Free customer service software is a crucial component in the software library of any company that wishes to achieve the ultimate positive user experience with their services and products. Choosing the proper customer service support software is all about knowing what your customers’ needs will be, what problems you may encounter, and the type of demographic you are catering to in the first place. Just as with designing the user experience itself to meet the mindset and needs of your customers, so must your chosen customer service support software reflect this demographic mind as well.
But, that doesn’t really tell you anything useful, does it? There’s no point in going on and on about something that everybody already knows, so let’s talk about something with a little more useful information, and look at the five best customer service support software suites available on the market right now, and discuss a little bit about why they work so well.
As we look at these, it’ll give us some insight into why customer service support software is important, and what the keynote facets of them are when choosing one. We’ll also demonstrate a little bit why it can vary from one to another which software suite is best for any given user experience demographic. Without further ado, here are the top five.
Note that some of these providers also have paid packages as well.
1 – PhaseWare Tracker
PhaseWare tracker is a dynamic software suite for emerging and midmarket user experience providers. It’s designed for flexibility and customization, offering both posted and licensed client side instances of the software, so to meet the varying needs and levels of dynamism necessary for the widest range of user experiences and companies providing them.
It gets our top billing simply because its diversification means that it meets the widest range of possible demographics. This is an example of a customer service and support software suite that isn’t the best in any particular way, but the most suited for the widest range.
(Cite: http://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/customer-service-comparison/ )
2 – GreenRope
GreenRope is a net smart, web communications oriented user experience and customer service and support software suite intended mainly for web centric businesses, such as SaaS providers and cloud structures.
With its automation and learning capacity when dealing with email and other forms of communication via databases and other web based platforms, its versatility makes it perfect for web content demographics, as it can provide excellent metrics on the efficiency of customer service and easily identify recurring problems so that quality assurance individuals can more easily troubleshoot. It gets our number two for being one of the easiest things to setup, and one of the more dynamic and intelligent softwares on the list.
(Cite: http://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/customer-service-comparison/)
3 – RightNow
For enterprise solutions, RightNow is one of the highest rated in the field. An Oracle product, which is one of the older companies in the field, founded in 1997, they have a formula that is tried and true, and has been tested in many situations and suited for multiple demographics. They’re not suited for smaller businesses and entry-level user experience providers, but for large, enterprise solutions, they’re one of the better free customer service software providers around.
There have been a few things said about their actual customer service philosophy leaving a bit to be desired. However, they allow others to employ a customer service philosophy that is completely exemplary.
(Cite: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/rightnow/overview/index.html)
4 – Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a web-based flexible CRM platform designed by Microsoft with flexible web technologies in mind. Like GreenRope, it is content-aware and capable of adapting to user experience needs and is reliable for quickly spotting trends in customer service and product issues to enable fast and efficient troubleshooting and QA.
Plus, it’s Microsoft so of course it’s going to be good, as long as it isn’t a game console or an even-numbered Windows distribution.
(Cite: www.microsoft.com, http://www.softwareadvice.com/crm/customer-service-comparison/)
5 – ZenDesk
ZenDesk is all about synchronicity between service, support and sales to keep a dynamic and solid trend and pattern for metrics and QA. ZenDesk is deployed for use by many Fortune 500 companies and big names in media production such as Disney, and the retail giant Sears Roebuck.
ZenDesk is the big papa of CRM software and while it’s not as seasoned as RightNow or as flexible as GreenRope, it’s definitely a choice for larger, enterprise organizations. They get our number five spot, but honestly, this intrepid reviewer would suggest them over RightNow without hesitation.
As you can see, it’s all about price range, company size and target demographic. Know your demographic, and know your company and its means, and follow the simple guide and examples said above, and you’ll find the free customer service software that’s right for you.
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