Using ASP Help Desk Software to Improve Your Organization

Executive Summary

The environment of Help Desk and Customer Support is changing rapidly today. Instead of merely responding to a disgruntled caller with a problem, then solving the problem, or worse, taking down the information to find a resolution to the problem, ASP Help Desk Software and Customer Support Centers have to become a resource for the solution instantly, and hopefully be able to offer multiple solutions to the end user so they can either solve the problem on their own, or in best case scenarios, the Help Desk can offer potential solutions before the issue arises.

These 'proactive? resources to solving problems have to come with a measureable ROI (return on investment) so that management can actually measure the cost of the Help Desk and apply a line item figure to the weight applied to the overhead of the organization. As well, many times the organization may actually realize additional income/profits as a result of the ASP Help Desk Software offering money-saving ideas to the client which result in larger sales to the organization that it is servicing.

The Balancing Act of the CSO

The environment of Help Desk and Customer Support is in a state of change - change that is driven by the pressures of the market and a change that will make them smart and flexible. Customer Support and Help Desk managers find themselves walking a tightrope to accomplish the transformation from necessary cost center to valuable profit generator.

The Help Desk no longer consists of one person or a few people using the phone to respond to the problems of disgruntled callers. Customers are impatient with a representative who must take down their information and then seek a resolution to the problem and, hopefully, respond with ideas for a resolution. In many cases, the Customer Support department has not grown in numbers, but now those people, with very limited financial and time resources, are asked by management to contribute to company growth, customer loyalty, and company recognition.

This small number of Help Desk representatives must support a large number of customers in a wide variety of countries using an even greater number of languages. To further complicate the situation, companies are now diversified which means they are selling an array of products and/or services which must be supported. As companies continue to struggle to make profits, the budget constraints on every department including Customer Support become more stringent.

The Customer Support Organization (CSO) representatives are often the only emissaries of the company that have personal or frequent contact directly with the customer. Therefore, smart CSOs need to become a resource for instant solutions to a myriad of problems. In today's environment, it is critical for each company to elevate their service level to their customers as a way to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Satisfied customers become repeat customers and refer their associates. Happy customers are reflected by the various indicators of customer satisfaction, for which the CSO is accountable.

In order to make the best use of customer contact, smart Help Desk representatives need to utilize a wide variety of tools and communications channels like the internet, e-mail, and an online knowledge base to anticipate and solve customers? problems. Smart Help Desk reps must take advantage of various methods of gathering customer data for future use. Understanding individual customers and groups of customers aids the CSO in anticipating their needs and problems and that information is then passed to the product management team to improve products.

Having more data on the customer is expected to impact the bottom line of the company as management demands that every department be an agent in growth and profit-building. This database of information is used to offer money-saving ideas, anticipate needs, generate renewals and contracts, and up-sell and cross-sell. As proactive resources are increasingly implemented, companies see a greater return on their investment (ROI).

The Basic Stages of the CSO

The original Help Desk was a Reactive Help Desk . It was a place to phone to ask a question or get a solution to a problem or malfunction. The customer initiated the interaction which was limited to what the people who were working knew about the product. In rare cases, the customer got to talk with a technical person or engineer. If that person could not answer the question, then he wrote down the information and asked someone in another department. Seldom was there a written manual or any repository of questions and answers. With the advent of e-mail, customers e-mailed a question with the hope of getting an answer back within a day or two. The main objective of the reactive Help Desk was to satisfy the customer by resolving the problem in a reasonable amount of time. The efficiency of Help Desk personnel was judged on the number of first-call resolutions and average hold times. These centers were considered overhead with negligible added value.

Most Help Desk s have progressed to Responsive Help Desks. This improved situation takes advantage of past reports from customers to create a common knowledge base to be applied across channels, allowing for better case management. Usually the knowledge base is available for self-service on the company's web site and allows for users to send and receive e-mail tickets to report problems and get help quickly. Responsive Help Desk s allow for follow-up and feedback which further add to both the customer and product information databases. The objectives are a customer who is happy with his rapid problem resolution and the reduction of per service incident costs. Coincidentally the marketing and product management teams get useful feedback. Responsive Help Desks add value to the company which gives them credibility and resource allocation.

Proactive Help Desks deliver a full complement of Customer Support. By taking advantage of a common knowledge base and a repository of information about individual customers and customer segments, common event histories, and cross-channel Customer Support histories, they are able to anticipate customers? needs and pre-empt service inquiries. Using a variety of communications channels such as web self-service, e-mail, targeted broadcast e-mail, automated 'notify-on-change? mechanisms, and customer satisfaction monitoring systems, the Customer Support organization can better manage customer relationships by anticipating customer needs, pre-empting service inquiries, predicting customer concerns and needs, and identifying and acting upon sales opportunities. The CSO adds revenue, thereby optimizing business growth and profitability, by cross-selling, up-selling, and solidifying renewals and contracts. Because the customer's expectations are exceeded, he recommends the company to others. CSOs that are able to contribute revenue to the company impact the morale of the company as well as playing a significant role in the growth and profitability of the company. The higher morale within the CSO further enhances the customer's experience.

Three Basic Stages of Customer Support

ReactiveResponsiveProactive

Ability to help customerAnswer customer complaints and questionsAnswer customer needs, questions, and complaintsAnticipate customer needs, pre-empt service inquiries, predict customer concerns and needs, identify and act upon sales opportunities

Ability to utilize past knowledgeLimited to what people working at the time know, maybe an internal manualCommon knowledge base, common event histories, case managementRich common knowledge base, repository of information about individual customers and customer segments, common event histories, cross-channel Customer Support histories
Ability to utilize channels of communicationPhone, manually reply to e-mailWeb self-service, second generation e-mail response management, common knowledge base, phonePhone, web self-service, e-mail, targeted broadcast e-mail, automated 'notify-on-change? mechanisms, customer satisfaction monitoring systems

Main ObjectiveProblem resolutionProblem resolution, happy customer, reduced per service incident costs Exceptional customer satisfaction, lower service costs, revenue growth, deeper customer relationships, positive contribution to P&L
Performance MetricsHold times, first-call resolutionCustomer retention, various feedback mechanismsVarious feedback mechanisms, service level metrics and alerting, business growth through up-sells & cross-sells & renewals, deeper customer relationships

Business ImpactCost center, negligible added valueEfficient, good feedback for marketing and product management teams, usually a cost center with some added valueRevenue growth, a definite profit center working with sales, higher morale and motivation in the CSO, good feedback for marketing team and product management team, significant differentiation from other companies

The Keys to Smart Help Desks

With the right planning and investment, CSOs can become smart -- really smart - and take advantage of the extraordinary opportunity to transform themselves from low-morale cost centers to powerful, fully integrated agents of business growth which boost morale as well as profit for the whole company. There are five keys for Help Desk s to become Smart Help Desks.

- Have a clear vision

Managers need to fully comprehend the potential role their CSOs can play in generating revenue and optimizing customer relationships. They must have a strong sense of how customer interaction histories can be leveraged to discover revenue opportunities. Management needs a clear understanding of how to build and equip a Proactive Help Desk .

- Get executive and management support

Creating a Proactive Help Desk demands a paradigm shift that must be embraced from the CEO all the way through the entire company. Executive level support is essential for funding the proactive CSO. With full management support, strong working relationships and seamless business processes can be facilitated between the CSO and other departments such as sales, marketing, and product management.

- Implement new business processes

Because paradigm shifts are necessary, new cross-department processes must be designed and implemented. New customer-opportunity profiles, business rules, and call scripts must be created.

- Install the right technologies

The technical infrastructure of the company needs to be up to date. All communication channels need to interface seamlessly. A customer-driven knowledge base must be available online. This sets the stage for deployment of enabling technologies such as intelligent outbound e-mail communication and real-time opportunity analytics.

- Team with an experienced partner

A reputable, well-established consultant or partner will enable you to avoid making the same mistakes many others have made. This is also the best way to reduce the cost of missteps and ensure optimized Help Desk performance with options such as ASP Help Desk Software.

Conclusion

Today's market pressure tightrope presents a tremendous opportunity for CSOs and CSO managers. It positions CSOs to play a major role in business success. Rather than being a cost center whose job is to simply prevent customers? problems from disrupting the business, CSOs can proactively help grow corporate revenues, profitability, and marketshare. Proactive resources for anticipating and solving problems come with a measureable ROI (return on investment). Management can actually measure the cost of the Help Desk and apply a line item figure to the weight applied to the overhead of the organization.

CSOs and Smart Help Desks which are able to implement significant cultural, operational and technological change will aid their companies in growing market share and realizing additional profits. These CSOs and Smart Help Desk s will raise the level of expectation among customers and set their companies apart from their competitors.

Steven J. Davidson is founder and President of Cynergy Software. He has over 25 years of experience in Customer Support and Service organizations. Cynergy Software was founded in 1998. http://www.cynergysoftware.com