How to Customize Helpdesk Software for External Support

These two are related applications with overlapping functionalities. I cannot provide a detailed instruction but I'm trying to highlight the main features to be included in and excluded out of the internal helpdesk software to make it suitable for external support

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• basic understanding of CRM technology

1. Complete a requirement analysis (GAP analysis) to identify the requirements typical of your organization.

2. Get it approved from all concerned BPOs(Business Process Owners)

3. Here are some main features to be included. Keep in mind that an external helpdesk is not quite complete unless you include something for Sales and Marketing Automation. Although you can function without these.
   
   1) If you have an Employee Portal convert it to Customer Portal. Basic features to be retained in Customer Portal are as following.
   
   a) Ticket submission and status update
   b) Product Information, literature
   c) Payment History
   d) Download section
   e) Search Knowledge Articles (if any)
   f) Notifications, News
   
   2) Service Level Agreement
   
   3) Customer Survey
   
   4) Time and Cost Tracker
   
   5) Inventory Management
   
   6) Interface with Accounting Systems
   
   7) Lead/Enquiry management -Optional
   
   8) Sales Force Automation (Contact Management, Opportunity Management, Territory Management etc.)-Optional
   
   9) Order Processing -Optional
   
   10) Marketing Automation-Optional

4. Remove these features from the Internal helpdesk
   
   1) Asset Management
   2) IT Asset Auditing and Management

Tips & Warnings

• Evaluate some commercial CRM to understand it completely
• This is not in any way a comprehensive list.

Resources

• Click on Employee Support and Customer Support for the difference

[Pathikrit]

on 1/8/2008 Thanks Grouch....you are right

[grouch]

on 1/4/2008 Sales and marketing are key. Even if the customers don't buy at least they are getting the same service and options from all your tech support including what you have outsourced.