OK, so everyone knows we love Magento eCommerce – that much goes without saying. It’s the worlds number one eCommerce system and for good reason. However we will also admit that it certainly isn’t perfect straight out of the box, but that’s ultimately down to it’s incredibly flexible framework that makes it so special.
The fact you can customise Magento as much as you may desire is the main reason it has been so successful. Over the next few weeks we’ll be running over a few of our favorite Magento eCommerce plugins that we have found to make a real difference to our customers. So what’s first on the list?
AheadWorks Help Desk Ultimate
A companies help desk and support facility is often the first port of call for any customer that has potentially had a problem with your business. Sadly it is something that is only too often overlooked by businesses launching a new site, as they focus on the drive for new sales.
However we know from experience that while a customer who has had a good experience might tell one or two people (and that is a big might!) someone who has had a bad experience will gladly sing it from the rooftops, posting it on Twitter, Facebook and any review site that allows posts without questions asked. And yes – I’m as guilty of is as anyone else!
But this is serious stuff. And reviews and online feedback quickly lead to a fairly terrible reputation online. This then negatively effects the possibility of any referrals from social media not to mention the potential impact on on-site conversions as customers research a brands presence online.
If your are not keeping on top of your customer support you can oh too quickly find your online reputation it tatters, and you have a battle on your hands to regain it. Which is where Help Desk Ultimate comes in…
What is it?
Help Desk Ultimate is effectively a “turnkey solution for…….customer care and support” to quote AheadWorks. It features case tracking and resolution management to ensure you can stay on top of those all important support queries.
You can view their intro video here:
What does it do? Help Desk Ultimate Features:
Pre defined auto responses – ensuring your customers know their query is being processed
Full history linked to customer record – Easily accessed from the Magento customer record ensuring you know if a customer has had a similar experience before, and if you perhaps want to go that extra mile and offer and store credit or discount voucher.
These details are also noted according to the order details, ensuring you know exactly when and with what the customer has had an issue.
2 way parsing – Or to put it simply, the conversion of customer emails into a simple ticket system which reply’s using your email system, once it has been configured. Emails sent by staff members are automatically processed through the system and stored against the incident, then passed on to the customer.
Unlimited Departments – It has the ability for different support queries to be allocated to different departments, ensuring customers contact the right person from the get go, and aren’t passed from pillar to post in search of a resolution to their issue.
Multi store compatibility – Not only can you divide support by departments, but also according to the different front ends – particularly useful if you are managing multiple language sites.
Flexible Ticket Management – Including the functionality to pass tickets to other departments or to lock tickets so only you or a chose admin group can edit them.
Ticketing Priority System – Allowing tickets to be given levels of importance according to customer groups. Really useful if you have a group of top or regular customers who you want to ensure are always looked after to the best of your ability.
And much more besides.
Compatibility and costs
Magento Community (module cost $199)
Magento Professional (module cost $349)
Magento Enterprise (module cost $699)
We are now installing it as standard on all our new Magento eCommerce builds, due to the popularity with our existing customers. Having Help Desk Ultimate ensures our clients are right on top of their customer service process from day one of their new website launch.
If you are looking at installing Help Desk Ultimate please feel free to get in touch, or if you need more information on the module have a look at the AheadWorks side on the following link:
Website link – AheadWorks Help Desk Ultimate
