Read time: 7 minutes.
Running a retail business is no easy feat. From managing customer inquiries to coordinating with your team, you need reliable collaboration and customer support software to streamline your operations. But with so many options on the market, how do you choose the best one for your business? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the key factors to consider when choosing collaboration and customer support software for the retail industry. Whether you’re just starting out, or looking to upgrade your existing systems, this guide will help you make an informed decision. We’ve broken it down into the following sections:
Before diving into the various software options, it’s essential to identify your business needs. The retail industry is diverse and complex, and different businesses will have different priorities when it comes to selecting their communication software; a chain of superstores, for instance, would require different features and capabilities to a boutique or restaurant.
Consider your team’s size, the types of communication channels you and your customers use, and the specific collaboration and customer support features you require. This will help you narrow down your options and avoid getting distracted by irrelevant features.
The best collaboration and customer support software for retail is always intuitive and easy to use. Start by reviewing the user interface. If there’s a way of trialling the software before committing financially, you should absolutely do so. It’s normal for it to take some time to become a power user with a new piece of software, but getting started should require minimal training. Your team members, even those who aren’t especially tech-savvy, should be able to communicate with one another, schedule meetings, share resources, and manage their tasks with ease. Look for software that simplifies your workflows and saves your teams time.
Alongside ease of use, you may also want to consider speed of deployment, especially if you need to set up or migrate quickly.
When it comes to communication and collaboration functionality, you’ll want the following at a minimum:
This is the core functionality you’ll need for effective communication within your organisation. You might also want to consider software that offers some inbuilt productivity and project management features, but be wary of anything that seems overloaded with functionality. Get the features your organisation needs, and don’t be distracted by bells and whistles that needlessly ramp up the price and complexity of your collaboration.
Effective customer support and engagement is essential for any retail business. Today’s customers want to interact with businesses through multiple channels, including phone, email, chat, and social media. Ideally, your software should not only support these channels, but integrate them seamlessly, so the customer conversation flows into a single track. Omnichannel support and engagement will help you improve response times and customer satisfaction and drive sales.
Other customer support features you might want to look out for include canned responses, analytics and reporting, chatbots, collision detection, cross-posting and escalation and automated workflows to monitor the status of support requests, and ensure SLAs are met.
Last, but far from least, it’s worth taking a good look at the software’s customer routing system. Is it the right fit for your business? You’ll want to ensure your customers are always routed to the right place as quickly and painlessly as possible, so it’s important that your software includes a routing wizard, or call flow builder, that lets you easily calibrate the exact routing plans you need.
As your business grows, the demands you place on your communication software will grow, too. It’s essential to choose a solution that scales without any hitches. Look for software that can handle large volumes of customer interactions, and that makes it easy to add new users and teams. As you expand your operations, it should be able to support your growing storage requirements, too.
Your company is undoubtedly using a variety of tools and software already. Therefore, when choosing your collaboration software, it’s important to consider if, and how, it can integrate with your existing systems. A seamless integration will ensure a smooth transition, minimise disruption to your business and reduce the learning curve for staff.
Look for software that enables cross-company collaboration. You should be able to communicate with suppliers and external partners as easily as you communicate with your own team. This will save you from juggling multiple apps for internal collaboration, external collaboration and customer support.
When you’re reviewing the different software for retail options, it’s vital to consider the quality of customer support services offered by each provider. You should opt for a provider with a responsive support team, whose services are available during your business hours. Another important factor to bear in mind is training and onboarding. What does the provider do to help you get up and running with their software? And how will they help you get the most out of it?
Data security and privacy are critical considerations for any business, especially those that handle sensitive customer information. The consequences of a data breach can be significant and long lasting. Look for software that has a comprehensive security protocol in place. This might include multi-factor authentication, firewalls and intrusion detection systems. Your data should be encrypted end-to-end – i.e. both when it’s in transit and when it’s stored on the platform’s servers. Ultimately, you should go with a software provider that’s transparent about their data handling practices and has clear policies in place to protect your and your customers’ data.
Price and value need to be weighed up together. The software should be cost-effective and offer a reasonable return on investment, while providing you with the functionality your business actually needs. Resist the temptation to spend more for a bloated feature set that won’t bring extra value to your business. It’s essential to choose software that fits your company’s budget and has suitable pricing plans. Look out for discounted rates on annual subscriptions.
Finally, before making a decision, it’s always a good idea to read reviews and testimonials from other retailers who have used the software you’re considering. This gives you an insight into the software’s strengths and weaknesses, and its performance in real-life scenarios. You’ll also find out more about the quality of the provider’s customer support.
Regardless of how many reviews you read, the only way to know for sure whether the software is the right fit for your business is to see it in action. At the very least, you should arrange to have a demo of the software, but ideally you should trial it with your team. Be wary of software that requires a major financial outlay before you can test it out.
Choosing the right collaboration and customer support software for your retail business can be a daunting task. But by keeping in mind the key factors mentioned above, including user experience, features, scalability, customer support, data security and price, you can make an informed decision.
And now you know what to look for, why not start by considering Floji, our all-in-one solution that’s optimised for retail? Floji gives retail businesses a comprehensive and seamless workspace that makes it easier than ever to talk, meet, message and support customers.
Key benefits:
Simplify the way you work and give your customers a more connected retail journey.