Product launches can be an exciting business. A new offering means another opportunity to win more clients and make more money. Most of all, it means another shot at leaving your personal imprint in your industry. Your pour hours of energy into brainstorming, planning and executing within every segment of your business, from marketing to manufacturing. Before you know it, it’s time to pull the cover and reveal your latest and greatest creation.

The past two decades have witnessed emails going on to become one of the most preferred modes of contact in customer support. The reason for this newfound affinity was straightforward. They were easy to use, track and respond. Though email support isn’t dead, chat as a support channel has become more engaging and favored among customers in recent times.

Customers today are increasingly searching online before making a purchase. In fact, 75% of consumers admit to making judgments on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design1. Be it a pair of sunglasses or a ticketing software, the first place a customer visits is the brand’s website. Which is why brands have to make sure they offer a great digital customer experience.

Let me start with a question: How much importance do you give to customer service in your organization that’s just starting up? I ask you this because, although your business might still be young, setting up a system to provide customer service should be a high priority. It has proven that companies with a well-thought-out approach to customer service have a 92% retention rate.

Here’s a quick look at the apps that made it to the Freshdesk Marketplace this month! Each of these apps brings features that help users enhance their workflows and enables them to do more with Freshdesk. Let’s get into it!

Many businesses are looking for new ways to incorporate automation into their daily workflows. Though there are many ways to accomplish this, the most widely-discussed option today is artificial intelligence (AI). AI holds a lot of potential for customer service teams and gives them the ability to work more efficiently than ever before.

Though contact centers sport a cheerful vibe, agent turnover is reported to be the number one challenge in contact centers1 across industries. Drilling down on this problem reveals that agents face a number of pain points while working at contact centers that are causing them to leave. Why should this worry you?

Customer support isn’t what it once used to be. Today, customers would rather troubleshoot their problems by reading solution articles, than by writing an elaborate email about it, or waiting to speak to a support agent over the phone. With the increased dependence on self-service over traditional channels of communication, it has become necessary for companies to implement a customer portal where they can collate all the information the end-user requires.

No matter how skilled and experienced your customer support team, none of your agents can resolve every customer issue by themselves. For some tickets, they might need assistance from a developer. For others, they might need information from your warehouse or suppliers. And in some cases, they might just want to speed up the process by asking another agent who’s handled a similar issue for advice.

When today’s consumers run into issues or have questions, they expect solutions fast. Though tools like live chat have drastically decreased the time it takes to find a resolution, most channels still require you to wait for a support agent. But online self-service portals have changed that.