. Also, you can use its basic version for free. However, if you want more advanced features, go for any of its paid plans starting at $45 per month.
2. Olark
The digital age has ushered in several changes that require businesses to offer their clients live chat services. While many help desk software has the chat feature included, a dedicated tool for the same is a better option.
While using an in-built chat tool, there is usually less control over workflows. However, with Olark, you can customize your chatbox and encourage your customers to engage with you based on predefined workflows.
Along with design customization, you can also localize the language for different users and keep your chat as natural as possible. From real-time metrics and access to chat automation, Olark offers a range of features to make your chat processes lively.
Also, Olark’s easy integration with other software means you can get the most out of your chat interactions regardless of which software you are using. While Olark offers a 15-day free trial, you can go for any of its paid plans starting at $19 per month for additional features.
3. JIRA
Your customer service responsibilities might require you to don different hats. While engaging with customers will form a chunk of your day-to-day duties, reporting software bugs and feature requests would also form a major part of your job description.
However, without a dedicated tool for the same, feature requests and bug reports can be challenging and difficult to follow up on.
To that end, JIRA helps you with reporting bugs and feature requests and also organizes your requests. Agents and developers can comment on each report and get updates if there’s any change.
Not only does JIRA allow you to add a bug description, attachments, and identify the affected versions but it also lets you assign them to the right members who can fix it with severity levels.
You can customize workflows according to your needs and mould it according to your requirement. This way, you can keep track of your issues from beginning to end based on your processes.
JIRA can be used for free by up to 10 users. Paid plans start at $70 per month.
4. Hootsuite
Just like live chat, social media is also gaining prominence increasingly. People posting their queries on social media want quick responses, which is challenging considering the limitations of help desks that monitor social media channels.
That’s why it is worthwhile to invest in a tool that is dedicated to social media interaction.
Thankfully there is a software like Hootsuite that comes with an amazing dashboard that you can customize for your business and share views across teams. Another of its mind-blowing features is its ability to filter different keywords, locations, and hashtags that can help you understand your customers better.
It allows you to publish content on the right channels at the right time, track the effectiveness of published content, and amplify the volume of your top-performing content. Also, you can view and manage all your social media content in a single collaborative calendar.
And guess what, Hootsuite plans usually come with a 30-day free trial, which you can turn into a paid subscription if you wish to continue further.
5. HelpJuice
Self-service options have kicked off in the last few years, which makes it vital for businesses to have a top-notch knowledge base that can help customers find answers on their own.
With HelpJuice, you get an excellent interface that is super easy to navigate and ideal for content creation. It comes with various styling options and its customization tools keep your knowledge base on-brand. With its collaborative workflow, you can have multiple authors working on one piece for enhanced efficiency.
It lets you determine the access level for different users by allowing you to manage permission levels. It has customized dashboards, which allow you to have metrics that you’re most interested in.
Its advanced analytics helps your team find out what is working for you and what areas can be improved upon. The ease of use and extraordinary design that it comes with makes it even more impressive.
HelpJuice’s subscription plans start at $120 per month and each of them has a 14-day free trial.
Bottom Line
Over the years, customer service has changed drastically. It requires providing your customers with quality service everywhere and every time. Therefore, it is wise to have an effective set of tools.
Start off with the basics; get excellent helpdesk software first and add more dedicated tools as your team grows to take your customers’ experience to the next level. Live chat, bug reporting, social media interaction, and self-service are great ways to connect with your customers.
The trick lies in keeping your customers first when incorporating new tools in your stock; this way you will always make the right choice.