Help Desk Software Roll Out Guide

Sorting Out Existing Emails

If you have many assistants or emails that forward everywhere, this is a good time to list out all those emails and which assistants are assigned to them. Once you start rolling out the help desk software, things can get quite messy so having this chart will help keep your focus.

Also, try to note what types of emails you receive on each of those accounts. This is to prevent newsletters and stuff like that ending up in your help desk.

Departments

All good help desk software can help you organize your customers service by creating departments. Think about the different departments you wish to have. Should you sort the incoming emails by product, by website or by nature of request? If you already have different assistants working on different products, then you might want to go by product. That way, there is minimal change and confusion.

If you work alone, don't skip the departments because this will make it easier when you grow to a point you're ready to outsource some of your customer service.

Support Flow

It's time to put yourself in the customer's shoes. When they enter your help desk, what is the first thing they should do to get help? Should they be directed to view a list of frequently asked questions before they can submit a ticket? We all want to be available to our customers but at the same time, a help desk software properly implemented should reduce the number of help requests. However, that may not happen if you give the customer the option to submit a ticket too early in the process.

At the same time, you don't want to bury the ticket submission form too deep that you frustrate the customer. It depends how familiar your market is with self service but generally, they should be given the option to submit a ticket after one or two clicks deep.

If you set up a frequently asked questions section or a troubleshooter, how easy would it be for them to find answers to your questions? Categorizing questions can be a good thing and actually help people find their answers but too many categories can also be frustrating for the customer.

Phasing Out

What would you do with the existing email addresses? Many help desk software can pick up a ticket by email. You might want to simply forward the old emails to the help desk or if you're getting too many frequently asked questions and spam, you could bounce the old emails and direct people to your support center.

Now you got all this information, you'll want to look at what help desk software is right for you. Like most software today, there are hosted ones where you pay a monthly fee and scripts you can install on your own web host. Here are a handful web based help desk software to get you started.

Kayako – Popular and highly recommended help desk software. Many users say the interface on both customer and administration side is simple. They have both licensed script or paid monthly versions.

Cerberus – Users report good experience with support, a capable and dependable system. They too carry both licensed script and paid monthly versions.

PerlDesk – One of the oldest help desk software around. Is quite popular, simple and easy. Licensed script and paid monthly version available.

HostedSupport.com – This is a fully hosted help desk software but what is most interesting about it is eBay integration. It works with eBay's 'Ask Seller A Question' feature which can help reduce buyer confusion e.g where to submit a question.

Keep in mind, there is no 'best help desk software'. Every help desk software will have something you just don't like about it. The key is to find one that has the least number of things you are unhappy with. If you've gone through all the suggestions mentioned here, you should find it easier to find the one that's right for your organization.