Best Industry-Specific Help Desk Software in 2024

Providing reliable online customer service is important no matter which industry your company is operating in. You can create repeat business if you keep your customers satisfied and happy. To provide quality customer service, you need to invest in a top-rate industry-specific help desk tool. Before you start evaluating the various help desk programs available, you need to be clear about your needs and the tasks you wish to achieve with the software. You should look to customize the software to your needs, rather than transforming your processes to fit the solution. This buyer’s guide helps you out by providing a list of factors to consider as you start looking for the best among industry-specific help desk tools for enterprises and SMBs.

A great way to start your search for the perfect software is to register for the free trials or demo offered by popular industry-specific help desk software providers. We recommend you sign up for the following applications which have received high SmartScore rankings and user satisfaction rating in our reviews of industry-specific help desk tools, do a comparison,  and choose the best Industry-specific Help Desk software for your company: Freshdesk reviews, Samanage, Freshservice, and ManageEngine ServiceDesk.

• Small businesses and startups can use industry-specific help desk software tools to boost their customer support.
• Medium-sized and large companies can use the solution to keep their customers happy.
• Call centers and BPOs can also utilize the software for their customer services operations.

• Freshdesk: Freshdesk is a leading cloud-hosted help desk application for small business and big companies that offers useful features and excellent customer service.
• Samanage: Samanage is a popular IT service desk and asset management solution.
• Freshservice: Freshservice is a cloud-based customer support app that helps organizations of all sizes to offer high quality customer service.
• ManageEngine ServiceDesk: It is a highly rated help desk software and asset management tool.
• KronoDesk: KronoDesk offers a combined customer service system that includes help desk ticketing, a knowledge base, and customer support forums.

• Web help desk software – This is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) or cloud-based system that is hosted on the vendor’s server.
• On-premise help desk software – This is a licensed proprietary solution that companies can purchase and install on their own server for operation.
• Enterprise help desk software – These are sophisticated solutions with advanced features such as survey management, service request fulfillment, account management, and IT asset management.
• Open-source help desk software – This type gives developers access to its source code. It can therefore be modified and enhanced as per users’ needs.

• Multiple contact channels: Phone, live chat, email, social media, and community forums give customers flexible options to contact a company’s support agents.
• Ticketing system: This core feature allows support agents to manage, track, and respond to user queries.
• Escalation levels: Advanced help desk systems allow agents to escalate issues to a manager for better resolution.
• Automation: This feature enables the automation of administrative tasks and repetitive queries, which helps to save time.
• Dashboard: A dashboard gives agents a view of important data after they log in.
• Knowledge base: This feature allows agents to aggregate and organize customer queries to create guide articles and FAQs which customers can use for self-help.
• Analytics: You can get valuable market feedback from customer queries and use the insight to make smart business decisions.

Improved issue tracking and organization 

The software offers a single system for agents to track and resolve queries and ensure every support request gets a response. They can improve efficiency and productivity with workflow rules for standardized business processes.

Reduced service expenses

Automation helps agents to resolve issues more quickly and respond to more queries every day. This results in improved productivity which can reduce the number of support agents and minimize costs.

Improved customer satisfaction

A good help desk system can aid your agents to resolve customer issues speedily and efficiently which can boost customer satisfaction.

Better knowledge sharing

Successful resolutions can be documented and made searchable, so that agents can reuse past resolutions for recurring issues. Some systems even enter the solutions into a knowledge base which customers can use for self-help.

Be Clear About Your Budget

Many companies balk against investing in a help desk solution because of the expenses involved. However, cloud-based systems are affordable even if you have a tight budget. Do your homework and select a solution that is sustainable and allows you to scale up if required. The most expensive software may not be the best fit your company. In fact, startups and small businesses can even consider using a free open source software to kick things off.

Be Sure About Your Requirements

Analyze your customer support process and identify areas that could be automated to boost agent productivity and reduce redundancies. Re-visit the customer support channels you use such as toll-free hotline, live chat, email, etc. and think about adding some more to enable easier access. Do your own research to find out about the features that could be useful for your company. Read online reviews and visit application marketplaces to get started.

Evaluating a System

Many vendors advertise about offering strong ticket management features. However, don’t take their word and do your own analysis of the software. Select a system whose features match your requirements. If you cannot accomplish a simple task like tracking agent productivity, the solution may not be useful to you. If you are a trans-national company that has international customers, select a web-based solution that offers multilingual ticket submission capability. Plus, you should be able to brand the software with your company logo and colors to make the app yours.

Vendor Credibility

Considering brand reputation is important in the selection process. It is hard for a vendor to create a good brand around their product. Find out details such as the longevity of the company, their solution’s uptime, and whether you need to sign a contract for the subscription plan. Some companies even offer refunds if you are not happy with their solution. So, go about the selection process in a steady and systematic manner to select the right help desk system.

Data Security

If you include sensitive information such as names, passwords, addresses etc. in the ticketing system, make sure the data is safe from hackers. Select a vendor that complies with the data security regulations of the nation your company is based in. If you use email for customer support, encrypt the data using technologies like SSL. Data security is an important aspect to ensure all customer information is stored safely and securely.

Now You Are Ready

After considering all the above factors and features, you are now ready to invest in a suitable industry-specific help desk software. Silicon Valley startups and NGOs can ask for discounts from the vendor. If you are convinced about the software’s quality and wish to give it a long run, you can sign up for yearly subscription to get discounts. Talk with the sales personnel of the vendor to get more information and the best possible quotes.

When evaluating help desk software, consider these four factors for comparison to select the best available solution:

• Ease of use: It’s no use if the software is packed with innovative features, but is not easy to use. Your employees should get the hang of using it easily to put it to effective use.
• Customer and technical support: The vendor should offer reliable support to answer all your questions and resolve any issues promptly and satisfactorily. Go for a vendor that offers support via multiple convenient channels round the clock.
• Reliability of software: The solution should provide a high uptime percentage and not crash at all. It should provide correct data and information that you can rely on.
• Value for money: The help desk software should make you feel the subscription cost is worth it. Find a system that you can customize for your company’s specific needs and size.

Customer service is a dynamic industry and innovations continue to enhance its general infrastructure. With more and more businesses going global, help desk software systems have been revolutionizing their way of enhancing customer support with the following:

Artificial intelligence: AI technology is everywhere and help desk is just one of the industries that can reap a lot of benefits of AI-powered automation.

Self-service portals: More and more customers prefer looking for answers by themselves instead of seeking customer support agent’s assistance.

 

Help desk software does not always deliver seamless and perfect solutions. Below are some of the issues encountered when using a help desk application:

User adaptability: This issue can arise in times of rapid turnovers, especially when the new help desk administrator is still learning the ropes.

No dedicated help desk staff: Operating help desk systems fall under the responsibility of IT teams, and the lack of a dedicated help desk team is also a common scenario among businesses. This, however, can result in a lack of proper standard procedures and disorganized documentation.

You need to consider a lot of factors as you sit down to evaluate the quality of your shortlisted help desk apps. It can be a tricky process to select the right system from among the many available ones. Follow the guidelines provided in this article to make informed comparisons of the various solutions and zero in on the one that offers the essential features you need to run a reliable customer service operation.

Additionally, keep in mind that help desk software solutions have their own strengths and weaknesses. How a help desk system will work for your business, however, is anchored on whether it is the right one for you. You can determine this by defining the type of customer support your customers want.