Support OS

Table of Contents

Step 1: Understanding what your team needsStep 2: Choosing a tool for your support team

Tools THAT POWER A Customer support team

Step 1: Understanding what your team needs

Besides needing a gargantuan manual effort from your support team, the idea of meeting customer demands without the right tools and software is almost impossible today. From having customer records to communication channels - all rely on online measures (tools) that serve as the building blocks for the infrastructure you build on which the support teams eventually smoothly function. There are hundreds of things to think about; hundreds of things to consider before investing in the right tools and solutions.

Let’s look at a few factors that should be taken into account before deciding the pieces for your infrastructure.

Which platforms are your customers using?

The channels where you offer support will directly affect the quality of support offered. And this depends highly on which platforms your target audience uses. For example - if your audience is primarily younger generation people, they are more likely to prefer live chats and social media over email interactions. Considering your target audience, make an extensive list of channels and which would be best for you.

What is the scope of support for your product/service?

The type of product you’re offering will directly influence the tools and infrastructure necessary to ensure the support is in line with support.
Community Demo Days
Most events are assumptions of community builders. We try to do something different - we pick signals from the community and host a topic around them so you get the value and benefit.

Complexity

If your product is straightforward, like a basic mobile app, you might not need a complex support system. FAQs and a chatbot could suffice. For more complex software, you need to keep technical specialists and tools to support more complex customer queries.

Customization

How much a product can be customized is directly proportional to the specifics of support tools.

Usability and reach

Is your product designed for the general public or has a very niche target audience? Is your product more localized or does it have a global audience? These questions will help you decide on the type of support software to use.
Monthly Masterminds
Join a group of 4 community builders who hang out once a month to share lessons, stories, and struggles and find a space to vent out all things community.

Compatibility and integration

You also would have to keep in mind how certain tools integrate with your product or even with each other. If you’re already using a certain CRM then you can’t use a ticketing tool that can’t integrate with it. Furthermore, there should be compatibility between the tools you use and your product.

What stage is your company in?

The size and stage of your company are also directly proportional to the infrastructure and tools you use for your team. Certain factors at play here -
Product lifecycle
Budget
Volume of support queries/tickets
Scalability
A newly launched product might have a lot of bugs or user issues so a tool that facilitates quick bug reporting and resolution should be a priority. A more mature product is more complex and evolved which requires customer education, hence, a knowledge base or forums are perfect for this.
Budget is one of the most important factors for deciding infrastructure and tools. Early-stage startups that choose to bootstrap or have little funding, will have to rely on more affordable tools. Companies at a later stage and with profitable margins can make decisions based more on the type of tool needed, not affected so much by the price they pay for it.
With the increase in the volume of queries and tickets, you need to account for a system that is capable of withstanding it. Few queries can initially be handled without the need for any tools, but streamlining the support resolution and management cycle is not only detrimental to the health of your support team but also to ensure better customer experiences.
How do you envision or how is your company projected to grow over a period of time? When you decide on a tool, the scalability of it matters just as much as your plans for the future. You will have to rethink an infrastructure that has not been built for scalability.

Pro Tip

Start with a pilot program. Choose a tool that offers a free trial or a flexible contract. Use this period to gather feedback from your team and customers. This will give you valuable insights into whether the tool meets your needs or if you should continue your search.

By considering these factors carefully, you'll be better equipped to choose a tool that not only meets your current needs but also scales with your future growth.

Step 2: Choosing a tool for your support team

After the initial stage of understanding your teams, the next part is to decide on which tools to use for different kinds of support.

Alright, let's complete that list of ticketing system/help desk tools with their pricing ranges. Here's the updated table:

Ticketing Systems / Help Desks

Tool
Minimum Pricing
Maximum Pricing
Maximum Pricing
Zendesk
$19 per agent/month (Basic)
Custom (Suite Enterprise Plus)
Freshdesk
$15 per agent/month
$99 per agent/month
Zoho Desk
$14 per user/month
$28 per user/month
Intercom
$74/month
Custom
Salesforce Service Cloud
Custom Pricing
Custom Pricing
Hubspot
$50 per user/month
Custom Pricing
HappyFox
$29 per agent/month
$89 per agent/month
TeamSupport
Custom
Custom
Help Scout
$20 per user/month
$65 per user/month

Live Chat Software Pricing

Tool Name
Minimum Monthly Pricing
Maximum Monthly Pricing
Source
Intercom
$74/mo
Custom Quote
Drift
$600/mo for 10 seats
Custom Quote
Tawk.to
Free
Custom Quote
LiveChat
$16/mo per agent
$50/mo per agent
Olark
$19/mo per agent
Custom Quote
Chatra
Free
$19/mo per agent
Pure Chat
$39/mo
Custom Quote
Smartsupp
Free
$22/mo per agent
SnapEngage
$16/mo per agent
Custom Quote
Zendesk Chat
Included with Suite
Custom Quote

Knowledge Base Software Pricing Comparison

Software
Minimum Pricing
Maximum Pricing
Enterprise Plan
Confluence
Free for up to 10 users
Premium plan at $115.50 per month
Helpjuice
$120 per month
$499 per month
Zoho Desk
₹14 per user/month
₹28 per user/month
Document360
$23.00 USD/month
$219.00 USD/month
ProProfs
Free Plan
$49 per author/month
Bloomfire
Talla Plan for up to 50 Users
Custom
Guru
$10/user/month
Custom
KBPublisher
$23.00 USD/month
$4,998.00 USD
Flare by MadCap
$195 Per user / Month
$311 Per month

Community Forums Pricing Table

Tool
Minimum Pricing
Maximum Pricing
Source
Discourse
$100/month
Custom
Vanilla Forums
Custom
Custom
Forumbee
$49/month
$249/month
Invision Community
$45/month
Custom
phpBB
Free
Free
NodeBB
$250/month
Custom
Flarum
Not publicly listed
Not publicly listed
MyBB
Free
Free
WoltLab Suite
€89.99 one-time fee
€89.99 one-time fee
XenForo
$160 one-time fee
$160 one-time fee
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