Have you ever been confused because customer messages are scattered between Zalo, Facebook, email and even livechat website, each channel has an app, sometimes forgetting the information in the tab that hasn't been opened yet? As a result, customers have to wait for a long time and even leave because they feel they are being ignored. So what should we do to ensure that no information is left behind? Wherever the customer calls, the customer service department can monitor and report the entire volume?
Multi-channel helpdesk (also known as unified multi-channel, omnichannel helpdesk) is a system that brings all contact channels of email, Zalo, Facebook and livechat website into a single place, turning them all into tickets with status, SLA and full history. Thanks to gathering them in one place, businesses no longer have messages scattered across many apps, and wherever customers send messages, there is a team to handle them. Zenify's data shows that multi-channel unified businesses cut response times by 34%, meaning customers wait much less than before. The specific benefits and how to connect each channel will be clear in the next section.
TL;DR
- Multi-channel consolidation = email + social + livechat all into one ticket.
- Benefits: no missing information, one history, total measurement.
- Connect each channel to the helpdesk, each channel has a virtual "queue".
- Whichever channel a customer sends a message to, the staff will respond to that channel correctly.
- Start from 2 main channels, gradually expand, don't do it all at once.
Benefits of multi-channel consolidation
Putting aside the complications, omnichannel unification delivers three benefits you'll see immediately upon implementation:
No missing news: Every request from every channel goes into a waiting queue with someone in charge, no more "news is in a tab and forgot to open" scene.
One history for each customer: Customers text Zalo today, email next week, call the day before yesterday, staff still see the whole story (see also Customer Profile 360).
Complete measurement: FRT, SLA, resolution are calculated for all channels, thereby knowing which channels are doing well and which channels need improvement (see also Weekly helpdesk report).
How to merge each channel?
Each channel has its own way of connecting, but the common point is that they all become tickets in the same system:
Email → ticket
Connect your support@... mailbox to the helpdesk.
Each email becomes a ticket, emails with the same topic are combined into a chain (see also Email → automatic ticket).
Zalo OA → ticket
Connect Zalo Official Account to the system.
Guest messages become tickets, staff respond from helpdesk and send messages to Zalo for guests.
Facebook → ticket
Connect fanpage, messages and comments into tickets.
With public comments, quickly reply publicly and then switch to private exchange (see also Does a ticket via Facebook/Zalo require an SLA).
Livechat website → ticket
Install livechat on the website and connect to helpdesk. Selling on an e-commerce platform also attaches the chat channel of the platform to the system.
Customers chat on the web into tickets; When the on-duty time ends, the customer can still leave the request and it will not be lost.
How to avoid confusion when running multiple channels?
Merging is not the end of the story, if there are no rules, all channels will be as chaotic as before. Here are 5 rules for smooth omnichannel operations:
Each channel has a virtual "queue": staff can immediately see which channel is overloaded so they can send someone to support.
Reply to the correct customer channel: If customers text Zalo, reply to Zalo, do not arbitrarily transfer it to email.
SLA by channel and request type: social should respond faster than email (see also Ticket via Facebook/Zalo).
Assignment by channel: Who is in charge of which channel in which time frame must be clearly stated (see also Smart ticket assignment).
Do not run multiple tools in parallel: merging is to remove separate apps, keeping 1-2 separate apps means not really merging.
How to deploy for small teams
If your team doesn't have enough people, don't do it all at once. Let's go step by step as follows:
Start 2 main channels usually Zalo + Facebook or Zalo + email, this is the most used channel by customers.
Connect to helpdesk, test run for 1-2 weeks to let employees get used to a single screen.
Expand more channels when everything is stable.
Measure before and after: monitor FRT, number of missing messages to see actual effectiveness (see also Omnichannel checklist).