If you’re looking for a platform to streamline and automate your customer support operations, you've come to the right place.
*Updated 7/25/2024
With so many different platforms available, choosing the best-automated help desk and ticketing software for your company can be difficult.
We understand how time-consuming it can be to go through various feature lists and thoroughly compare different platforms. That’s why we've compiled a list of the best helpdesk systems that can be used to easily automate the majority of your support processes.
This guide will cover:
First, let’s go through some benefits and the key reasons for equipping your customer support team with an automated helpdesk system.
This one's a no-brainer.
Automated workflows typically cost a fraction of a live agent to engage with customers. Let's face it: new employees are difficult to find, expensive to hire, and time-consuming to train.
So, set up a helpdesk automation system that improves your workflow and frees up time for more complex, individual customer interactions.
Automation can help efficiently manage incoming calls and requests.
Save time and effort by sorting and routing customer requests to the appropriate teams. Consider the benefits of being able to resolve issues the first time, rather than bouncing customers around to different people.
60% of customers stopped doing business with a company after experiencing long wait times on the phone (source: Helplama).
So, a service desk automation system can provide your support team with quick, detailed information on purchase and/or communication history.
Without automated tools, manually personalizing customer service requests across different touchpoints sounds simply painful.
An automated service desk can automatically collect incoming inquiries from various sources/ touchpoints and conveniently lay them all out for streamlined support.
Choosing the right setup and tools is the most important part of automating a help desk.
Some top IT service management tools have features like analytics, collaboration, and ticket routing. They increase customer help and team productivity. They also increase accuracy and efficiency in the delivery of services as a whole.
Your agents can only work so many hours per day. If your team is unavailable, an automated system can take over and provide links to resources to answer questions.
The goal is to reduce the number of customer requests that your agents have to deal with by providing instant responses around the clock.
Helplama's Helpdesk is the tool for you if you're looking for an all-in-one platform for improving customer service and quickly resolving issues.
The helpdesk provides a unified platform for communicating with customers via their preferred channels, such as email, chat, social media, and so on. Let’s take a look at some of the top features listed down below.
Link to Helplama Helpdesk: https://helpdesk.helplama.com/home/
You've probably heard of Salesforce Cloud before, as it is one of the most popular and highly rated customer service software/CRM solutions globally.
Salesforce Cloud can serve as a hub for all of your customer service operations.You should definitely look into it because it is highly customizable and allows for the simple addition of custom automated workflows.
Salesforce consulting services can enhance your company's customer support capabilities by helping you integrate and optimize your help desk software with Salesforce.
Salesforce can be extremely complicated at times, and setting up the platform can be challenging.
Link to Salesforce Service Cloud: https://www.salesforce.com/in/products/service-cloud/overview/
It’ll be tough to find a helpdesk list out there without Zendesk mentioned on it. It is one of the most well-known and comprehensive help desk platforms on the market today.
The automation features are simple and straightforward, allowing your help desk team to get up and running quickly. It also works with a variety of third-party apps such as Zendesk sentiment analysis integration.
There aren't enough tips or guidance readily available and specific for different automation triggers.
Link to Zendesk: https://www.zendesk.com/
Hiver helps agents deliver outstanding customer service right from Gmail. Since it works intuitively within the Gmail interface, there's no need to switch tabs or tools.
Teams can, therefore, deliver timely support without breaking a sweat. With Hiver, you can drastically improve team efficiency by automating several tasks and workflows.
Top Features:
Rule-based automation - Hiver’s rule-based automation allows you to automatically assign emails to teammates based on predefined conditions.
For example, emails containing the word ‘Payment’ in the subject line / email body will be assigned to finance team members.
Round robin assignment - Automatically assign emails to your customer service team in a round-robin manner for better workload distribution.
Harvey - Hiver’s AI bot, Harvey, can accurately identify the context of customer conversations and offer intelligent suggestions to support agents, enabling them to work faster and delight customers.
Limitations:
Only compatible with businesses that use Google Workspace.
Pricing:
Link to Hiver: https://hiverhq.com
Freshdesk, a highly adaptable platform for handling client support requests, is next on the list.
If you are looking for an affordable cloud-based services solution with various automation features to deliver excellent customer support, Freshdesk is a good way to go.
Of course, Freshdesk's free plan includes a wide range of features; however, if you want to scale up, the costs can quickly add up.
Link to Freshdesk: https://freshdesk.com/
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based help desk support software that provides your service agents with the automation tools they need to quickly answer your customers' questions.
The best part is that you can improve agent productivity at scale, freeing up your team's time to focus on issues that truly require their attention.
Zoho desk does not come with enough training material. Although the platform is user-friendly, there are insufficient resources for new users.
Link to ZohoDesk: https://www.zoho.com/desk/
ProProfs Desk is a help desk software that brings powerful automation features to the table to help you save time and enhance agent productivity.
You can deploy intuitive chatbots on your website to engage customers 24x7, even when your team isn’t available. Moreover, automated notifications ensure all your customers and agents are on the same page.
Why Proprofs Desk?
Shared Inbox: Manage multiple team inboxes, such as support@, info@, returns@, etc., in one place.
Chatbots: Leverage ready-to-use chatbot templates to create your own in minutes. Deploy bots for lead generation, online appointment bookings, and customer service.
Internal Collaboration: Allow agents to join hands to resolve tickets faster. Collaborate using internal notes and see who is working on what to avoid task collisions.
Knowledge Base: Create an online knowledge base that holds key answers in the form of FAQs, video tutorials, help articles, and more.
CSAT Surveys: Share automated CSAT or NPS surveys with end-users to capture their valuable feedback.
Mobile App: Track help desk tickets and offer reliable support on the move with a dedicated mobile app.
Pricing
Essentials - $10 per month: Offer delightful support with shared inboxes and basic help desk features.
Premium - $15 per month: A complete help desk solution with unlimited inboxes and advanced features like ticket routing, child tickets, API, white label & more.
Customerly's AI-powered Help Center Software is a self-service solution designed to streamline support, reduce costs, and delight customers globally.
While Customerly offers many features, it might not be the best fit for businesses looking for simple, no-frills help desk software. The AI-powered features and analytics tools may be overwhelming for small businesses or solopreneurs who need a more straightforward solution.
Customerly offers a variety of pricing plans to fit different business needs:
Each plan comes with a 14-day free trial of pro features. Link to Customerly Help Center: https://www.customerly.io/help-center/
It's important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all formula here; since each business has its own customer service requirements.
That’s why we've provided a general overview of these automation desks, including their usage, pricing, features, and limitations.
Choosing the right automation software for your customer support needs and learning how to integrate it into your team's strategy can make all the difference in your organization’s success.
Nicole is a content specialist at Helplama.com. Helplama procures trained experts to spearhead your store’s online live chat support as well as email and voice support, to provide your customers an enhanced customer experience and best possible assistance.