It seems that these days, every second advertisement we see is telling us to upgrade, switch brands, or get the next best thing. Because of consistently changing technology, the ‘switch’ and the ‘upgrade’ have become an overwhelming sensation. Whether it is a phone network provider advertising an upgrade that apparently saves you money on your plan or a car company enticing customers into buying their newest model. It seems that the entire world is telling us that the grass might be greener on the other side.

So, when is the right time to actually upgrade something? This question can be posed for anything but is crucial to make the right decision in a business environment. Business to business customer support software is key to any customer facing business; public or private, non-profit or for-profit, and in any sector. No business will continue to succeed without happy customers; and support software is key to ensuring that this stays the case. Here are five indicators that your business may need a customer support software upgrade.

1. Are Support Interactions Tending Towards the Chaotic?

This can be nailed down through surveying your employees, customers, the general public, or simply from your personal experience or outlook on your business. Chaotic is never a name you want for your business, and it is certainly not something you want your customers describing support interactions as! Now, this is not to say that every interaction will always be smooth and perfect, but if you start to see patterns of chaotic interactions that you feel could be streamlined with a different service, it might be time to make a switch. Some companies have not yet progressed into advanced technology solutions, which is vital to keep your company up to date and ‘current’; and others sometimes may have the wrong software for their business. As your company grows and changes, it will require different and more advanced software. Be aware of this, and swap accordingly.

2. Do your Support Channels Interact Seamlessly?

As a business, you will have many different support systems, and it is crucial that these systems talk to each other and work together well. Robert Delaney, a construction manager at Write my X and 1 Day 2 write commented that, “As a business grows and gains different needs, you will find it takes on separate pieces of technology that may not work in sync the way that they should as the company progresses. For example, if your support team often gets their wires crossed because information is not syncing, or if your customers can not access the correct help easily, it may be because you have support systems that do not intertwine and work together in the most ideal way.” The best support system will streamline all channels and information necessary for all of your teams, and limit confusion.

3. Are Your Employees Frustrated?  

Even the best support systems will occasionally leave employees frustrated; but if this feeling becomes an obvious pattern, it may be time to switch up your support system. Jenny Harvey, a lifestyle writer at Origin Writings and Brit Student, noted that, “If you are finding your support team has a very high turnover rate, unhappy or overly stressed employees, or an unproductive team, it could be down to the fact that your system is not streamlined or easy to use. In an ideal world, a support system should make both your customer’s and your employees lives easier, not more complicated!” If your system is not helping but instead hindering, it may be time to go for the swap.

4. Are You Consistently Getting Negative Reviews?

There are always going to be some unsatisfied users, and it is almost impossible to completely avoid negative feedback. However, if negative feedback specifically about your software and customer facing interactions become a pattern; it may be something you need to attend to. If negative agent reviews start to become the norm and not just an unfortunate outlier, this may be an indicator of a failure in your support system.

5. Will the System Grow with You?

It is important to implement a system that can grow with you as your business expands. It is no use paying a lot of money to implement and train in a support system that will need to be scrapped as soon as your business expands beyond a certain size. It is important to have a system that fits your business, but also one that will grow with your business.

Hopefully these five indicators will have advised you as to whether your business needs an upgrade in your support system software. Though upgrading can sometimes be seen as just the latest craze, up-to-date software is so important to business activity.

About the Author:

George J. Newton is a business development manager and article writer for Assignment writing services and Phd Kingdom. He lives in the rural countryside with his wife of ten years and two children. He also assists in writing and proofreading for Coursework writer.