Does your company need help desk software and what type should you choose?

Help desk software can take your business’ customer service to new heights

Customer service is an integral part of every business. If you want your business to thrive and perform better than your competitors, you need to provide excellent customer service. 

A development in the customer service industry that became popular in the 1980s is the use of help desk software. Any organization that wants to thrive in the era of digital business has to provide adequate support, with help desk software being the best option.

The question you need to ask yourself is if your business needs help desk software. The following are some factors to consider and decide whether your company needs help desk software: 

Customer Service Team

The vast majority of small and medium-sized businesses don’t have the capacity to have full-time customer service teams. In most cases, employees performing other functions also have to perform customer service tasks. 

If your customer service team is too small to handle the needs of your growing business or you don’t have a customer service team, you may require help desk software. The software will give you the necessary tools to provide your customers with adequate support. 

Services or Products Offered

Another issue you should consider is the maturity of the services and products your company offers. A new product or service that is quite technical will involve plenty of customer service requests. 

Moreover, it is crucial to offer customer services for recent releases to obtain customer feedback, especially with self-service help desks. You can hence use the feedback to 

improve your services and products. 

Help desk software will help you manage the feedback and distribute it to various departments of your business. 

Reputation Among Customers

One thing that customers judge companies on is the quality of customer service. It is one of the most critical factors affecting brand reputation.

Therefore, if your customer service is insufficient, you will develop a bad reputation among customers. A good help desk software will help you offer better customer service and improve your brand reputation. 

Types of Help Desk Software

Help desk software’s goal is to make everyone’s job in the organization more manageable. To enjoy the benefits of such software, you need to determine which type of help desk software is best for your business. 

Cloud vs. Self-Hosted Help Desk Software

The two most common types of help desk software are cloud-based and self-hosted help desk software. 

A cloud-based help desk is an application hosted by another company’s server (the company offering the cloud services). Your customer service team will access the application and its features by logging onto the company’s website via the desktop or the mobile app. 

A cloud-based help desk has several advantages, including that it is easy to set up and maintain; hence no technical expertise is necessary. It is easily scalable, and you can access it anywhere, provided you have an internet connection.

The disadvantages of cloud-based help desk software include monthly or annual payments for the service. If you face technical issues, you have to wait for the company to resolve them. The software also has restrictions on customization. 

On the other hand, self-hosted help desk software is proprietary software that you buy for your business. A self-hosted help desk will only need a one-time payment, with payment only necessary for updates. 

The advantages of self-hosted help desk software include that they offer better features for customization. They also provide you more control over your company data and security. 

The downside of self-hosted help desk software is that its initial investment is quite expensive. Moreover, you need qualified IT professionals to run the system. You will also incur extra costs to back up the data and fix bugs.

To conclude, there are other types of help desk software, such as open-source and enterprise help desk software. However, cloud-based and self-hosted are usually the options you will find. 

Use the points above to evaluate if you need help desk software. If you do, weigh the pros and cons to determine which kind of software you need.