Freshdesk, the service that helps companies provide support through social platforms like Facebook and Twitter is launching further integration with Google Analytics and Google Contacts today.
With over 4 million businesses using Gmail as their corporate email provider, the company has spotted a way to join the dots for those companies by working with the services that Google already provides.
In 2011, Freshdesk secured $1m in funding from global venture capital firm Accel Partners. It has not put this money to waste, having developed its product team and bolstered its cloud-based services.
Customer support analysis
Putting a help desk service together with Google Analytics is a smart combination. It means that companies can work out how customers use support and help to identify which points of contact are critical. That way more effort can be applied in the right places.
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Freshdesk’s link makes it easier for companies to see which support mechanisms are satisfying for customers and which ones are more likely to see visitors bounce. Overall a picture can be created that may help to explain customer behaviour and help to predict where improvement or change may be necessary.
Shared contacts and gadgets
A social support desk tends to have a lot of inbound streams with many channels and plenty of tickets and threads to follow. It’s easy to waste time attempting to keep across all platforms and follow customer activity.
To try to tackle this issue, Freshdesk has designed a way through Google Gadgets whereby support staff can see customer contact details, an entire conversation thread and ticket history all from a Gmail account.
It’s important to have the right information to hand when customers need help, having that data displayed in a constructive manner is useful for timely responses and letting clients know that you recognise them without having to juggle accounts and files.
Another good idea is Freshdesk’s method of sharing contacts. This creates a way for customer support agents to see and use a shared contact list within Gmail, a bit like the Global Address List in Microsoft’s Outlook. Sharing contacts in this way means that all the right details are handy when a ticket comes up and any member of a support team has the right information.
The company also has a sense of humour – note the staff names in this Google contacts integration screen cap. (I hope Gandalf takes my call…):
Freshdesk’s CEO Girish Mathrubootham notes that Google’s method of weaving together its products can work in the favour of other companies. He says, “Google has thrived by making it easy for users to access all Google products from YouTube to AdWords in an easy and streamlined manner. We are now providing the last mile solution to connect businesses on Google with their customers in a meaningful way. Our aim is to drive optimal brand loyalty and repeat business through seamless support.”
Freshdesk appears to be coming up with some interesting solutions for customer support more streamlined. It also helps smaller businesses consider how best to approach the service by providing negotiable plans for startups and discounts for charitable organisations.
In a time of social media griping and the speed at which a message can travel when it comes to customer service and reputation, services like Freshdesk could be a good idea for saving money and face on the Internet.
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