{"id":11091,"date":"2017-01-17T01:19:54","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T01:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/promotelabs.com\/blog\/?p=11091"},"modified":"2017-04-11T00:12:21","modified_gmt":"2017-04-11T04:12:21","slug":"helpscout-help-desk-software-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promotelabs.com\/blog\/helpscout-help-desk-software-review\/","title":{"rendered":"HelpScout | Help Desk Software Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

The HelpScout help desk launched in 2011, and today it powers more than 5000 support teams in 70 countries. Will it suit the needs of your business too? <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Check out their features to learn more\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"HelpScout<\/a><\/p>\n

CREATE TICKETS
\n(COMMUNICATION CHANNELS)<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Via email<\/strong>: Yes<\/p>\n

Via web interface<\/strong>: No<\/p>\n

Via social channels<\/strong>: No<\/p>\n

Via phone<\/strong>: Yes. This is available through third-party integration, and there is an extra cost associated with this feature.<\/p>\n

Via chat<\/strong>: Yes. This is available through third-party integration, and there is an extra cost associated with this feature.<\/p>\n

CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE\/COMMUNITY<\/strong><\/h5>\n

FAQ<\/strong>: Yes<\/p>\n

Multi brand helpdesk support (FAQ\/Knowledgebase separate for each product<\/strong>): Yes. You can offer up to three brands with the basic plans. If you need more, you can select a higher-tier plan and get more brands at an extra cost.<\/p>\n

Widget embedding for FAQ, Ticket, Chat<\/strong>: Yes. HelpScout offers a very powerful yet beautiful beacon-style widget.<\/p>\n

What sets HelpScout apart is that you can set up this beacon with automated suggestion rules. This means that when your web visitor is looking for something, your beacon will offer related articles and other content. In turn, this cuts down on customer service tickets, as your visitors will find the answers to this question through the beacon widget. It\u2019s a great way to provide a user-friendly experience while also cutting down on support requests.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what the beacon looks like:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Data filter\/ Customer point on point tracking<\/strong><\/p>\n

External support: presales questions -potential buyers<\/strong>:\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Internal support <\/strong>(Ability to pass user data from inside app along with ticket to track which products customer has purchased or used to provide timely and correct support and advanced sales funnel):\u00a0 Yes, though this function is limited.<\/p>\n

PLATFORM<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Web<\/strong>: Yes, but this platform is for support staff only.<\/p>\n

Mobile app<\/strong>: Yes, but currently only available on IOS platforms.<\/p>\n

Voice (call center)<\/strong>: Yes, this feature is available at an extra cost through third-party integration.<\/p>\n

STAFF<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Multiple agents<\/strong>: Yes. There is a cost per agent.<\/p>\n

Agent performance tracking<\/strong>: Yes<\/p>\n

Private notes\/ chat between agents<\/strong>: Yes<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Agent rating\/ Customer satisfaction survey<\/strong>: Yes<\/p>\n

HELP DESK REPORTING AND ANALYTICS<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Tag, tracking<\/strong>: Yes, and these features are very good and powerful. For example, you can use tagging to categorize conversations or to trigger automations. Which brings us to the next point\u2026<\/p>\n

Automation rules<\/strong>: Yes, and these automations are time-saving, powerful and create a great customer service experience.<\/p>\n

You can set up simple \u201cif\/then\u201d workflow rules to trigger automations. For example, if a ticket is for a certain category or includes something specific within the subject line or body, you can assign this ticket to a particular agent.<\/p>\n

Another example: if a ticket includes a tag related to an outage, then you can send an automated or bulk response to that ticket. This saves a lot of time when you get a flood of requests due to something like a web outage or special sale.<\/p>\n

Reporting<\/strong>: Yes. HelpScout gives you the most important data at a glance, including busiest time of the day, most-used tags, which workflow rules are being triggered, most active customers, and more. Together, this information can help you make better staffing decisions and create automation rules to boost efficiency.<\/p>\n

\"HelpScout<\/p>\n

OTHER FEATURES, USABILITY, PRICE<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Remote control<\/strong>: No, remote access is not available.<\/p>\n

Integrations<\/strong>: Yes, HelpScout integrates with over 40 products, services and apps, including Slack, InfusionSoft, MailChimp, Magento, Zapier, KISSMetrics and many more.<\/p>\n

\"help<\/a><\/p>\n

Ease of use<\/strong>:\u00a0 HelpScout is fairly easy to use. However, set up does require some knowledge of HTML and Javascript, especially if you want to install and customize features such as the beacon widget.<\/p>\n

Price<\/strong>: Prices range from $0 to $40 per user per month, depending on what you need. Take a look at the features you get with each plan:<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Who can use it<\/strong>: HelpScout is tailored for small to medium sized businesses that focus on email support.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we like about HelpScout:<\/p>\n

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