Freshdesk Deep Dive: The Features No One Is Talking About

Freshdesk – A CRM Service

A cloud-based customer service software for all your business needs.

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Every year, billions of customer service tickets flood the inboxes and dashboards of businesses worldwide. With the ever-evolving landscape of customer support, businesses are constantly on the hunt for tools that can streamline this onslaught of inquiries and foster better customer relationships.

Enter Freshdesk: a solution that has garnered the attention of over 40,000 companies across 118 countries. But is it truly the gold standard for modern customer support?

Let’s break down the numbers. A whopping 75% of businesses believe that customer service is their competitive advantage. Yet, an alarming number of these businesses falter when it comes to providing consistent, top-notch support.

And here’s a statistic that’ll make you sit up straighter: nearly 50% of customers would switch to a competitor after just one bad service experience.

Freshdesk is often regarded as a complex platform due to its extensive features and capabilities, offering advanced automation, workflows, and customization options. While this can be a significant advantage for businesses seeking comprehensive support management, it may also present a learning curve for new users.

So, where does Freshdesk fit into this narrative? Is it the missing link for businesses seeking to elevate their customer support game, or just another tool in an already crowded marketplace?

In this comprehensive review, we will explore every nook and cranny of Freshdesk, from its interface and features to its true ROI.

Buckle up and dive deep with me as I dissect one of the most talked-about platforms in the customer support industry. Whether you’re a small startup or a global enterprise, this is one review you won’t want to miss.

What exactly is Freshdesk?

Freshdesk is a full-spectrum customer service software or ticketing software. It traces its roots to Chennai, India, and, as of now, has a headquarters in San Mateo, California. The core function of Freshdesk is to convert support requests from customers via email, chats, and phone calls into tickets.

Freshdesk CRM is a comprehensive, cloud-based platform that combines multichannel support, automation, self-service options, and team collaboration tools to streamline customer service management.

Freshdesk aims to simplify your customer support service exponentially by unifying ticket resolution on multiple platforms. You would say, then, what’s so special about it? Every customer service software does the same.

Well, not exactly! There is something more that Freshdesk offers to businesses like yours. Actually, it’s not something, a lot of things! You can automate your workflow, manage SLAs, and keep an eye on various performance metrics.

This helps you keep track of the quality of your customer service. These amazing qualities make Freshdesk a favorite among thousands of companies. In fact, Freshdesk boasts 40,000+ clients across the globe and includes names like Team Viewer, Honda, and American Express.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the most amazing features of Freshdesk that make it my personal favorite!

Freshdesk Features

Exceptional Ticket Management

A proficient ticketing framework is the linchpin of any customer support ecosystem, and Freshdesk stands in good stead in this domain. It has engineered its ticketing system to be more agent-centric, aiming to amplify agent productivity while minimizing response latency.

Any customer grievance voiced on any communication conduit – be it email, chat, social media, or a call – is automatically converted by Freshdesk into trackable tickets, ensuring a thorough documentation of issues and access to customer history.

This enables agents to deliver context-aware support by referencing past conversations and interactions. Tickets can be segmented into various categories and classified by support type for organized management, ensuring proper handling and routing. Freshdesk uses agents based routing to assign tickets to the appropriate department or agent according to predefined criteria.

Tickets can be assigned a priority level based on specific keyword triggers, ensuring that high-priority issues are attended to expeditiously. Agents have the provision to filter tickets based on certain attributes, aligning issues with their domain expertise.

Furthermore, Service Level Agreement (SLA) thresholds can be configured on Freshdesk to monitor the performance of customer service agents and escalate issues that haven’t been addressed or resolved in a timely fashion. Freshdesk helps support teams efficiently resolve tickets and escalate them when necessary.

Freddy, Freshdesk’s AI engine, emerges as a valuable ally here too. It proactively suggests help articles for frequently broached topics. Freshdesk also has field support request management integrated into its ticket management module.

Field support tickets can be assigned to the relevant agents, with the status of tickets being updatable right from the field via Freshdesk’s mobile application, streamlining the field support workflow.

Enhanced Collaboration

The efficacy of customer support systems significantly hinges on seamless collaboration among diverse teams. At times, resolving certain issues necessitates insights from multiple teams; absent effective collaboration, tickets risk becoming ensnared in a loop of back-and-forths.

Freshdesk is equipped with an arsenal of team collaboration tools tailored to bolster team collaboration efficiency, facilitating internal communication, shared ticket management, and coordination among support agents:

• Freshconnect: This feature empowers customer service agents to collaborate internally to glean necessary information, thereby accelerating resolution times.
• Tagging and Chat: Agents can tag team members within a ticket’s chat, assimilate their input, and convey consolidated responses to customers.
• Ticket Sharing: Share ticket ownership with designated personnel from the technical team, ensuring a synchronized understanding of the ticket’s trajectory.
• Split Tickets: In scenarios demanding parallel engagement from multiple teams, tickets can be bifurcated into parent-child tickets. Resolution is achieved only when all associated tickets are addressed.
• Communication Recording: Every inter-team communication snippet is meticulously logged within the ticket, ensuring transparency and a coherent historical trail.
• Service Tasks: Keep your on-field team in the loop with service tasks. These actionable items within tickets enable the service team to respond adeptly.

Although Freshdesk falls short of project management capabilities, it’s pivotal to note that such features typically transcend the purview of helpdesk software.

Cross-Channel Engagement

One of the standout capabilities of Freshdesk Omni is its robust cross-channel integration feature. This functionality fuses support interactions from various channels into a unified interface, positioning Freshdesk Omni as a comprehensive, all-in-one solution for customer service management.

This offers a consolidated view and management platform for support queries. The channels encompassed include Email, Phone, Chat, Social Media, Website, and WhatsApp.

The integration with social media channels is streamlined and reduces the complexity of setting up cross-channel support. The omniroute feature ensures efficient routing of incoming inquiries by distributing tickets to the most appropriate agents based on workload and expertise.

The automated ticket assignment engine within Freshdesk scrutinizes the incoming inquiries from all channels. Once done, it delegates them to a support agent based on predefined rules set by the administration.

Administrators have the latitude to dictate the volume of inquiries the omniroute feature can dispense to individual or multiple employees. Furthermore, they can designate whether inquiries from a particular channel should be funneled to a single agent or dispersed amongst multiple resources.

The dashboard in Freshdesk provides a real-time view of the volume of incoming inquiries from different channels alongside their resolution statistics.

The left hand menu organizes modules and features for easy access, helping agents efficiently locate tools, contacts, reports, and settings within the platform. With this data, rerouting inquiries to the appropriate team becomes a data-driven decision.

Freshdesk has an AI feature called “Freddy,” and it is a pivotal asset. Freddy initiates engagement with customers, offering pertinent advice or articles to expedite issue resolution.

Streamlined Automation

Employing automation in Freshdesk can significantly pare down repetitive tasks, thereby alleviating the workload on the support cadre. Freshdesk integrates AI tools to streamline ticket management, generate quick responses, and improve reporting capabilities, enhancing overall efficiency for support teams.

• Rule-Based Execution: The automation engine operates on a set of predefined rules, autonomously executing actions based on specified conditions and scenarios. This modus operandi contributes to faster response times, subsequently elevating customer satisfaction levels.
• Supervisor Tool: This automation facet vigilantly monitors ticket activity. For instance, it flags tickets that have stagnated and alert the pertinent personnel for necessary action.
• Automated Actions: Engage in automated communication with customers, such as dispatching emails to ascertain whether an issue has been resolved or requires further attention.
• Smart Ticket Assignment: Automation tools discern the nature of incoming inquiries and adroitly assign them to agents with the requisite expertise. For instance, billing inquiries are routed to agents proficient in billing, and queries in foreign languages are assigned to multilingual agents. Agents-based routing ensures that tickets are handled by the most suitable support staff.
• Parameter-Based Inquiry Sorting: Automation tools classify inquiries based on various parameters like the reported issue and the communication channel utilized. This data drives the setting of ticket priority, ensuring critical issues are promptly attended to.

Freddy, Freshdesk’s AI-powered assistant, acts as an AI copilot by assisting agents through reviewing tickets, making suggestions, and automating routine tasks.

Freddy leverages natural language processing to understand customer queries and automate responses, further enhancing the capabilities of Freshdesk’s AI-driven automation.

Knowledge Base Enhancement

A knowledge base serves as a self-service hub where customers can resolve their inquiries without engaging with a help desk agent. The crux of any self-service model resides in its knowledge base articles.

The customer portal acts as a centralized hub, allowing users to access knowledge bases, view ticket statuses, and manage their support interactions, thereby enhancing the overall self-service experience.

When a user poses a question, they can be directed to a KB article containing the requisite answer, obviating the need for repetitive responses to identical questions.

This approach significantly lightens the workload on the helpdesk team by reducing ticket influx. Freshdesk facilitates the creation and integration of your KB once you’ve accumulated ten or more articles.

Moreover, it pairs seamlessly with Freddy, Freshdesk’s AI chatbot, to deliver an enriched self-service experience.

Collaborative tools within Freshdesk are instrumental when curating a KB, as they enable the most knowledgeable personnel to contribute to specific topics. Freshdesk also supports approval workflows for publishing articles, ensuring content quality and compliance with internal standards.

Additionally, Freshdesk allows for referencing past discussions on similar topics to new customers, ensuring issue resolution without the necessity of ticket submission.

However, there are areas of improvement. For instance, real-time suggestions from relevant articles while customers articulate their issues in the contact form or ticket could be a game-changer.

A more forgiving typo-handling mechanism could also enhance the KB’s user-friendliness. Notwithstanding, due to these limitations, some users might find it beneficial to deploy custom-built knowledge base tools.

Customization Options

It’s always good to have customer service software that can be customized as per one’s needs. And that’s where Freshdesk nails it! Its wide range of customization options includes:

• Portal Aesthetics: Its layout can be customized around your brand’s identity. You can either use its built-in themes or go with CSS modifications to match your brand’s tone.
• Defining Role: Apart from predefined agent roles, you can create custom roles to match your organization’s hierarchy.
• Custom Forms: You can customize your forms, depending on your business’s unique needs, and offer a more personal experience to your customers.
• Customizable Dashboards: Freshdesk offers customizable dashboards that enable tailored insights and real-time monitoring for support teams, helping you make data-driven decisions.
• Extensive app integration: Freshdesk supports extensive third-party app integrations that can enhance its capabilities multi-folds. Some of these apps include Zoom, WhatsApp, and Mailchimp.

Freshdesk is not your standard, rigid, and cliché customer service support app. It’s designed to sync with your business and, hence, best-suited for a wide range of businesses.

Robust Reporting and Exporting

Reporting is a crucial facet of Freshdesk, albeit with room for enhancement. The platform’s curated reports furnish a panoramic view of various performance metrics, encapsulating:

• Helpdesk Performance
• Helpdesk Ticket Volume
• Agent Performance
• Timesheet Summary
• Satisfaction Survey
• And many more

Freshdesk provides standard reports that are pre-made and easy to understand, allowing users to quickly track key metrics such as agent performance, customer satisfaction, and response times. In addition to these standard reports, users can build custom reports from scratch for more advanced analytics and data visualization.

Custom report creation in Freshdesk is intuitive. As you begin typing queries like “total number,” Freshdesk proactively suggests pertinent metrics, simplifying data retrieval. The visual representation of data through graphs and charts augments analysis and readability.

For enterprise and advanced reporting needs, Freshdesk also offers audit logs, enabling organizations to track user activities, manage internal processes, and ensure regulatory compliance.

Report exporting is a breeze with support for CSV and PDF formats or through an API if needed. There’s also the provision to schedule report generation at specified times, be it daily or weekly. This feature absolves management from the need to log in to the system to review team performance.

Freshdesk: Pricing and Plans 

Freshdesk offers three paid plans: Growth, Pro, and Enterprise. And if you are just here to try this tool out, Freshdesk has a free plan, too. The free plan comes with a trial period of 21 days, allowing you to evaluate all features before committing to a paid plan. It’s a great choice if you are just starting or want to test this tool.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the pricing structure.

Customer Experience with Freshdesk

Freshdesk is built with customer experience at its core, making it a standout choice for businesses aiming to deliver top-notch support. Its ticket management system enables support agents to handle customer inquiries from various channels – whether it’s support emails, phone calls, or social media – within one unified interface.

This ensures that no customer query slips through the cracks, and even complex issues are tracked as support tickets until they’re fully resolved.

For customers who prefer to find answers on their own, Freshdesk offers robust self service options. The knowledge base and community forums empower users to troubleshoot common problems independently, which not only boosts customer satisfaction but also lightens the load for support staff.

These self service resources are especially valuable for small teams looking to scale their support without increasing headcount.

Large enterprises benefit from Freshdesk’s ability to prioritize and categorize incoming tickets, ensuring that high-priority or complex issues are escalated to the right agents quickly.

The platform’s customer satisfaction surveys and analytics tools provide actionable insights, allowing businesses to monitor performance and continuously improve the customer experience.

By combining efficient ticket management, self service, and real-time feedback, Freshdesk helps businesses of all sizes deliver support that keeps customers coming back.

Security and Ease of Use

Security and usability are at the forefront of Freshdesk’s design, making it a reliable solution for organizations ranging from startups to large enterprises.

The platform offers a free version for those just starting out, as well as advanced options like the Growth Plan and Pro Plan, which unlock features such as customization options, third party app integrations, and multilingual support to meet diverse business needs.

Freshdesk’s unified interface is a major advantage, allowing support agents to manage all aspects of customer support – ticket volume, agent performance, and customer satisfaction – from a single dashboard.

This not only streamlines workflows but also reduces repetitive tasks, enabling teams to focus on delivering exceptional support.

When it comes to data security, Freshdesk employs robust measures including SSL certificates and IP whitelisting, so businesses can trust that customer information is protected.

The platform’s advanced analytics and customizable reports make it easy to track key metrics and generate insights tailored to your organization’s goals.

Whether you’re using the free version or an enterprise plan, Freshdesk’s combination of security, ease of use, and powerful customization options ensures your support team can operate efficiently and confidently.

What are some Pros and Cons of Freshdesk?

Just like all the tools out there, Freshdesk has pros and cons. Take a quick look at these pros and cons:

Freshdesk Pros

• Advanced features such as automation, omnichannel support, and AI integration set Freshdesk apart from basic ticketing systems, allowing teams to move beyond simple ticket management for greater efficiency and effectiveness.
• Automation: Freshdesk comes with a lot of automation features like auto-replies for some customer queries. 
• Efficient Tracking: It keeps track of past conversations, and hence, the customers can continue from where they left off.
• Ticketing Champ: Excellent ticketing system that helps the frontline team easily manage the customers and solve their queries. 
• Simplified UI: Freshdesk offers a simplified User-friendly interface that can be customized as per the user’s needs. 
• Mobile App: A mobile app gives some extra marks to Freshdesk as you or your team can assist customers on the go.
• Easy Third-party Integration: You can easily integrate a bunch of third-party apps that give you an extra edge.
• Scalability: Scalable for businesses of all sizes.

Freshdesk Cons

• Some advanced features are only available on higher-tier plans.
• Missing a Few Tricks: When stacked against some other platforms, Freshdesk might fall short on a few advanced features.
• Search Could Be Sharper: The search and suggestion functionality might need a bit of polishing to enhance the user experience and help customers find what they need faster.
• Can be overwhelming for very small teams or those seeking only basic functionality

Who Should and Should NOT Use Freshdesk?

While Freshdesk can be exceptionally helpful for a lot of businesses, it’s important to understand your requirements first.

It’s a great choice if you are:

• Exploring Features at No Cost: Take Freshdesk for a spin! It’s a hassle-free choice since it’s forever free to use. And if you’re eyeing the premium plans, enjoy a 14- or 21-day trial to get a feel of the extra perks.
• No Cancellation Frets: Choose to part ways? No worries, Freshdesk won’t charge you a dime for an early goodbye.
• Temporary Boost in User Access: Expecting a surge in customer interactions? Grab day passes to bring more agents on board temporarily, without the need for an immediate upgrade.
• Ease Off Repetitive Tasks: Let the AI take over the mundane, repetitive tasks, freeing up your agents to lend a human touch where it’s needed the most.

But, Freshdesk Might Not Be Your Cup of Tea If:

• You Desire an All-Inclusive Hub: While Freshdesk shines in customer service, if you’re hunting for a one-stop shop for all your communication and collaboration needs, consider stepping up to Freshworks’s Customer Service Suite or exploring other platforms.
• Budget-Friendly Upgrades Are A Priority: Eyeing the Pro plan? It does come with a heftier price tag per user each month compared to the Growth plan. And hey, some other platforms might offer you better service features without burning a hole in your pocket.

User Reviews and Ratings

Freshdesk consistently earns high marks from users across major review platforms, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on sites like G2 and Capterra.

Users frequently highlight the platform’s ease of use, flexible customization options, and comprehensive set of features as reasons why it’s a great tool for managing customer support.

Many businesses report that Freshdesk helps boost efficiency and improve customer satisfaction, thanks to features like workflow automation, custom reporting, and a robust knowledge base.

The community forums and support team are also praised for providing timely assistance and valuable resources, making it easier for users to overcome any learning curve associated with more advanced features.

While some users note that mastering all of Freshdesk’s capabilities – such as custom reporting and workflow automation – can take time, the platform’s extensive documentation and active community forums help bridge the gap.

Overall, Freshdesk stands out as a top choice for organizations seeking to enhance their customer experience with a reliable, feature-rich, and user-friendly support solution.

Freshdesk Alternatives: How does it fare against Competitors?

Freshdesk vs Zendesk

So, you’re trying to decide between Freshdesk and Zendesk, right? Both are giants when it comes to customer support. They’re cloud-based and super robust in ensuring smooth customer interactions.

Now, while they both rock the ticketing and knowledge base departments, if you’re the type who loves customizing and integrating all the apps, Zendesk has this vast marketplace that you might fancy.

But on the budget side of things, Freshdesk is kind of a pal for startups or the smaller guys with its free version.

Zendesk, even though it comes with a price tag from the get-go, packs in a ton of features that might be just what larger businesses are looking for.

Freshdesk vs Intercom

Jumping into the Freshdesk and Intercom debate, these two have their own flavors of customer support. Freshdesk is your go-to for a neat, structured way of handling customer issues through ticketing.

Intercom? It’s more about that real-time chitchat, bringing in chat and bot functions for that instant connection. If you’re all about quick and live interactions, Intercom’s got your back. But if you’re into the classic ticketing way, Freshdesk won’t let you down.

Budget-wise, if you’re running a big team or want all those fancy features, just a heads-up—Intercom might ask for a few more bucks.

Freshdesk vs. Help Scout

Now, if we’re comparing Freshdesk and Help Scout, these two are both strong contenders in the cloud-based help desk arena. But here’s the kicker with Help Scout—it’s got this user-friendly vibe, making you feel like you’re just checking your email. Money talk?

Both have their pricing games strong, so it really comes down to the features you’re gunning for and how big your crew is.

Freshdesk vs Zoho Desk

Heading into the Freshdesk vs. Zoho Desk showdown, Zoho Desk stands out as part of the big Zoho family, offering a buffet of business tools. So, if you’re already a Zoho enthusiast, the integration with Zoho Desk is smooth as butter.

And, not to forget, they have “Zia”—a smart AI buddy to make ticket assignments feel like a breeze. Price tags? Both have their own offerings, but if you’re looking for something comprehensive, Freshdesk could be a great choice.

Freshdesk: The Final Verdict

Frankly, there are hundreds of customer service support tools out there. And most of them have almost a common offering when it comes to features and options. But Freshdesk, with its AI-concierge Freddy, Free plan, and exceptional features, emerges as a balanced choice.

If you are looking for something that can seamlessly blend with your existing infrastructure, has an optimal learning curve, and is pocket-friendly, Freshdesk is a perfect pick. And if you don’t want to take my word for it (which you shouldn’t, to be honest!), give it a shot, as it offers a free trial.

I hope this review has offered you all the answers you were looking for on Freshdesk.

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