Businesses have always had to adapt to the changing times.
And now, with the growing social media climate and 24/7 lifestyle, there is an even greater need to do so. Customers now want quick and effective answers to their questions, and for solutions to be implemented swiftly.
Real-time responsiveness from a software or app’s customer support and success teams has become like free Wi-Fi; your customers will expect it and will not be forgiving if they are denied it.
For businesses who want to meet these new demands, there are now a number of customer service applications that can make dealing with customers much easier. Companies that place a heavy premium on combating customer churn, simply cannot afford to not explore using them.
For example, when a customer sees that something they have bought has a problem, they will want to get it replaced or fixed as soon as possible. Statistics show that if your company leads by its customer support, it will outperform those that don’t by a massive 80%.
There are many applications on the market that can help you effectively deal with your customers, though only a few have the key functionality that you need. Here are five of the top applications that will help you streamline your day-to-day customer success efforts, and help you communicate and engage correctly with your customers.
It’s important to note that all the following platforms are available as mobile apps, as well.
1. Desk
Desk uses an agent User Interface (or UI), to connect with their customers. It enables staff to search for customers enquiries and post internal messages to other members of staff. While this application has a lot of functions, it does lack in key areas and can be difficult to learn.
It is also important to have several ways to get to your customers and offer exceptional integration. Other applications like Zendesk can offer this type of interaction in a more dynamic way.
2. Drift
Some applications are designed as more of a communication tool, such as this next app – Drift. This software allows other software, like Slack and MailChimp to work together in one place. While this can have advantages, there are also areas where it falls short of the competition.
While integration is a quality that firms want, it is also essential that there is a connection not just with the workforce, but also other clients and most important of all, customers.
3. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is an application that allows users to integrate their business social media accounts into one area. It also lets teams raise customer service tickets and deal with issues faced by their customers. While there are similarities to applications like Zendesk, there are issues that have arisen which make it a less favorable alternative. Users have reported issues with the responsiveness of the customer service team for the app, this makes it frustrating for both business and customers.
4. Olark
If the goal is to see what customers are navigating to on a commercial website, or what they put in their basket but not buy, then Olark can help. It has a lot of integration and customization options, and it can assist with a marketing focus. For example, if a certain product is being looked at by a number of customers, but rarely purchased, then the reasons why this might be happening can be examined.
While this application can produce a lot of vital data regarding customers’ shopping habits, it lacks other functionality that would make it a more comprehensive package.
5. Zendesk
Hands down- the best customer success platform available on the market. Zendesk has all the functionality and support any business needs. One of the overriding bonuses of this application is its simplicity, which makes it perfect for companies who cannot devote a lot of time or budget to training.
A huge advantage this App has its compatibility with social media. With social media customer support becoming an ever-pervasive staple of modern life (those who fly United can really relate to this…), it is of paramount importance to be responsive on Twitter and Facebook. Zendesk enables all customer-related conversations and data conducted on social to be captured in a single locations, so agents can provide personalized service experiences to customers.
Zendesk is a market leader in its field not only because of its ease of use; it offers a slew of features, such as live chat, but also because it integrates seamlessly with other applications.
These include (and are certainly not limited to) Slack, Asana, Trello and Salesforce.
Oh, and, of course, Cincopa.
Cincopa’s Integration
Having a visual aspect to customer service is especially beneficial, not only for the workforce but also for customers. That is why Zendesk’s integration with makes this a winning combination.
Cincopa is a comprehensive digital asset management platform that can embed video inside Zendesk tickets. This capability can drastically improve the efficiency and diagnosis of issues, and add another dimension to customer support. The ticket can also include Video, Audio or Image tags for reporting to make locating similar issues easy. There is also the flexibility to either add a pre-existing library, or the customer service team can generate and upload content directly from Zendesk.
RecTrace: That added punch
It cannot be underestimated what the impact of video can have on customer success and support. It has the power of extending a culture or customer experience or establish one within companies that lack one.
This is why an application such as RecTrace can perfectly complement Zendesk.
RecTrace allows anyone to record a video for a meeting, a sales pitch or just to convey information to their team. It enables the creation of videos from a webcam or an external camera so these videos can even be made on the go while on a business trip.
Customers of SaaS platforms have become accustomed to personal, account-based customer success, and RecTrace gives companies the ability to deliver this experience and more. Another benefit of RecTrace integration is the ability to directly help customers with a visual element. Recent research shows 65% of people are visual learners, so a video aspect will increase engagement dramatically.
As a customer service platform, businesses can use videos not only as an instruction guide to using their products but also as a troubleshooting tool. It also means that smaller businesses can have a customer success solution that will benefit their company.
Rounding up
These are some of the top customer service applications that a business can use to boost their productivity and reduce customer complaints. While many of these are useful and will add more efficiency, the top spot holder Zendesk has considerably more functionality and integrated video support.
With customers becoming more demanding and able to express freedom of choice, companies need a customer success platform that can deliver.
