How To Provide The Best Customer Experience While Switching Help Desk Software

It can be difficult to make the switch to a new help desk platform from one that you’ve outgrown. Is there a way to multitask in order to deliver the best customer experience? Customer success managers who are on top of their game understand that as their products evolve, they will need to upgrade to the best help desk software in order to continue providing excellent service to their expanding base of customers and maintain their high retention rate.

However, it can be challenging to switch to a new best help desk software from one you’ve outgrown. There is data migration, employee on boarding, and piloting of new procedures to be done. How do you manage to keep the best customer experience as a top priority despite having so many competing demands on your time? The following tips can be used as you assess potential new helpdesk solutions, ensuring a seamless transition that will assist both your team and your clients reach new heights.

Let Team Members Own The Transition

Changes imposed from up high rarely take root. A CEO ordering a ping pong table and beer taps for the office won’t magically transform the company’s culture into one that encourages innovation and teamwork. If management tells a salesperson, “we’re changing how we do things, so now you need to make 100 cold calls daily,” the salesperson won’t magically become more productive.

People Have To Feel A Personal Connection To A Transition

Convincing employees to go through a transition period, to leave what is comfortable in favor of something new and potentially more challenging, requires solid evidence that their lives will ultimately improve. In a prior position, I oversaw a support team that needed to be reorganized from a large group of front line agents serving all customers to several smaller groups of specialists. We utilized the change as an opportunity to recognize and reward the contributions of our most capable employees in an effort to boost morale throughout the company. They were eventually referred to as the “experts” by their clientele.

We Saw Two Great Results From This

1. The newly elevated team members became more committed because they had a greater sense of ownership over the niche clientele they now served.
2. Even if they weren’t promoted right away, reps could see a path to advancement, given that they knew they would be able to handle their own set of clients if they did well enough. As a result, employees of our Tier I team showed far more dedication to the company and a strong desire to advance their careers.

Show Clients That This Is An Opportunity To Grow

Preparing customers for a system change requires the same level of positive, proactive, clear communication as any other encounter with a company. This change could be a fantastic opportunity to raise the LTV of select customers, depending on your organizational setup. To give only one illustration. What new concierge services, if any, are you introducing to your most valuable customers?

New reports or services that they could find useful? Can new customers expect more one-on-one training as part of the implementation process than was provided to your current customers before they made their purchase? In that case, it’s time to start reaching out to customers. Pick a subset of your top customers to notify first, and encourage them to take advantage of the new services.

It’s Time To Change Medium-Value Customers To High-Value Customers

The ties you have with your present customers will strengthen, and their loyalty will grow if you take the time to teach them about this new level of value and give them a chance to experience it themselves. My former company employed this strategy to convert a number of medium-value customers into high-value ones. When they saw the high quality of service we currently provide, they upgraded from our most basic plan and added several more services to their agreement. For the rest of their lives, they’ve remained devoted followers.

Give Customers Knowledge About Self Service

Let lower-value consumers know about your best self service options like these if you plan to reduce the amount of individual assistance you give them in the future. The place to go to get information (“Have questions? We have the solutions waiting for you 24/7)Website where you share information on a product, such as a guide or tutorial.

Advance Warning Of Any Downtime

Remember to warn consumers in advance of any downtime they may experience when you make the changeover. Via a quick email, an in-app message, or a few social media postings in the days preceding — for any live service your team will provide (e.g., “We’re available for Q&A twice a week on a group webinar”).

Give reps access to the right resources

Your new system will only be useful if your team knows how to use it. Tactically, this will necessitate the use of particular resources and methods. Consider:

• Appoint one or two of your best salespeople as “system specialists.” They will be the ones to teach new employees how to utilize the platform, as they will be the ones most familiar with it.
• Create user accounts for all salespeople a few weeks before the transfer, giving them time to familiarize themselves with the new system before being called upon to work at full speed.
• Making time for a team training session with your contact at the new platform (and record this, so your reps may study as required!!)
• Collecting a set of system-wide best practices and guiding ideas that your group can use as a resource.
• Making sure your team can contact the new platform’s support team directly and not have to go through you every time they have a question or problem is an important step in easing the transition to the new platform.

If you’ve been the one tasked with finding and evaluating new help desk software, you might be the go-to person for information about how they all compare visually, what features they offer, and how to get the most out of them. So, schedule some time each week over the next few weeks to be available as a resource for your team members who are just getting started.

Bringing It All Together

Both the members of the team and the clients will be better prepared for a successful transition to a new platform if they have access to positive team motivation, proactive customer outreach, and the appropriate tools. Ensure that your customers get the best customer experience by carefully planning your strategy in advance.