software advice buyerview: customer service software report 2014
DESCRIPTION
We recently analyzed interactions with 385 small businesses evaluating customer service software to assess the most common reasons for buying.TRANSCRIPT
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Software Advice BuyerView: CSS Software Report | 2014Insight into today’s small-business software buyer
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Every year, Software Advice talks to thousands of businesses considering a customer service and support (CSS) software purchase. We recently analyzed a random selection of 385 interactions with small businesses (companies earning less than $100 million in annual revenue) to determine the following:
• How are prospective CSS software buyers currently managing their customer support activities?
• Why are prospective buyers choosing to evaluate CSS software?
• What are the most commonly requested CSS features buyers are looking for?
Abstract
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Prospective Buyers’ Current Methods
Over half of buyers in our sample (52 percent) were using manual methods such as spreadsheets and email to manage their customer support functions.
2%7%
12%
12%
14%
52%
Manual methodsCSS softwareCRM softwareOther softwareProprietary solutionOther methods
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Top Reasons for Software Purchases
Most small businesses using manual methods (64 percent) cited a general need to better manage customer complaints as a primary reason for evaluating software.
Percent of sample
Need to better manage complaints
Company growth/transition
Need more CSS features
Current is too cumbersome/complex
Other
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Buyers using manual methods Buyers using software
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Top-Requested CSS Features
Percent of sample
Nearly all small-business CSS software buyers (90 percent) requested ticket management functionality to consolidate and manage customer inquiries.
Ticket management
Reporting/analytics
Interaction history
Automated routing
Self-service
Escalation management
Alerts
Knowledge management
Multichannel ticketing
Other
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
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Integration Preference
Slightly more buyers (51 percent) requested a “best-of-breed” CSS solution as opposed to an “integrated suite” with additional functionality such as CRM.
7%
42%51%
Best-of-breedIntegrated suite onlyNo preference
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Deployment Preference
Sixty-six percent of small-business buyers requested Web-based software (hosted in the cloud), with only 1 percent asking for an on-premise deployment.
33%
1% 66%
Web-basedOn-premiseOther
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Demographics: Prospective Buyers by Industry
21%
3%3%3%4%
4%4%
4% 5% 10%
38%
Software/ITManufacturingDistributionConsultingRetailTelecommunicationsMaintenance/field serviceHealthcare/medicineNonprofitEducationOther
Many of the buyers we spoke with represented small software or IT companies, followed by a diverse range of other industries such as manufacturing and retail.
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Demographics: Prospective Buyer Size by Annual Revenue
Of the small businesses we included in our analysis, 29 percent earned less than $1 million per year, and 32 percent earned between $1 million and $5 million.
8%8%
23%
32%
29%<$1 million$1-5 million$6-25 million$26-50 million$51-100 million
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Software Advice™ is a trusted resource for software buyers. The company's website, www.softwareadvice.com, provides detailed reviews, comparisons and research to help organizations choose the right software. Meanwhile, the company’s team of software analysts provide free telephone consultations to help each software buyer identify systems that best fit their needs. In the process, Software Advice connects software buyers and sellers, generating high-quality opportunities for software vendors.
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