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An Overview of Customer Services Software
According to the National Association of Sales Professionals, where sales occur in the sales cycle is as follows:
2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact
10% of sales are made on the 4th contact
80% of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact.
These figures are just on SALES. However, many people forget that part of sales is repeat business. Much of a company’s sales occur with testimonials from others who have used a product or service and---much of those figures have to do with great customer service.
There is no doubt about it: fantastic customer service not only helps to spread the word about a product or service, it helps to build company credibility and trust.
Because companies are in competition with their products and services on a daily basis, customer service software assists in making sure that customer service requests and support are addressed efficiently.
Exceptional customer service entails that your personnel is knowledgeable, courteous and, as a side plus, increase your business’ reputation.
Because people cannot always man incoming customer service lines, it is wise to incorporate some sort of “help center”; although, statistics show that if there is a “live” customer service representative on the other end of the line, repeat business increases.
This article will provide you with an overview of some customer service software that you could consider incorporating into your business plan and website. Time is money, and the software reviewed below are suggested for enhanced productivity in addressing customer service needs.
Customer Service Software: Things to Consider for your Business:
Is your business web-based? You should provide a FAQ page as well as a web-based form for customers to fill out if they have questions or problems.
Do you deal directly with customers using the telephone, i.e. a call center? There is customer-service software to assist in routing calls to the right department.
Considering that most businesses today have websites, a live chat feature allows your customers to connect directly to a customer service representative. If your company does not have this feature, it would be in your best interest to consider “live chat” customer service software.
Customer Service Software: Are you as well-equipped as you could Be?
Call centers have become almost a mainstay of any business, no matter what type of business a call center could apply to. Every company should have a good customer service program.
The biggest challenge to every company is how to address good customer service and support calls. Statistics say people hate menus. Additionally, people do not like to have to enter every single number, including sometimes, a social security number.
People, when confronting problems, want answers to questions and problems; and those answers fast.
While many people may consider 24-hour manning of a customer service phone line or department for Live Chat as costly, consider the savings compared to returns of products and cancellations of services. Incorporating customer service software into your business can only enhance productivity and response time to customer service issues, including billing, payments, technical support, and sales.
Online Customer Service Software worth Considering:
Live Person software is incorporated into your business website. This allows for “live chat” in the correct department that is gauged by the page a customer landed on or is a stand-alone feature where the consumer enters what department is needed. This software is applicable to any business, small or large, and is affordable and easy to use.
According to its website, “proactive chat and engagement solutions for high-traffic websites that improve conversion rates and deliver proven ROL”
Parature concentrates its efforts on customer service, on-demand software. Its main feature is to integrate customer service issues with its knowledge base and “trouble ticketing” interface. It is very intuitive as to what a client’s question is and automatically steers the customer to the right department. Parature is very easy to incorporate into a website.
 CosmoCom is a feature-rich business to customer service software that incorporates a ‘business center’ for sales agents, support, and billing. CosmoCom states that its savings to business is quite competitive and that it lowers costs by its lower maintenance and outsourcing control. It also helps to maintain sales agent proficiency.
SightMax Live Chat and Monitoring can increase sales on your website. This is ‘real time’ customer service software that monitors inquiries and allows for instant communication for customer-service related inquiries.
Very easy to incorporate on a website. This software leans very much to the salesperson in charge of the initial sale of a product or service so it’s personalized.
Kana is an eService, Service Experience, and Knowledge manager-based software. Kana “gives you complete control of the customer service experience” with real-time interfaces that help to control where customer service inquiries go and helps to maintain connections with all customer-service and sales-related data.
Questions to Consider when Incorporating Customer Service Software:
Do you need each sales agent to have the ability to interface with his or her customers? Do you have a solid customer service program in place?
Do you believe that sales would increase and sales retention would be higher with a “live chat” interface on your business’ website?
If your main customer service and support is by telephone, would it be more efficient to use software that directs calls to the right departments versus having a mile-long menu?
Do you see from your financial records that customer service software would improve efficiency with billing and technical support?
Can your business gain profits by having fewer telephone inquiries and departments versus incorporating a “knowledge-base center” and “support ticket center?”
Helpful Resources:
Workz on Customer Service Software:
Choosing CRM software for Social Networking:
Suite 101.com:
Top Things to Consider when Choosing an Ecommerce Provider:
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