A desk. A chair. A telephone and computer. That's all that's needed to create a workable help desk, right? Wrong! No matter the type of service a company offers, the help desk should also be staffed by knowledgeable people who have state-of-the-art software tools at their fingertips. When it comes to picking out help desk software, customer service and speed should be top priorities. When these two things are considered, callers will hang up happy.
Help desks might not always handle the same kinds of calls, but they all are held accountable for good customer service - even when those customers are in-house employees. Whether your help desk is meant to cater to employees' technical questions or customers asking about their latest purchases, there is a formula for setting up a solid help desk. What's needed includes:
* Functional and practical call in system. Let's face it; no one wants to sit on hold. No matter whether your call desk deals with employees only or it's meant to help clients at large, a good phone system is required to expedite calls and ensure speedy service. If call volume is high, try to include a messaging feature or at the very least an option for callers to go to a Frequently Asked Questions recording that might help them solve their own problems.
* Knowledgeable employees. This means the folks who man the help desk should know what they're dealing with inside out and backwards. There are few things more frustrating for a caller than to sit on hold for an hour only to find out the person on the other end of the line knows less about the situation than the caller did in the first place. A smart company staffs its help desk with the best. The per employee fee could be a little higher, but the end result of good customer service will be worth it.
* Useable software. Any programs designed to assist help desk employees hunt down troubleshooting tips and advice for dealing with technical issues should be simple and easy to use. There should not be 10 screens to fill out before a customer's question is answered. Make sure the software included for the help desk is user friendly and is able to update as products and services change.
* Customer service-oriented attitude. The entire point of a help desk is to assist employees or clients with issues relating to a product, service or in-house technical issue. If the folks behind the help desk aren't friendly, your company will be labeled as such. Or, if they're difficult to deal with, employees may choose to limp along with a partially functional workstation rather than calling in for help. * Consider the returns. When a help desk works as it should, the financial returns might not be readily noticeable, but when it doesn't, the results can be painfully obvious. When setting up help desk software and other amenities, remember the better the desk operates, the more likely your customers are to return for future products or services.
When it comes to creating a solid help desk for just about any type of service or product, the keys are customer service, knowledge and a good software set up to ensure expedient service. When the help desk runs smoothly, customers are kept happy. When it doesn't, an entire business can pay.
"The ability to deliver exceptional customer service is the key differentiator between small- and medium-sized enterprises and large companies," says Michael Emaus, CEO of eEnterprise (www.eEnterprise.com), a division of NetSuite global reseller Skyytek Worldwide. "Yet as those businesses grow, they often find it difficult to maintain the internal communication necessary to successfully serve their customer bases. When the capability for effective customer service management erodes, so does the profitability of the enterprise."
According to Emaus, growing companies can maintain their customer service advantage by implementing an integrated solution like NetSuite, the world's leading on-demand, Web-based business management software. "NetSuite integrates back-office operations with front-office activities, while providing employees with varying levels of access necessary for their job functions," he says. "The information is made available on customer 'dashboards' that can reveal customizable information, such as key performance indicators and report snapshots, which allow managers to gauge the health of any given customer relationship."
Best of all, NetSuite can track all points of contact between a company's sales force and its customers. "This snapshot enables anyone to quickly review the events, tasks, and calls that have taken place and that are scheduled to close a deal," says Emaus. "And, when a sale requires a team effort, the activities of each team member are available to more efficiently and effectively make the sale."
Further, because NetSuite integrates customer transactions native to a company's CRM product, customer service representatives are aided by historic transaction and upsell opportunities. "This functionality encourages the opportunity to support and grow sales through enhanced customer service capabilities," notes Emaus.
While it's inevitable that customer complaints will arise, with an integrated CRM system, those complaints won't fall through the cracks. "NetSuite has a closed-loop process that ensures that problems will be effectively tracked and resolved," says Emaus. "This is light years ahead of manual tracking, and moreover, NetSuite even allows customers to follow the resolution process through a self-service portal."
For many companies, customer service begins with the prospecting phase of sales. NetSuite recognizes this, and has integrated several functions to more quickly turn website visitors into customers. By giving businesses the capability to customize their website's search function and to receive reports on frequent searches and results returned, company owners can keep their fingers on the pulse of their customers and potential customers.
Moreover, with companies increasingly relying on paid search keyword campaigns to market their products and services, it's important for businesses to know which keyword campaigns are generating both leads and revenue. "NetSuite recognizes that more traffic doesn't necessarily mean more sales, and that tracking the effectiveness of keyword campaigns is crucial to the bottom line," says Emaus.
Emaus concludes, "Regardless of the size of an enterprise, fully integrated customer service management is critical to both growth and profitability. NetSuite ensures that CRM is both streamlined and effective."
Both Ray La Foy & Itmgeditor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.