Managing customer service requests can be a challenge. To ease that burden, many businesses use help desk software. While there are many options on the market, with many different features, Zoho Desk is a comprehensive solution designed by Zoho Corporation to help small businesses with customer support.
What is Zoho Desk?
Zoho Desk is a customer service platform for small to mid-sized businesses. The software offers omnichannel support, which means customers can request and receive help through email, phone, social media, and messaging services. Businesses that use this customer support platform are able to engage with their most important customers and build more profitable, long-term relationships.
Zoho Desk includes automated workflows and request management tools that empower support agents to manage tickets with ease. The end result is that customers are more satisfied, managers make more impactful decisions, and support agents are more productive.
Check out our roundup of the Best Customer Service Software
Who is it best for?
Zoho Desk is best for small to medium-sized businesses. The online solution is scalable, yet affordable, so companies looking for support services that will grow with them will benefit from Zoho Desk.
The customer service platform offers all the necessary features to succeed and is easy for first-time users to learn.
Pros
- There is a free plan for those who need minimal support services
- Customers can access the knowledge base for DIY help
- Robust ticket management services
- All-in-one dashboard where all tickets can be viewed and managed
- User interface is intuitive and easy to use
Cons
- The system is only accessible online, no desktop version
- Some features are restricted to the most expensive plan
- Limited integrations with common apps
Zoho features
Zoho Desk has many features that businesses find useful. Some of the best features are within its ticketing system, but you also have access to collaboration tools, collaboration management, and basic reports. Here’s a closer look at the features offered by this customer service software:
Ticket management
When a customer inquiry comes in, it’s converted to a “ticket.” Each ticket goes through one central dashboard, but they can be assigned to specific people or departments.
Tickets can be tracked, tagged, and monitored too. It’s easy for agents to see which tickets are still open, or which ones need additional support. Reports can identify ticket trends too, so a company can focus on building solutions for common problems.
Omnichannel support
Customers can reach support through a variety of channels, including email, social media, live chat, and via messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and WeChat.
To provide phone service, you can add Zen Desk’s telephony to your plan. When you do so, you gain access to a cloud-based call center and basic features like voicemail and call routing.
Access to Zia
Zia is Zen Desk’s AI assistant, which can provide the same basic services as a chatbot. It can address customers, route tickets, alert administrators of complex issues, and analyze how a customer feels about their buying experience.
The feature, while limited, can alleviate some tasks for agents, and is a unique feature for a customer service platform to offer.
Customizable workflows
To successfully manage hundreds of customer inquiries, a certain level of automation is helpful. Zen Desk comes with pre-built automation that you can take advantage of, but you can also tailor the workflows and their triggers to your business.
While some customer service platforms charge extra for this kind of functionality, that’s not the case with Zen Desk.
Mobile apps give remote access to tickets
This help desk solution offers apps that give remote agents the ability to manage basic ticket tasks from their smartphone or tablet. When an inquiry comes in, an agent receives a notification and can address the issue quickly on his or her mobile device.
The app does not offer extensive features, but it’s enough to acknowledge the customer and let them know you’re looking into their concern. Apps are available for both iOS and Android users.
Reporting
How well are customers being served? Reports can tell you. Zen Desk supplies reports that provide ticket overviews, day-to-day trends, and specific reports by agent. The reports are meant to help companies identify weaknesses in their customer experience and make improvements where necessary.
Zoho Desk pricing
Zoho Desk has several different pricing options for your support team. As with most service desk platforms, pricing is per user, per month. The more agents you have handling customer support, the more you’ll pay each month.
There is a free option, which offers basic support services, but the website doesn’t provide too many details about its features.
You can explore pricing on Zoho.com, but here’s a look at your options:
Zoho Desk Express: $9/user/month
If you need a simple customer service system for a fresh startup, Zoho Desk Express offers basic ticket management, the ability to chat with customers via social media, and a handful of analytics to review. You can have up to five agents managing tickets.
Standard: $14/user/month
You get email, social media, and messaging features with the standard plan. You’re limited to five agents, five email channels, and do not have access to phone support or live chat features. Ticket routing is limited as are reporting features.
Professional: $23/user/month
The professional package includes everything the Standard package offers, but it also gives clients access to Telephony, which means you can add phone support to your plan. You have full ticket routing potential, so you can delegate tickets by round-robin and co-share tickets. Access to process management is also included.
Enterprise: $40/user/month
The most comprehensive plan is the Enterprise package. With it, clients get access to full features, including live chat, guided conversations, AI features, ticket escalation solutions, agent permissions, time tracking, scheduled reports, and access to Zoho Desk’s reporting app, Radar.
Zoho Desk customer support
Zoho Desk has an impressive customer support system with multiple options, including:
- Phone support
- Email support
- Knowledgebase
- User community
There are also support agents who are well-versed in handling product-related issues in different languages such as English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, and Portuguese.
FAQs
Zoho Desk is a customer service platform designed for small businesses. With it, providers can manage customer inquiries through email, social media, messaging apps, and phones.
No. Zoho does offer a specific CRM software, called Zoho CRM. Zoho Desk helps manage customer service needs.
Are there other Zoho products entrepreneurs should know about?
Zoho does have several other popular software applications including Zoho CRM; a customer relationship management platform, Zoho Books; accounting software for SMBs, and Zoho Bigin; pipeline management for customer-facing teams.
Does Zoho Desk have a desktop version?
No. The software is only available online.
What are the benefits of Zoho Desk?
Zoho Desk is an ideal tool for startups and small-to-mid-sized businesses. It’s easy to learn and offers a forever-free plan to utilize its basic features. You can upgrade for as little as $9/user/month. The software has a lot of features that can grow with your company.
Does Zoho Desk offer a self-service portal?
Yes. It does offer tools to set up a self-service portal, which means customers can search for answers to common questions online. The DIY knowledge base takes some time to compile but can cut the live-agent time down.