5 Mistakes You Shouldn't Make When Choosing A Help Desk: A Blog About What You Need To Consider When Selecting A Help Desk
Introduction:
When you're sick, you want to be taken care of. The assistance you need is available in various places, and there's no shortage of people eager to help. However, choosing the wrong help desk can lead to a frustrating experience or, worse yet, putting your life at risk. This blog aims to cover some common mistakes that developers make when selecting a help desk for their business and how to avoid them.
A help desk is a place with systems that are set up to assist customers. A help desk is a critical component of an organization's Customer Service Strategy, particularly if you are a SaaS, software, or products organization that ships software and products. For most businesses, a help desk is an essential component of their operations and often the main point of contact between a customer and business. Companies such as Amazon, Uber, Salesforce, and Apple wouldn't be able to support the massive demand of their customers without a strong help desk that's agile, fast, and solves problems quickly.
Need for help desk:
If your business ships software and you are thinking about launching a help desk, it's a good idea to know why you need one and what exactly to look for. Supporting customers is essential to every business, especially if they have issues making a purchase or finding features they want in your product.
Why does a help desk impact your business?
A help desk is a critical component of your Customer Service Strategy. Without a strong help desk, you are risking customer loyalty, retention, engagement, and future purchases. For example, many companies use the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to measure the loyalty and satisfaction of their customers. A great help desk is a competitive advantage. Customers share experiences with their friends, colleagues, and family. They have a voice. If they have a bad experience with your help desk, they will tell others about it, and you'll lose customers.
Why are so many situations a big letdown for customers?
If you've been in business for more than a few years, you have probably experienced the frustration of worrying about a customer's experience and feeling helpless to do anything about it. A great help desk makes every customer feel like their issue was taken care of. When your customers are having issues (or are frustrated) with your product, it's not just a one-time thing; it's often-recurring problems leading to lost sales and frustrated customers.
While many people working in software want to make things for customers to use since systems are tedious and complicated. Having someone on the other end of your call that can actually take care of you makes all the difference between a good customer experience and a bad one.
5 mistakes you shouldn't make while choosing a help desk
1. Selecting a help desk that provides only one service
Every support service provider offers a wide range of services, and each one is capable of handling issues with varying degrees of complexity. Some services may require extensive training and experience, while others can be provided by entry-level staff. Yet, not all companies are equipped to handle all of these services, which is why you should only consider providers that offer the full range of support services and solutions.
2. Selecting a help desk without a proven track record
It may seem safe to go with the cheapest vendor on the market but what you're really getting could be equivalent to buying an expensive brand name item from someone on the street corner. While the latter may look identical, it will surely fall apart after just a few weeks of use. When selecting a help desk service, you should research the company and get to know how they work. This can be as simple as looking at their website and reading testimonials or as thorough as requesting unsolicited references. In addition, you should request information on client satisfaction ratings and customer retention rates. Every help desk service provider is capable of helping you with your IT support needs, but not all are worthy of your trust.
3. Not conducting a review of the terms and conditions
Every vendor has terms and conditions that they operate under. However, not all vendors operate their help desk services in the same way. Most of these conditions are easily accessible on their website. It's crucial to read them so that you're aware of what you're getting into from a legal perspective. This also gives you a chance to check what types of commitments have been made by the service provider, whether or not there are any penalties for ending your relationship with them early, and any other details you should know before making a purchase decision.
4. Choosing a help desk without a dedicated support team
Let's face it, most of us don't have the time to deal with issues on our own. We need help, and we are willing to pay for the service. That being said, you should never choose to seek out help on your own. It should be a last resort, and it's critical that you only consider a company with an actively supported team available to assist you on your first call for support. This will ensure that you receive expert advice and will also minimize the chances of making two calls with different people and getting different answers from each.
5. Not asking for an estimate
After you've made your decision, you should ask the vendor to give you a breakdown of what their service will cost. You should be able to get this from the help desk pricing page on their website. However, if they're not able to give you a price quote, it's probably a sign that their quotes are done on an individual basis, which can lead to higher costs and more frustration in the long run.
Conclusion:
Too many organizations have a weak support team and not enough of an IT department to deal with support issues. Others don't have the proper training for the help desk staff, and that leads to inconsistent experiences from one help desk employee to another. The time has come to step things up and make an investment in your customers that will extend beyond solving their IT problems.
It's critical for a SaaS, software, or products organization that ships software with a strong Help Desk. Companies such as Xero, Salesforce, Uber, Etsy, and Apple wouldn't be able to support the massive demand of their customers without the needed help desk component of their support strategy. Hiring a help desk is probably one of the most important choices you'll make as an organization. It's your first line of defence with your customers, and you should choose carefully to ensure that you're getting professional, reliable service. These five mistakes are just the tip of the iceberg, but they will definitely get you started in selecting a help desk that's right for your organization.
