In our last post, we talked about finding the best customer support platform if you’re a software or SaaS company, depending on your stage of growth. But what if you’re an ecommerce business, selling products like household goods, clothing, or pet supplies directly to consumers? You need to manage not just product questions, but also order and shipping questions. In this post, we’ll be looking at the best customer support platforms to meet your unique requirements.
What we’ve learned is based on conversations we’ve had with support leaders at ecommerce companies that have support teams of various sizes. Some were just starting out, while others already had a medium-sized team year-round, and one had a team that grew to 100 agents during the busy season—they all had very different needs, and you will, too. However, there were some commonalities and things they all talked about. Those are the features and needs we’ll be discussing.
As we mentioned in our previous post, we recognize that every company has different needs. However, we’re suggesting some groupings based on common elements that can help you reflect on your company’s current position. You may meet some criteria or all of them. If you’re sitting across more than one category (you might notice that the category characteristics do overlap in places), choose the one that matches your situation the most closely.
As your company and support team grow, you’ll want and need different features. In part, this is because you’ll have different priorities and resources, but also because your relationships with customers will shift over time.
You may notice that compared to our previous post for software/SaaS companies, this time we’re covering additional features, like integrations with commerce platforms. We also recognize that you’ll be more focused on social media, self-service, and scaling sooner. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we're compiling a super helpful checklist of the common features needed by each group.
Now that you know which group you fall within, let’s talk about the support platforms that might be the best fit for you. As always, this list is meant as a starting point. You will likely need to do a detailed evaluation to determine which platform is best for your situation. TestBox is a great tool to help you do that because it lets you test different platforms side by side.
We’re looking at some of the same top platforms as we did in our previous post for software and SaaS companies, but also introducing some newer options, like Gorgias, that focus on ecommerce support. Notably absent from this collection are Salesforce Essentials and Salesforce Service Cloud. While both are excellent support platforms, they don’t have as many features aimed directly at a direct-to-consumer ecommerce business. However, if you use Salesforce as your CRM or are looking for a CRM to be tied to your support platform, they are both excellent choices to review.
This table is meant to be a guide. We’re building a full chart that will list the features offered by each platform in detail. If you’re interested in receiving this when it’s ready, be sure to sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this post. As well, check out our detailed product comparisons chart that includes information on product tiers, pricing, security, and compliance features, as well as implementation support options.
Now that you have some potential support platforms to look at, it’s time to start your search. If you haven’t already read our series on finding a support platform, make sure to check it out here. We have some great posts to help you on your journey. You can also learn about some of our favorite features in Zendesk, HubSpot, Freshdesk, and Dixa.
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