As most know, GoldMine is a great tool for tracking activities (Calls, Appointment, Actions, Email, etc.). However, GoldMine lacks functionality and features in the User Interface (UI) which demanding customer service/help desk environments require. Here are just of few of the types of needs such departments have:
- Auto Ticket/Issue ID# Generation
- Issue Tracking – record all aspects from initial inquiry to problem resolution
- Configurable Inquiry Screen and Custom Intake Forms
- Assigning/Referring an Issue to another User
- Priority Escalation
- Automated Email Notifications to Users
- Integrated Knowledgebase – to capture and search for relevant solutions
- Relevant Reporting
Individuals who handle support calls will find that support software is designed to work the way they do, which is often different than how sales and marketing people work. Creating, finding, and managing open issues is more user friendly and efficient!
The single biggest difference between recording a call in GoldMine (either scheduling or completing) and a service & support application is the “Issue Tracking.” In GoldMine, each Activity is discrete. In other words, there is nothing that automatically associates one pending or completed activity with another, other than the Record over, or the Opportunity/Project Manager. Therefore, for organizations that wish to “open an issue” and manage it from “start to finish,” GoldMine falls short. For this and other reasons organizations tend to look to special applications for this purpose.
There are many other important capabilities that a help desk or service department could be looking for. And, there are many systems available. But I’d like to call to your attention one particular product called Tele-Support Help Desk.
I mention this product because Tele-Support has three significant advantages: 1) Out-of-the-box integration with GoldMine, 2) Affordability, and 3) Full featured, yet simple to use.
Because Tele-Support incorporates your existing GoldMine contact database, you can leverage information you have in GoldMine, as well as share information between sales and service professional. The integration lets you start creating tickets for existing records in GoldMine right off the bat.
Tele-Support’s integration with GoldMine offers several notable features:
- The GoldMine primary and additional contacts are viewable when starting a support issue/ticket
- You can view GoldMine fields from within Tele-Support
- New open issues are automatically added to the “Pending” tab in GoldMine, and are also automatically moved to “History” when resolved/closed. Unlike HEAT, the product made from FrontRange, there’s no need to refer to the “Tickets” tab which is an extra effort for non-helpdesk users such as sales people.
There are several aspects about Tele-Support’s GoldMine integration which are advantageous. Tele-Support Help Desk also deploys rapidly and relatively easily. Manufacturer’s support for implementation is even free during the trial period. (Imagine that, free installation support!)
There’s way too much to say about Tele-Support Help Desk for this newsletter. So, my suggestion is that if you have considered the need for a service & support solution, check Tele-Support. Free trials and demonstrations are available from First Direct Corp.
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