SaaS support tools are one of the many niches that the very idea of SaaS opened up once internet became powerful and browsers became sophisticated enough. In the past, support was relegated to much maligned and limited channels of contact, the most infamous of these being the call center.
Well, in modern times, SaaS support tools have opened up so many new channels of contact, and this is a great thing for many reasons. For one, different customers will find different channels more convenient and native to them. Some people hate having to use phones for the most part, while others really get impatient with the hold times and voice menus that have all come together to build the abyss that is the modern call center.
But, what kind of tools have evolved, and exactly what new channels do they open up? Well, this is a list of software we’ve mentioned in varying combinations a billion times, so you’re likely to see some familiar names here.
#1 – Zendesk
Zendesk doesn’t create a new kind of contact channel, but it breathes life into a previously mostly failed attempt at a new channel, that being the help desk system.
These were tried as early as the dawn of the world wide web and have been met in the past with quite mixed reactions from people. Some have said they were great, others detested them. Well, a big part of that was that the web technology itself made them awkward to use back then.
Now, Zendesk exemplifies how slick new web technology has breathed new life into this system.
#2 – LivePerson
Another thing that’s been tried but failed in the past was the live chat concept. Well, this wasn’t so much the result of technology being too limited to make it work, it was just that people weren’t ready for this yet. Chats were too weird to people in the past. Now, however, with mobiles making people so used to SMS and instant messaging, this is not the case.
LivePerson innovates on the idea by adding some dynamism and ease of integration with CRM and other facilities to make the support experience far more dynamic and expedient.
#3 – WalkMe
This one’s the most unique, as it opens up a pretty new idea, as far as application. WalkMe is a self service solution, something once thought impossible to implement. Rather than needing a human being to handle the complex tasks of fixing things, making inquiries and the like, this software is designed to make this task very easy for the users to do themselves in many cases.
It’s like having an onboard AI which can deduce the user’s activities, correct their mistakes, and suggest the next steps they should take, to complete a task on their own.
It can be programmed without any previous programming skill being needed, with a simple point and click interface that is ridiculously easy. Seriously, your cat could probably use this.
These are some of the most interesting SaaS support tools out there, but there are a billion more. I just figured I’d try to exemplify what the diversification of SaaS like this can really bring in fields and industries formerly just … impossible to make efficient and easy.