Choosing the best help desk software for eCommerce is an essential step for company growth. These platforms not only offer crucial functionalities for the customer experience, such as chat or ticketing systems, but also help reduce costs and streamline internal work processes. That's why nearly 80% of U.S. consumers demand timely and knowledgeable customer service.
However, selecting the right help desk tool can be challenging. The market offers a wide range of options, each tailored to different sectors or company sizes. It's crucial to evaluate whether the help desk software you're considering has the functionalities or integrations you need. To assist you in choosing the best eCommerce help desk software, we've compiled a summary review of the most interesting tools.
Ecommerce help desk software (What is it and why do you need one?)
eCommerce help desk software serves as a digital platform designed to automate and streamline the support process for businesses. It's utilized by companies to empower their support agents in delivering efficient omnichannel customer service, effectively addressing customer queries, and adding value at every interaction.
Key features of these tools commonly include chats for eCommerce, internal ticketing systems, and automation through macros and predefined response templates. Besides, they can integrate with the most important social media networks.
So, what impact do these tools have on eCommerce businesses?
Customers often have myriad questions spanning from product inquiries to return policies and shipping costs. Failing to provide prompt responses can lead to shopping cart abandonment and ultimately result in lost sales. For instance, it's common for customers to reach out to businesses to inquire about their order status, request returns, or lodge complaints.
The help desk facilitates the eCommerce platform in efficiently addressing all these issues, ensuring smooth workflow between the sales channels, customer agents, and carriers. They are necessary for the automation of customer service.
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7 Reasons of choosing a good eCommerce help desk
Improve customer loyalty and satisfaction
Exceptional service fosters a strong bond with customers, increasing loyalty and satisfaction. This positive impression encourages repeat business and referrals, ultimately growing the customer base.
Increased internal productivity
Automating and centralizing customer support processes streamlines workflows, allowing agents to handle issues more efficiently. This boosts productivity and ensures swift, high-quality service delivery.
Reduction in Returns
Guided assistance during the purchase process minimizes buyer's remorse and prevents unnecessary returns. Resolving issues promptly also enhances satisfaction, reducing the likelihood of product returns due to dissatisfaction.
Provides Insightful Business and Buyer Analysis
Help desk systems collect and analyze valuable data, offering insights into customer behavior, preferences, and service performance. This information guides strategic decisions and helps optimize service delivery.
Boost Sales and Conversion Rates
Exceptional customer service softwares enhances the overall customer experience, leading to increased sales and conversion rates. Satisfied customers are more likely to make repeat purchases and recommend the brand to others, driving business growth and expansion.
Manage orders and customers effortlessly from a unified interface
Integrating a help desk software with robust eCommerce functionalities enables centralized and automated control over the entire order or return process, including assistance and support. Discover other effective practices you can do with a help desk.
Solve transportation issues efficiently and completely
Help desk software with transport integrations can automatically resolve delivery incidents without manual intervention. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also leads to significant cost savings.
Traditional help desk softwares don’t solve real problems in eCommerce landscape
The order management phase is crucial in eCommerce for logistical efficiency and customer satisfaction. Neglecting it can lead to lost sales and reduced customer loyalty.
However, many basic help desk solutions lack the advanced technology needed for online retail operations. While they enable communication between customers and support agents, they often fall short in providing the comprehensive assistance necessary for eCommerce success.
Effective software must offer more than just communication tools; it should include robust features for order management. This means self-service portals integrated with shipping companies, streamlining information flow and enhancing the customer experience.
When researching help desk solutions, inquire about their order management functionalities. Ensure they offer more than basic features like order cancellation or address changes. Investing in a solution that meets your needs is vital for long-term success in online retail.
13 best eCommerce help desk softwares in 2024
1. Outvio Desk
Outvio Desk is the best help desk software for eCommerce businesses. It has all the tools an online store's support team needs to automatically resolve any issue a shopper may have.
The big advantage of Outvio Desk over other help desks is that it includes a dedicated module for order management and logistics. Thanks to the integrated carriers, in addition to the support service, you will also be able to process shipments and returns, send order notifications, print shipping labels, facilitate shipment tracking or run high-performance marketing campaigns.
The standout feature of Outvio Desk functionalities is their AI-powered ability to classify and segment each interaction based on the needs of the order or buyer. Among the most prominent functionalities are:
- All-in-one inbox for eCommerce
- Embedded live chat AI automations
- Macro, bot, and tag system
- 100% customizable templates that can be integrated with your entire workflow
- Social media integrations
- Fully customizable analytics dashboard for eCommerce
Outvio also helps to optimize all the other aspects of the post-purchase flow, including:
- Synchronization with multiple sales channels
- Fulfillment and order preparation optimisation and automation
- Direct integration with over 80 carriers and shipping label printing
- Preconfigured shipping rules
- Branded tracking for both deliveries and returns
- Automated customer notifications via email, SMS and WhatsApp
- Automatic courier incident handling
- Complete returns and exchange flow management for online stores
- Returns and exchanges portal with smart actions for revenue retention and acquiring additional sales
Pricing
- Outvio Desk alone: 100$/month + 0,05$/order
- For Outvio users: 0$/month + 0,05$/order
2. Gorgias
Gorgias stands out as another popular help desk solution tailored for online stores. It boasts a diverse array of features aimed at alleviating the workload of support agents, including online chat for eCommerce, macro and bot automations, help centers, and customizable templates.
One of Gorgias' notable strengths lies in its extensive range of integrations, enabling seamless connection with other platforms to enhance functionality. However, opting for these integrations may result in higher costs compared to utilizing software that already incorporates such integrated features, like Outvio.
Pricing
- Starter Plan: $10 for 50 tickets per month
- Basic Plan: $60 for 300 tickets per month
- Pro Plan: $360 for 2000 tickets per month
- Advanced Plan: $900 for 5000 tickets per month
3. HappyFox
HappyFox is an all-encompassing help desk software designed to streamline customer support operations across multiple channels. By consolidating customer requests from email, web, phone, and social media, HappyFox ensures efficient management of inquiries. Its seamless integration with various business software, including accounting, CRM, and commerce tools, enhances productivity and workflow.
Pricing
- Starter Plan: £22 (USD 29) per agent, per month
- Enterprise Plan: £65 (USD 89) per agent, per month
- Premium Plan: £1,099 (USD 1,499) per month
4. HelpScout
HelpScout is a comprehensive and versatile help desk solution designed to meet the needs of various sectors and industries, especially in the B2B arena. It includes real-time chat, ticket management, ticket tagging and automation capabilities.
Although HelpScout shares similarities with Zendesk, it is slightly simpler in terms of functionality and usability. Nevertheless, it is still a very interesting option. Help Scout is a popular tool among mid-sized B2B companies.
Pricing
- Standard Plan: $25 per agent per month
- Plus Plan: $50 per agent per month
- Pro Plan: Custom pricing
5. Zendesk
Zendesk is a help desk software with two clearly differentiated suites, one for customer service and the other for sales follow-up. The tool stands out for unifying both flows, allowing sales and support agents to share information in real time and improve business decision making.
Zendesk has the classic features of help desk software such as live chat, ticketing and automation through bots and macros. Zendesk is widely used by companies or software companies with large sales teams to track and control leads.
Pricing for the customer service module
- Suite Plan: from 69$ euros per month per agent
- Growth Plan: from 115$ euros per month per agent
- Professional Plan: from $145 per month per agent
Sales module pricing
- Sell Plan: from 25$ per month per agent
- Growth Plan: from $69 per month per agent
- Professional Plan: from $149 per month per agent
6. Tidio
Tidio is a standout help and support software known for its unlimited free plan catering to start-up businesses. This comprehensive help desk tool offers essential features like a ticketing system, live chat, and seamless integration with social networks.
However, it's worth noting that the free plan comes with a cap of 50 conversations per month, which may not suffice for more established businesses with higher query volumes. Tidio is particularly well-suited for startups or companies operating on tight budgets and experiencing a moderate volume of inquiries.
Pricing
- Free Plan: $0 for 50 conversations per month
- Starter Plan: $29 for 100 conversations per month
- Growth Plan: $59 for 250 conversations per month
- Tidio Plan: $398 per month
7. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is another customer service tool that is quite interesting for people with little experience. It does not require code development for customization, so agents will have more freedom to manage it. Among its features are the analytics system, the team control panel and the chatbot. Freshdesk is a good option for those businesses willing to sacrifice functionality for ease of use.
Pricing
- Growth Plan: From 18€ per month per agent
- Pro Plan: From 59€ per month per agent
- Enterprise Plan: From 95€ euros per month per agent
8. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a comprehensive customer service help desk platform that consolidates various communication channels such as phone, email, live chat, SMS, and social media into one unified interface. This allows businesses to effectively manage customer inquiries and support tasks in a centralized location. Additionally, Zoho Desk intelligently assigns calls to designated customer service agents based on department or team, fostering personalized interactions and building long-term customer relationships
Pricing
- Freemium plan supporting up to three agents
- Standard plan: £11 (USD 14) per agent per month
- Enterprise plan: £32 (USD 40) per agent per mont
9. Hiver
Hiver is a help desk software with several interesting features tailored for new eCommerce businesses. With Hiver for Gmail, teams can seamlessly collaborate on shared email accounts like support or sales directly within their Gmail interface. Serving as a comprehensive help desk system seamlessly integrated into Gmail, Hiver provides all the essential tools for exceptional customer support without the unnecessary complexities often found in other help desk products.
Pricing
- Lite: $19 per month and agent
- Pro: $49 per month and agent
- Elite: $49 per month and agent
10. Gladly
Gladly is your all-in-one customer support platform designed to streamline your operations and enhance customer satisfaction. With Gladly's intuitive features, you can effortlessly track customer history and lifetime order value, ensuring personalized interactions every time.
Pricing
- Hero Plan: $150 per month and agent
- Superhero: $180 per month and agent
11. Freshservice
Freshservice is a cloud-based help desk software developed by the company Freshworks. It offers tools to organize help services in enterprises and companies, typically in the B2B sector. Its ticketing and automation tools can also be utilized in the eCommerce environment to reduce turnaround times and enhance incident management.
Pricing
- Basic plan: Starts at $19 per month per agent
- Pro plan: Starts at $25 per month per agent
- Unlimited plan: Starts at $620 per month
12. eDesk
eDesk help desk software simplifies support management with its efficient and automated platform. Packed with features, it ensures customer satisfaction by resolving issues quickly and effectively. Key features include Customer View for consolidated data, Smart inbox for seamless conversation tracking, and customizable templates for FAQs.
Pricing
- The Performance+ Plan is free to start out, up to 30 tickets/month
- It costs $69/month for the Team Plan
- It costs $109/month for the Professional Plan
13. HelpCruch
HelpCrunch is a versatile software solution designed to streamline customer communication for small-scale businesses. With its user-friendly interface and essential features like live chat, email marketing automation, and a straightforward helpdesk system, HelpCrunch caters perfectly to the needs of small online stores.
Pricing
- Basic: from $19 per month per agent
- Pro: from $25 per month per agent
- Unlimited: from $620 per month
How to evaluate an eCommerce help desk software (3 fundamental keys)
Integrating help desk software takes time, effort and training. It is crucial to select a solution with functionality that really allows you to scale. Otherwise, you will have to pay for a costly migration.
Here are three keys to choosing the best help desk software for eCommerce:
Analyzes integrations with CMS and carriers
To ensure that the help desk software can import your eCommerce orders, track them, and communicate changes to the carriers, it must have the necessary integrations. Therefore, I advise you to check the integration libraries of the help desk you intend to hire.
Self-managing order portals
Self-managing portals are pages that you can integrate with your online help desk system, where shoppers can manage their orders. They are essential in e-commerce because they save time and ensure an efficient shopping experience.
For example, you can add a portal for returns and another for order tracking to the chatbot. This way, every time a buyer contacts you looking for information about his order, you can direct him to the corresponding portal so that the buyer himself, and not your agent, can do all the work.
In addition, you can include promotional banners with discounts on these portals to boost cross-selling, converting inquiries into sales opportunities.
Real scalability, without depending on others
It is common to find large technology providers that promise to offer a wide range of functionalities. However, many of these functionalities are conditioned to integration with other tools through specific partnerships. In short, they offer you something that will eventually force you to pay twice, as you will have to maintain two separate subscriptions.
Many help desk systems need to integrate with other shipping or returns management software so that agents can resolve order-related issues. This is because the help desk tool lacks a direct connection to shipping services. This approach is not only more costly, but also creates more complications, as it requires additional synchronization and maintenance.
Why is the order processing model a better choice for eCommerce?
Opting for a tool that charges per agent or additional tickets can present obstacles to your scalability. In essence, it penalizes you for providing better customer service, as expanding your support team or handling more inquiries incurs additional costs. In fact, such models may even encourage an influx of customer queries, driving up your expenses in the process.
On the contrary, the order processing model, exemplified by Outvio's approach, offers a more favorable arrangement. With this model, your expenses increase only in proportion to your success - that is, as you handle more orders and consequently sell more. This alignment with your business interests ensures that you only pay more when your revenue grows.
In essence, more sales lead to more orders processed, but the price increase is directly linked to your business growth. This fair and transparent structure promotes a mutually beneficial relationship, where your investment in customer support is directly correlated with your business success.
- More sales = more orders processed = the higher your price
- More problems = more tickets = the higher your price
Related article
How to choose the best help desk software (definitive checklist for your eCommerce)
Before committing to any solution, ask yourself the following questions to determine if it meets the needs of your team and if it solves problem of your customers:
- Is it intuitive and easy to learn to use?
- Does it allow you to customize the interface and workflows?
- Does it integrate with other eCommerce and CRM tools?
- Does it offer automation features for repetitive tasks?
- Is it scalable to grow with your business?
- Does it support the creation of custom workflows?
- Does it allow you to efficiently manage support tickets?
- Does it provide detailed performance reporting?
- Does it include a knowledge base for customers and agents?
- Does it allow you to track and manage customer orders?
- Does it offer integration with carriers for shipment tracking?
- Is it capable of managing multiple eCommerce websites simultaneously?
- Does it integrate features to manage product returns and exchanges?
- Does it support multiple languages for global customers?
- Does it offer auto-response options for frequent queries?
- Can you send user satisfaction surveys?
- Does it have marketing and cross-selling functionalities?
- Does it offer a trial version for evaluation before purchase?
- Does the price match the budget and value provided?
Conclusion
Help desk software for eCommerce has undergone significant evolution and has become an essential tool for companies across all sectors and industries: retaining customers and extending their business cycle is crucial for business profitability.
We strongly recommend that you explore and implement the best help desk software for eCommerce mentioned in this article, tailored to the specific needs of your business or industry.
It's important to remember that an improved support service not only strengthens the relationship with customers but also contributes to the reduction of incidents and internal costs, improves brand reputation, and increases overall productivity.
