In this article we will bring you some alternatives to improve communication with your customers. This way you will be able to help them a little better, answering questions they may have about your product or service and facilitating sales pitches. In addition, the ability to have detailed reports with information about who accesses your site, when and how long they stay, what they are looking for and even offering support messages are essential and often seen in options like the ones below. At the moment of “everything for yesterday” that social networks provide us, the more clear information your customer finds and the simpler the path to take to make a purchase, the greater the success of the business. The best services and products are not always the best sellers. But surely the best-selling products have a better detailed, attractive and targeted marketing journey. So it’s worth taking a look at the 12 free support and customer service tools we’ve separated below.
Benefits of customer support platforms
After all, what are the benefits in hiring support and customer service software? These platforms are designed to help companies at every stage of the customer journey, from engagement to support. They understand the need to manage metrics, especially consumer searches and surveys, to create targeted marketing campaigns that will increase your company’s engagement. But they also count with the inclusion of relationship channels and live conversations, because for your company to better perform sales, you need support and follow-up of these leads.
Main points to consider when choosing a platform
An intercommunications software can have several features and everything will depend on what your need is. What do you need the tool to do? Does your company have a sales team? If not, could the option of chatbots to capture qualified and interested leads be an interesting solution? Or is your need more for tech support with live chat? Among all these needs, one thing is for sure, support and customer service tools can help you manage four main points: And then you can check the list below for the differentials of each of the software presented. It is worth considering what fits your needs and paying attention to desirable services such as:
Website visitor messages or chat prompts Live chat Help Desk Features Email automation
12 free customer support tools!
So, let’s go to our list of free or low-cost support and customer service tools. So you can choose which one best fits the profile and needs of your business today!
1. Tawk.to
Free live chat
We started our list with chat software suitable for small and medium businesses that have a need for advanced online chat features and/or need third-party agents.
That’s because, one of the differentials of Tawk.to is to offer the service with its own agents starting on US$1 per hour to interested subscribers. That is, if you are a small business or if the demands of agents are fluctuating in your business, this might be a good option. It is also worth noting that, unlike many programs, Tawk.to does not limit any features to free subscribers. And it still offers services such as automated actions, preview of customer messages and predetermined responses. It is available on Android and iOS, as you can check on the website!
2. Jivochat
Live chat
Another chat option with a full package offered is JivoChat. Previously, JivoChat was just a WordPress chat plugin. However, it was recently improved and today it can be installed on most e-commerce platforms. Apps and websites like Slack, Weebly, WordPress, Wix, Pipedrive, Zapier, Shopify, etc. And with it you can still use the live chat widget on any gadget, browser or operating system. Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, phone and email can also be integrated. Another interesting thing is that it offers specific resources for internal communication, which have integration with CRM. JivoChat is an application that offers both a free and a paid version – JivoChat Pro and is great both for your marketing campaigns and for the management and administrative control of your business. Check it out: Best live chat for websites: check out the top 13!
3. Olark
Simple and automated chats
Still in our sequence of free or low cost tools for customer support and services, we present your Olark. It is excellent for those who work with virtual stores. This live chat software allows you to chat in real time and also capture service data for your customer relationship management system. It includes robust chat tools like file attachments and managing teams and conversations. It integrates with other sales and support tools – which makes the platform even more complete and effective for your business needs. As for values, Olark offers two types of subscriptions: monthly and annual, with prices starting at US$29.00 per month. You can find more information on the software page.
4. ZenDesk Chat
Multi-channel chat with your customer
Zendesk creates help desk software to improve customer relationships. With it, you can embed the chat experience into your self-service support center. Customers will only get in touch if they don’t get a response elsewhere. In other words, it helps your business to provide support through websites, mobile apps, and messaging services.
More than 200,000 companies such as Uber, Groupon, Box, Airbnb and Disney are using Zendesk to reduce support costs and increase productivity and customer satisfaction. Zendesk is a paid application and has plans starting at US$49.00 per month.
5. LiveAgent
Complete help desk, live chat and call center
This software offers more than just live chat, it offers full customer support with integrated ticketing. LiveAgent is the best-rated and most-reviewed technical support solution on the market, serving more than 150 million users and 40,000 companies worldwide. With effective support, it includes features that even include managing multiple social media networks at the same time. The software offers several automatic options to indicate some requests to a specific manager and categorize your customers. And you can also take advantage of features like week-long ticket history, email tickets, ticket merge, split, and more. LiveAgent works with various software, plug-ins and apps, including Zapier and Analytics. It can be integrated with email commerce options like Billing Management etc. It has a free account and paid plans, see what best suits your business directly on the platform page.
6. Freshchat
Free tech support application
Continuing with our list of free customer support and service tools, we introduce Freshchat. Freshchat is robust chat software offered by Freshworks, which also provides sales, marketing and technical support software. An important point to note is that Freshchat includes features that marketing, sales, and customer support teams need, such as response prioritization and conversation categories. It has the option to unify messaging channels and customize self-service on your website, app and digital messaging channels (WhatsApp, SMS and more!). With a 21-day free trial, it offers paid plan options.
7. Zoho Desk
Free tech support application
Looking for software that gives you different ticket views to help you organize your tickets automatically based on priority, deadline, status or CRM status? Zoho Desk helps your agents save time by deciding which tickets need attention first. Aimed at companies of any size and industry, it provides industry- and job-specific apps for sales and marketing, HR, helpdesk, and finance. It offers the free service for up to 3 agents and paid plans with more features.
8. Deskero
Multi-channel tech support application
Deskero is a cloud helpdesk software with features such as multi-channel support, knowledge base, social media integration, integrated live chat, turnkey responses, and preferred customer management. It simplifies the management of technical assistance interventions of any type, regardless of how they were processed. It aims to integrate social engagement with customer service, with an innovative social watchdog that allows companies to track all the meaningful social conversations that might involve their brands. With plans starting at US$9.00 per month, check the website for details.
9. UseResponse
Customer support software
With an advanced technical support ticketing system, UseResponse can be easily incorporated and deployed in your business. Mainly used by entrepreneurs, support managers and marketing agents, it is ideal for any type of business such as banks, universities, telecom operators, and even mobile operators. Prices start at $15.00 USD per month and can be used as a self-hosted solution installed on your server or cloud option.
10. Mailjet
Transactional e-mail and free e-mail automation
Mailjet is a powerful email service provider used by over 150,000 companies worldwide to create, send and track their marketing and transactional emails. With a flexible infrastructure, it can automatically scale to send up to 15 million emails per hour via the email API. Another cool differentiator is the drag-and-drop email builder, which helps you create 100% responsive emails quickly. Thanks to advanced user management and content blocking, companies have better control over their brand image and accounts. All this with a free plan capable of sending up to 6,000 emails per month. It also has more robust plans, visit the website and learn about the details.
11. SendinBlue
CRM integrated free e-mail automation
And the search for a sales and marketing automation tools platform with integrated CRM may be over. Sendinblue is one of the most popular tools to automate an email marketing strategy in a practical and efficient way. With several features and plans, the solution appears as a valuable option for those who want to create an even closer relationship with their audience.
The most important thing is that it uses its solutions and manages to centralize the main resources to create campaigns, generate leads and follow the customer journey. A complete offer, the tool also features SMS marketing, CRM, Facebook ads and retargeting features.
12. HelpCrunch
E-mail marketing automation and customer support communication
And to finish off our list of free customer support tools, we introduce HelpCrunch. This customer communication platform offers live chat for web and mobile apps, knowledge base and email automation software. With a simple and intuitive platform, HelpCrunch also offers easy migration from other platforms. Its main tools are Live Chat, outgoing email and chat messages, basic CRM, knowledge base, help desk and pop-ups. Its pricing is based on the number of team members and emails (if using this feature) and no hidden fees for people reached.
How did you like these 12 free and affordable customer support tools?
If this was interesting to you, maybe you can share it with your team! If the work life is what you are trying to focus now, check these out:
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