What is a ticketing management system?
The eskimo has many different words for snow. The same goes for a ticketing management system – also called a ticketing software, helpdesk software or CRM. A ticketing management system is simply a digital tool to gather all the information about your customers and organise customer-related matters with a unique ticket and reference number.
Every time a customer contacts you, that exchange becomes part of a new or ongoing ticket. Even if you’re not handling your ticketing management in a structured way today, there is a lot to gain from starting to use a ticketing management system that is adapted to your company’s needs.
Why should you use a ticketing management system?
Better structure makes for increased customer satisfaction
The goal of using a helpdesk software in your customer service is to increase customer satisfaction. With structured ticketing management, you can feel confident that all cases are handled correctly.
Faster resolutions
When you take control of your data and communication, your response time for both email, phone calls and chat decreases. As soon as a customer reaches out, the customer care representative can see which services the customer use and what has been said in previous exchanges. Both parties save time. The customer doesn’t have to be put through to another person, and the customer care representative doesn’t have to waste time looking for the right information.
Digital ticketing software with standardised checklists
Not all cases look the same, but they do have lot of steps in common. With standardised checklists, it’s easy for the administrator to follow the right procedures and follow-up each case accordingly. If several people are involved in the same case, the checklist helps minimise the risk of duplicated work or things falling between the chairs and being forgotten.
Statistics that help you improve your flows
Is it important to categorise all incoming cases? Yes, if you want to use statistics to improve your processes.
It’s a common worry that new software will create more admin. The solution is to find a balance between the cases that need to be documented and other, so-called “quick” cases. A quick case might be able to be handled with just one or two keystrokes.
Let your ticketing management software talk to your other systems
The idea of a ticketing management system is to gather all the relevant information about a customer in one place. Which systems should be connected to the ticketing management system depends on your type of business and industry.
Companies in the real estate industry, for example, need to integrate their customer service with their real estate management system, while a utility company needs to be able to handle a number of different types of matters. According to the principle of transparent government, they also need a system for disclosing information when necessary, for example.
Choose the right ticketing management system – adapted to your industry
It’s not always easy to choose the right ticketing management software. If you’re going to start using or changing ticketing management systems, it’s important to set the right requirements for functionality. It’s not just the integration between systems that needs to work well. It’s equally important that your employees can quickly understand and use them.
For that reason, it’s important to many companies to have a ticketing management system that supports common processes for their specific industry.
A good example is the real estate industry, where the most important integration is with the real estate management system. These systems are often very closed and can be difficult to integrate with other software.
If you are looking for a supplier for a new ticketing management software, choose someone with experience in your industry.
Mobile ticketing management for employees in the field
Not all employees need access to the same functions in the ticketing management system. And it’s not guaranteed that all employees will always have access to a computer. Those who don’t will need to handle cases on a mobile or tablet.
For employees in the field, a property manager for instance, mobile ticketing management can mean:
- Customer service receives a fault report.
- Customer service forwards a work order to the property manager.
- The property manager can read the case and mark it as resolved directly on their mobile phone.
The process is easy to follow, and customer service sees immediately when the case is handled.
But it’s not only incoming cases that can be handled. Inspection rounds can also be managed in the same place. A property manager might inspect the fire protection measures or other things requiring periodic monitoring. With clear checklists and reminders, work is faster and easier.
How much does a ticketing management system cost?
A common pricing model for ticketing management systems is a fixed cost per user and month. Sometimes a start-up cost is added depending on how many integrations are to be made with other important IT systems.
The most common types of integrations are:
- Contact centers with telephone, email and chat functions
This integration saves customer service valuable time. When the customer calls in, the administrator can see from the number who’s calling and what services or ongoing cases are connected to that particular customer. - Email addresses and function mailboxes
Most businesses have a number of different email addresses for different purposes. One address for error reporting and another for requests, for example. By collecting all the mailboxes in a common view, message handling becomes easier and you avoid duplicating work. Or even worse, cases falling through the cracks. - ERP
Depending on your industry, your ERP can have several purposes. A property company can integrate its financial system to easily keep track of rent reminders for specific tenants. For a construction company, it’s important to be able to quickly see supplier invoices for each subcontractor. Lime CRM integrates with several different financial systems, such as Visma and Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
These are just some examples of common integrations. The whole system is made of pieces, like a puzzle. The advantage of working with Lime CRM is that we can act as a small piece of the puzzle, or be the whole thing. Your business decides what the solution looks like.
How to get started
Every time we help our customers get going, we start by answering a few questions. Identifying the requirements for the new systems is the key to success. We ask, for instance:
- What other software and programs do you want to integrate?
- Which channels do you use for communicating with customers?
- Do you have any processes for handling incoming cases already?
- Which employees use your CRM or ticketing software today?
If you want to know how much a ticketing management system will cost for your business, contact us and we’ll help you develop a solution that works for you.
Start streamlining your ticketing management today
What are you waiting for?
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