Customer Experience 
Choosing customer service software for a small business might not seem like a big deal. But it’s one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your SMB.
Why? Because the stakes are much higher. Unlike big brands, you don’t have thousands of dollars to splurge on a tool that might not add value to your business. So, you need to take your time to find a solution that delivers real value and aligns with your specific business needs.
Here, we’ll discuss the different types of customer service software and how to make the right choice for your small business.
Customer Service Solutions for Small Businesses
You’ll need one or more of these tools to create an effective customer service workflow for your small business.
Small business customer service tools
| Customer Service Tool | Best For | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Ticketing system | Creating, managing, and tracking support tickets | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
| Live chat | Real-time messaging for website visitors | Help Scout, Tidio, Helpshift |
| Self-service knowledge base | Empowering customers to find answers on their own | Hiver, Hubspot Service Hub, Document360 |
| Call center software | Managing inbound and outbound calls | Nextiva, Five9 |
| Cloud-based contact center | Delivering omnichannel customer support | Nextiva, 8×8 |
| Help desk software | Streamlining the support process between customers and agents | Zendesk, Zoho Desk, Freshservice |
| Social media management | Interacting with customers on social media platforms | Buffer, Loomly |
1. Ticketing system
When you communicate with multiple customers across several channels, their inquiries can easily be overlooked. Messages might go unanswered for weeks, or customers may have to send multiple messages to get a response, which can be frustrating. To avoid this, you need a ticketing system.
A ticketing system centralizes all inbound customer inquiries from different communication channels so that you can easily manage them. When a customer submits a request via email, chat, or any other support channel, the system creates a ticket with relevant information. It sorts it into a category based on predetermined criteria, such as priority level, nature of the inquiry, or service-level agreements.
The ticket is then assigned to the appropriate agent or team for resolution. The ticketing system tracks the status of each support ticket and maintains a record of all interactions and updates related to the customer inquiry until it is resolved.
Examples of ticketing systems for small businesses include Zendesk and Freshdesk.
2. Live chat
About 70% of U.S. consumers expect same-day responses to customer inquiries. One way to beat this expectation is to invest in live chat software.
A live chat system is a messenger application embedded in your website. It allows website visitors to send messages and receive real-time responses from a customer service agent.
Some live chat systems integrate with chatbots or AI-powered virtual assistants to speed up customer response time. In this case, the chatbot answers routine customer inquiries and routes more complex questions to the appropriate support agents.
Common examples of live chat software include Help Scout, Tidio, and Helpshift:
3. Self-service knowledge base
If your customer service team is overwhelmed with support requests, consider investing in a self-service knowledge base. Done right, it can take care of up to 40% of customer requests received via live chat and reduce your support team’s workload.
A self-service knowledge base is a searchable library of information that helps customers resolve issues independently. It contains FAQs, how-to guides, video tutorials, and any other information customers need to find the answers to their questions, enabling them to solve problems on their own.
Users can access the self-service portal anytime to find solutions and information without contacting customer support, reducing wait times and improving customer satisfaction.
Examples of solid knowledge base software include Hiver, Service Hub, Document360, and HubSpot:
4. Call center software
As a small business owner, you will need call center software if you rely heavily on phone calls for customer interactions.
It will help you manage inbound and outbound calls efficiently through:
- Automatic call routing: Call center software receives inbound calls and routes them to the best-fit agent based on predetermined criteria.
- Call recording: It records agent–customer conversations to monitor team performance regarding customer service quality and ensure compliance with industry regulations. You can also use recorded calls as a resource for training new agents.
- Voicemail: It allows agents to leave recorded messages for unavailable customers, which can be helpful for outbound campaigns. Agents can use voicemails to pass on information even if they can’t speak with the customer in real time.
Common examples of call center software include Nextiva and Five9.
5. Cloud-based contact center
As a small business, you’re likely interacting with customers on several channels simultaneously — from SMS to social media and your business phone system. Coordinating these communication channels without a reliable cloud-based contact center is difficult.
A cloud-based contact center powers your customer communication from a single place. It integrates all your communication channels — from phone calls to emails and live chat — into a centralized support hub.
This allows you to deliver an omnichannel customer experience regardless of how or when customers interact with your brand. For example, a customer can reach out via social media and continue the conversation via email without having to repeat the information they shared previously. The conversation continues as if it was uninterrupted.
A cloud-based contact center also provides greater flexibility and scalability than traditional contact centers, as it operates over the Internet. Small businesses can scale customer service management up or down based on their needs, such as during peak seasons or when expanding into new markets, without facing the limitations of traditional on-premises systems.
Nextiva and 8×8 are two of the most popular cloud-based contact center solutions for small businesses.
6. Help desk software
Help desk software is an all-in-one tool that centralizes your entire support process, from managing customer inquiries to tracking agent performance metrics.
It offers ticket management for tracking customer inquiries, automatically routes support requests to agents, and provides self-service options like knowledge base software and a live chat system.
Examples of help desk software for small businesses and startups include Zendesk, Zoho Desk, and Freshservice:
7. Social media management software
A social media management tool is a software application or platform that helps coordinate customer interactions on social channels. It allows you to schedule posts in advance, engage with your audience, track the performance of your posts, and manage multiple social media accounts from a single dashboard.
Popular examples of social media management tools include Loomly and Buffer:
How to Know Which Customer Service Software Solution You Need
With so many customer support software options available, deciding what to invest in can be tricky. Here’s how to discover which tools will benefit your small business.
1. Analyze visitor behavior on your website
Use a website analytics tool like Hotjar to generate heat maps that visually represent user interactions on your website, such as clicks, taps, and scrolling behavior. This will help you to understand how customers engage with your website and what they might need help with. Based on this insight, you can choose the right customer support tools to address customer issues.
For example, let’s say you notice that users spend a lot of time hovering over the different pricing tiers, but they don’t often click on the sign-up or contact buttons.
In that case, you can integrate a live chat widget on the pricing page to answer any questions customers have about your pricing plans. You can also create a pricing section in your knowledge base software and link to it from the pricing page to provide detailed information for prospective customers.
2. Collect customer feedback
Train your support agents to ask open-ended questions during customer interactions. Open-ended questions encourage customers to share detailed and honest feedback, giving you a better understanding of the challenges they’ve faced.
For example, you can ask, “What do you struggle with the most regarding our product or service delivery?” If multiple customers say they do not enjoy repeating information when they contact you, you can invest in a cloud-based contact center to streamline communication across various channels.
3. Administer post-interaction surveys
Post-interaction surveys help you gather customer feedback on a large scale. They’re also easier to analyze, as you don’t have to sift through lengthy conversations to find the feedback you want.
Post-interaction surveys are best administered immediately after a customer conversation because the experience is still fresh in the customer’s mind, allowing them to give accurate and relevant feedback.
You can use Nextiva’s customer survey software to design and quickly share email surveys after every customer interaction with the support team or administer embedded surveys at the end of a live chat session.
Ask questions like:
- On a scale of 1–10, how satisfied are you with our response time?
- What can we do to make your support experience better?
4. Track support volume
Monitor incoming communication across all your customer channels to discover trends and patterns. This information will help you determine the key features and functionalities to look for when shopping for a customer service platform.
For example, let’s say you notice that most customer inquiries are basic questions that do not require a real-time conversation. In that case, you can invest in a self-service knowledge base that allows customers to find solutions and information without contacting your support team.
Customer Service Software Vendor Checklist
At this point, you should have a clearer idea of the type of customer support software most suitable for your business. Now, it’s time to find a service provider that offers a reliable customer support tool that meets your small business needs.
Use our checklists to vet the available options and quickly find the best customer service software for your business.
1. Scalability
- Can this support solution handle increased demands as my small business grows?
- Does the software offer flexible plans or features that can be added as needed?
- How does the software handle peak periods or sudden increases in activity?
2. Ease of use
- Is the user interface intuitive and easy to navigate?
- Will my team (especially nontechnical team members) be able to onboard quickly and use the software efficiently?
- Are there onboarding resources, templates, or tutorials available to help users get started?
3. Integration
- Is the software compatible with our existing customer relationship management tools like Salesforce and internal communication software like Slack?
- Are there built-in integrations or APIs available to connect with other tools we use?
- How seamless is the integration process, and what support is provided for integration issues?
4. Security
- What security measures does the vendor have in place to protect customer data and our business information?
- Does the vendor comply with relevant data protection regulations and standards, such as GDPR and CCPA?
- Are there regular security audits and updates to address potential vulnerabilities?
5. Customer support
- Is the vendor known for reliable and responsive customer support?
- Does the vendor provide multiple customer support channels, including email, telephone, and social media?
- Are there any self-service channels available, including a knowledge base and AI virtual assistants?
6. Pricing
- What is the total cost of ownership, including any hidden fees or additional charges?
- Are there different pricing tiers, and what features are included in each tier?
- Does the vendor offer a free trial or a money-back guarantee to evaluate the software?
Close Customer Service Gaps With Nextiva
Nextiva’s affordable and scalable contact center platform can be a game-changer for small businesses aiming to improve their customer service. By unifying multiple communication channels, such as phone calls, emails, and live chat, into a single, integrated platform, Nextiva reduces the need for several customer service software vendors.
This approach streamlines customer interactions, reduces operational complexity, and allows small businesses to provide a seamless and consistent customer experience across all their channels.
Local First Arizona, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding the impact of locally owned businesses, added new capabilities and lowered IT costs.
“Nextiva was able to offer us more features at a lower price than our previous provider, including voicemail-to-email, more extensions, and a better overall network.”
Thomas Barr
Learn more about Nextiva’s contact center solutions to see how they can benefit your business.
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