I received a email a while ago that made me think, and still has me thinking, the email was along the lines of
“I suppose it won’t be long till you go the same way as every other marketer and have a help desk instead of offering email support, then pass it all off to some minion”
I have always liked the interaction that I have with my customers, I used to include my phone number in my manuals (until someone called at 3am) just so people could get hold of me if they needed to.
I like the emails I receive with not just questions but real information about themselves, Some customers have been with me for ever – anyone here from the UBP forum?
I feel a real bond to the people who buy my stuff, I appreciate that without buyers I can’t pay my bills.
Having said that..
I am now receiving 100′s of emails a day, 95% of them are spam admittedly, but the ones that aren’t still have to be dealt with.
I can see why people use a help desk, it takes more effort to put stuff into a ticket than to just fire off a email so people think about it more. This extra thought often brings up a solution.
Helpdesks usually allow you to store some canned responses to often received questions
Helpdesks keep questions in order
Helpdesks mean you can answer from anywhere that has net access
Helpdesks allow members of your team to answer questions for you
Helpdesks DO NOT pass along any personality
Emails get lost
Emails don’t get delivered
Emails can bring on more emails
Emails are a personal medium, I can include links to other sites I have, info about my family (i know some of my customers pretty well)
I can see the time benefit of helpdeks, I am just not quite sure I am ready to give up on the belief that I am just a guy making useful stuff for his friends and finally admit I am a “Internet marketer”.
So what are the pros and cons of Helpdesks vs email support that I have missed.
I don’t do email anymore – it’s helpdesk all the way. It’s more professional, easier to keep track of what’s been said (or not said!), it’s harder for a vendor to dodge questions, it’s harder for a buyer to make unnecessary questions. All in all, I reckon on saving a good 3 hours per week since I switched to helpdesk only.
All the “big boys” use help desks. It has to do with becoming more efficient and focused on projects instead of constant interruptions. I’ve tried Kayako and while it appears to be the industry leader, I didn’t find it very intuitive and was prone to spam… plus it was a bitch to set up mail piping.
UBP? Yes, been around since just before then.
I like the personal touch of email and it’s really nice getting an email from someone like you or Gary or Andrew or Mark. But I understand the points from your side of a help desk even if I find them aggravating for the most part.