Kustomer is well known for its customer relationship management (CRM) platform. While it’s great at what it does, it’s not the helpdesk ticketing system you’re looking for. And it doesn’t fit all types of businesses, especially ecommerce.
Luckily there are better Kustomer alternatives out there.
In this post, I’ll show you 10 ticket management tools that actually bring your support team to the next level.
But before going into this list, let’s talk about key features that a typical help desk should have.
5 essentials features of a ticketing system
All ticket management tool, no matter how simple or complex, should have at least these functionalities:
- Omnichannel capabilities: Phone, SMS, email, live chat, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).
- Ticket management: The functionalities to create, merge, close, delete, assign, categorize, or tag tickets.
- Workflow automation: Automated rules, macros, tagging by customer sentiments, canned responses.
- Reporting tools: Customer support metrics like average resolution time, average response time, ticket volume, customer engagement.
- Self-service: The functionality to create a knowledge base to help customers self-service themselves.
- Integration: The functionality to integrate with relevant, fundamental third-party tools.
Okay, now you understand what to consider when looking for a help desk ticketing system.
Ask yourself:
Does Kustomer cover all of these features and tailor them to ticket management?
The answer is a loud NO.
Why?
Because Kustomer is a CRM platform, not a ticketing system.
It’s time to find Kustomer alternatives that give you exactly what you’re looking for.
Luckily, here they are.
1. Gorgias: The Best Customer Service App for Ecommerce
When choosing a help desk, there are two different directions:
- Opt for a “self-proclaimed” one-sizes-fit-all enterprise customer service platform with a host of solutions.
- Pick a specific “best in class” tool for customer support goals.
Go with the first option, and you’ll soon realize it’s suitable for a handful of businesses (perhaps, big guys), not for everyone (your small online business).
Also, there are tons of features it provides you never know they’re there. Reason? You don’t need them, so you don’t care.
That’s why following the second approach is way better. In the end, it all comes to your actual needs.
Gorgias is built with this in mind.
In short, Gorgias is a help desk ticket management tool designed specifically for ecommerce business owners. This makes it totally different from any other customer service software in this list.
Gorgias aims to streamline your process of solving tickets, help you chat in real-time with customers, improve your support team performance, and bring your customer experience to the next level. Say no more to complicated CRM systems, which offer just a few ticket management features.
Pros
- The best help desk for online businesses. Everything from features to integrations is tailored to ecommerce.
- Feature-rich ticket management. Create tickets, delete, close, assign, add tags, etc.—whatever you need.
- Powerful automation tools such as macros, tagging tickets with customer sentiments, and rules.
- Perfectly integrated with popular ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce.
Cons
- Custom-built for ecommerce businesses. If you’re in the IT industry, Gorgias may not be the right choice for you.
2. Help Scout
Help Scout is a shared inbox that allows your team members to send and receive email from the same address. It also offers other features like live chat, in-app messaging, and knowledge base.
Pros
- Shared-mailboxes with 75+ keyboard shortcuts, email templates, and +50 integrations
- Multiple features for docs knowledge base like API, collision detection, custom domain, CSS control
- Embeddable Beacon widget that allows you to connect with customers through live chat
- Reporting and dashboards available
Cons
- No automation rules and macros
- Hard to edit knowledge base
- Lack of chatbot builder and chatbot API
- No multichannel support like SMS and social media
3. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is the AI-based customer support software with competitive pricing. It’s considered as a perfect alternative to Zendesk.
With Zoho Desk, you can customize the look and feel of the tool to match your brand. It offers a wide range of features like ticketing, Aircall, call center, Zia AI, and agent productivity.
Pros
- Well-designed user interface
- Highly configurable and easy to manage
- More affordable than Zendesk
- Integrate well with the other Zoho products, e.g., Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects
Cons
- Steep learning curve, especially for features like email branding
- Limited ways to automate and integrate with third-party apps
- Bugs happen all the time
- Zia AI focuses mainly on sales and lead generation, not support.
4. Zendesk
Zendesk is the first, biggest customer service software. It offers you 7 different products, including Support Suite, Support, Guide, Chat, Talk, Sales Suite, Sell, Explore, and Gather.
Zendesk has over 1000 integrations, ranging from survey and feedback to productivity and time tracking apps. It integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot, Slack, and Amazon Connect.
Pros
- An all-in-one SaaS platform for customer service and lead generation
- Contact center, chat, phone, email, and social media available
- Provide a lot of customization options
- Extensive, powerful reporting and analytics
- Support multiple languages
- Best suit medium and large organizations
Cons
- Potentially high price tag
- Bad customer support team
- Complicated ticketing system
- Lack of human touch in emails
- Complicated and expensive pricing plans
- Steep learning curve due to unintuitive user interface
- Best features only available at higher pricing tiers
6. HappyFox
If you’re looking for a clean help desk tool for your non-ecommerce business, HappyFox might be a good choice.
HappyFox is an online help desk software and a web-based support ticket system. Its user experience is better than Zendesks’ since it’s simple and easy to use.
HappyFox provides all the necessary features of a typical help desk system. Besides, it offers additional features like task management and asset management.
Pros
- Clean, intuitive user interface
- Responsive customer support
- Feature-rich ticket management
- Good customization and branding options
Cons
- Unclear pricing (You need to request a demo to get a quote.)
- Miss some key integrations
- Lack of advanced features and reporting capabilities
- Limited features for lower pricing tiers
7. Freshdesk
Besides Zoho Desk, you can think about Freshdesk if you’re looking for an excellent alternative to Zendesk. It has more affordable pricing plans (including a free plan) and provides better functionalities than Zendesk does.
With Freshdesk, you can collect customer conversations from multiple channels to a single place. It’s easy to automate workflow, create a convenient self-service experience for customers, manage Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and generate insightful reports.
Pros:
- Intuitive design and ease of use
- Omnichannel routing (Omniroute) available
- Helpful email automation with SLA policies
- Excellent notification system
Cons:
- Limited automation features
- Non-intuitive knowledge base
- Limited features in the free plan
8. Groove
Groove is the easy-to-use customer service software for small businesses and startups. It allows you to quickly solve support tickets, integrate with Gmail or Outlook, create a support widget, and embed it to your website.
Compared with Zendesk and Freshdesk, Groove is simpler to use and more affordable. It also provides the shared inbox feature like Help Scout. And unlike other help desk software, Groove offers up to a 120-day free trial.
Pros
- Easy to use and quick to set up
- Good knowledge base and customization options
- Pretty fast support
- Best suit small teams
Cons
- Lack of advanced customer support features
- Lack of custom fields, multi-channel support, and ticket collaboration
9. Kayako
Kayako is the help desk software that integrates many support channels, including live chat, email, Facebook, and Twitter. It also offers shared-inbox features with custom views, tags, and conversation assignment.
Pros
- The shared inbox for all customer service channels
- Best software for internal and external email communication
- Multichannel support
- Mobile apps for iPhone and Android devices available
Cons
- Lack of agent collision detection
- Limited integrations
- Lack of advanced reporting capabilities
10. HelpCrunch
HelpCrunch is an all-in-one customer communication platform. It provides you with live chat software, email marketing, pop-ups, help desk, knowledge base, and more.
Regarding live chat, HelpCrunch offers powerful functionalities like customization options, automated greeting, agent’s avatar, and custom CSS styling.
Pros
- Diverse customer service features
- User-friendly interface and ease of use
- Great for engaging, converting, and onboarding new visitors
- Easy to customize chat widget
Cons
- Lack of ticket management features
- Limited basic features at lower pricing plans
Which of these Kustomer alternatives do you try today?
Each of Kustomer competitors in this list shines in its own right. No tools are the best.
It’s up to you to find the right help desk that fits your needs, and check out our longer list of the best customer service software for additional suggestions. (But I shamelessly encourage you to check out Gorgias if you’re looking for a dedicated ticketing system for your ecommerce store!).
Whatever you decide, we wish you and your business the best!
Note: Join our buyout program to get full access to Gorgias at no cost and prepare for your most profitable BFCM ever.
