What is LiveAgent: A Helpdesk Tool for Centralized Customer Communication Management

Has there ever been such a rich era of communication touchpoints between customers and companies? Particularly in BtoC business scenarios, it is well known that “customer voices” through communication channels not typically used for support (such as social media) have a strong influence on purchasing decisions.

We must transition from traditional customer support methods like “telephone” and “email” to an environment where customer voices can be heard more easily. This requires establishing support channels closest to customers and implementing customer support tools that can share response status in real-time within the company, which is crucial for rapid response.

LiveAgent is a cloud-based helpdesk that integrates all customer-facing channels into one environment, from email replies, live chat, Facebook page and Twitter comments, FAQ site construction, user forum posts, to telephone responses. LiveAgent supports smooth communication between customers and customer service across various channels.

LiveAgent’s Customer Support Response Flow

Ticket Issuance: Centralized Inquiry Management

All inquiries received through communication channels configured in LiveAgent are converted into a single format called “tickets.” This enables integrated management of inquiries that were previously received and stored separately through different methods and on an individual staff basis, such as email, phone, and chat, into a common system.

LiveAgent automatically captures and accumulates inquiry content, eliminating the need to input into files or edit content for log storage purposes.

Agent Inquiry Response

Assign issued tickets to appropriate agents (response staff). By determining the responsible agent, it becomes easy to prevent response oversights that are common especially in email support.

Agents then process their assigned tickets. They simply create responses as in their usual support duties, so there’s nothing particularly difficult about it.

Ticket Resolution: Completing the Response

Once the response is complete, set the ticket status to “resolved.” This communicates the inquiry response status to other agents as well. This prevents human errors such as duplicate responses to the same inquiry.

Since LiveAgent automatically saves all response progress logs including related information, agents can focus on the important mission of “solving customer problems.”

Setting Up and Operating Support Channels

Configure the communication channels you use for customer support in LiveAgent. Please refer to the following links for setup methods for each channel:

  • Using email
  • Using live chat
  • Using inquiry forms on websites
  • Using Twitter
  • Using Facebook pages
  • Using telephone or voice conversations
  • Using customer portals (FAQ and user forums)