Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

Though contact centers sport a cheerful vibe, agent turnover is reported to be the number one challenge in contact centers1 across industries. Drilling down on this problem reveals that agents face a number of pain points while working at contact centers that are causing them to leave. Why should this worry you?

Customer support isn’t what it once used to be. Today, customers would rather troubleshoot their problems by reading solution articles, than by writing an elaborate email about it, or waiting to speak to a support agent over the phone. With the increased dependence on self-service over traditional channels of communication, it has become necessary for companies to implement a customer portal where they can collate all the information the end-user requires.

In the world of customer service, there’s nothing more stressful than a rising ticket backlog and overworked, stressed out agents. If your agents are inundated with emails, calls, and inquiries––something needs to change. If your agents are constantly switching between channels and unable to communicate and collaborate in real time, there are serious consequences—think low CSAT, low ASAT, and a general lack of support efficiency.

No matter how skilled and experienced your customer support team, none of your agents can resolve every customer issue by themselves. For some tickets, they might need assistance from a developer. For others, they might need information from your warehouse or suppliers. And in some cases, they might just want to speed up the process by asking another agent who’s handled a similar issue for advice.

When today’s consumers run into issues or have questions, they expect solutions fast. Though tools like live chat have drastically decreased the time it takes to find a resolution, most channels still require you to wait for a support agent. But online self-service portals have changed that.

As we add more technology to our lives to meet our business needs, the customer support software system has become increasingly essential. It’s now much more than just a ticketing system! It’s evolved into a vital supply of customer data and information. As you evaluate your own customer-centric systems and processes, here are 11 must have features to look for in a customer support software system…

Good customer support is all about being able to deal with requests quickly. On social media, for example, customers expect responses to their support questions within 24 hours. Every retail support team out there eventually hits a point where the volume of support tickets it receives becomes too much. If your team hasn’t yet, it will in the future. And when that happens, you might not be able to respond as quickly as your customers expect you to.