20 Best Customer Service Apps to Power up Your Business

In today’s dynamic & increasingly competitive business environment, where the customers are highly demanding, communicate through various modes & expect one-to-one contact for real-time solutions, Companies can no longer afford to neglect this aspect. It’s time for companies to strive for Great & not just good customer service. Below facts & figures show the impact of bad customer service:-    

• According to “American Express 2017 Customer Service Barometer”, 33% of Americans say they’ll consider switching companies after just a single instance of poor service.
• According to “Bain & Company”, Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits anywhere from 25% to 95%.

 20 Best Customer Service Apps to Power up Your Business are as follows :-

 #1. Zendesk

Ideal for support teams that work from remote locations or those who are always on the move. It is very simple & can easily adjust to business needs. It is highly flexible, which allows users to set it up in a few minutes & immediately run it after it is fully installed. Inward customer request from any mode – email, web, social, chat, can be easily dealt with.

#2. Freshdesk

The current segment leader & highly awarded product by Freshworks. It’s highly intuitive interface enables the company to combine all the channels by which a customer service request can come. This app lets the user to record phone calls, respond to Facebook messages, notifies mobile app users when the company responds and do live chat. The company can reply to customers in their preferred mode of communication.

#3. Help Scout

This application takes a “no-nonsense” approach for customer service which results in quick resolutions. This app is free from the usual helpdesk obstructions as in the case of other apps. It provides the user with multiple mailboxes to keep customer conversations of the different teams, brands organized & nothing is missed out. It gives a personal touch to every conversation.

#4. Slack

It is developed for communication that happens through channels between different teams. Channels are created for different teams, brands, projects or clients. Team members collaborate with others on these channels where they can discuss, share & take decisions. Contents on the channels can be shared beyond the team, with vendors, partners, etc. It enables face to face, face to screen interaction & drag, drop & sharing of files as well.  Most apps can be linked to the Slack. This saves the time that is wasted in switching the tabs & entering the login details again.

#5. Salesforce

It has low set-up costs, requires no specific hardware or software. Even a small business can benefit from its capabilities. It integrates CRM & customer service on one platform. No need to have separate tools for these two functions. The integration of these two functions results in faster sales & prompt after-sales service. 

#6. Front

It consolidates different inboxes (support@, contact@, warranty@) of the company into a Team Inbox. Users can assign an owner for a specific conversation to avoid confusion. Visibility is shared. Who is working on or responding to what is visible to everyone. This prevents duplicate replies. Users can discuss internally through comments. No need to forward & then reply to all. Drafts can be shared with the team so that appropriate responses can be framed. Email routing can be done so that email reaches the right person. No time wastage. Events, meetings can be scheduled with an integrated calendar.

#7. Zoho Desk

It seamlessly integrates with other Zoho tools & applications so that the user can set up a full customer support center. Users can choose to respond to in various channels, per their needs & customer preferences. Companies can opt to resolve the request by email or fully operational ticketing system or use a forum to bring team members together or live chat or phone support or call center facility.

#8. MailChimp 

It is an all-inclusive platform to store, organize, and analyze data about your target customers. It offers ready to use, pre-built templates for making effective content & campaigns. 

#9. Desk

Pocket friendly price tag & suitable for small & medium businesses. Its next-generation user interface will enable its users to take quick & smart decisions. Users to respond to the request, search previous requests with a single click. Also, one can post internal comments, add replies, set the status of the cases.   

#10. GrooveHQ

It strives to be the one-stop solution for all customer service needs. It integrates with a simple email inbox to transform it into a fully functional customer support center.

#11. Zapier

It is an automation tool that automates the process of doing various repetitive tasks, once the trigger event happens. For example: if there is incoming customer service request from social media, then it will automatically raise a service ticket, route the request to the right person, update the customer service log, keep a check on its timely resolution. 

#12. HubSpot

As the name suggests it is a place where various customer-related functions or hubs (a group of some functions) come together. It consolidates Marketing hub, Sales hub & after-sales customer service hub. It is bundled with a free CRM module.

#13. Mailjet 

It is a powerful email monitoring & tracking tool. Ideal for email that is sent in bulk like marketing & transactional emails. Highly accepted & trusted application. It has inbuilt tools that can be scaled to send up to 15M per hour. Its drag & drop tool helps in building an effective email in minutes. 

#14. Aircall

Quick set up, no specific hardware, software needed, compatible with other tools, these features make Aircall special in its segment. It provides call center features such as Real-time problem solving, call routing based on skill, option to pause & resume, call recording, etc.

#15. LiveAgent

This application is equipped with the multiple channels to service a customer request. Through this software, users can raise a ticket or respond by email, live chat and call center.

#16. Issuetrak

It is an automated issue tracking application that can manage the various task, generate reports, sends notifications, etc. Issuetrak enhances customer experience by enabling users to track the issue & timely resolve it by automating the workflow.

#17. SupportBee

This application has a very simple, email-like interface which makes it easy for first-time users to understand & operate. It offers a shared inbox, knowledge portal where customers can help themselves & the customer portal where the status of the pending request can be checked.

#18. Intercom

This application work on the concept of acquires, engage & support customers. Acquire lets the user chat with the visitors on the website. Engage helps to send emails to the right customer. Support provides helpdesk support & knowledge base to resolve customer requests quickly.

#19. Jira Service Desk

It is an economical & best premium substitute for the highly-priced software. It offers a self-service portal. Customers can raise a ticket & submit a request. Also, they check the status of their request.  

#20. Moobidesk

This application offers the widest options of customer support channels to select from. Companies can service the customer efficiently in the customer’s preferred communication channel.

Conclusion

With the application of any or combination of the above applications, companies can create a customer support system that is lag-free, future-ready, quick to respond, keeps a complete track of the pending requests & ensures timely resolution. These applications are a key to happy customer experiences & a happy customer is a key to the company’s success.

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