Email Ticketing System
A reliable email ticketing system is crucial for managing customer support emails efficiently. Our email help desk software provides a simple yet effective solution.
As communication methods advance, companies must monitor, organize, and respond to customer requests across various platforms. While many companies use email in customer engagement, there is a significant gap between their ability to handle the high volume and their customers’ expectations.
Companies need a comprehensive and systematic approach to addressing customer requests. An email ticketing system is usually an effective solution. This article will explore email ticketing software solutions and highlight some of the top email ticketing tools currently available on the market.
What is an email ticketing system?
An email ticketing system is a software tool used by businesses to manage and organize customer support inquiries, requests, and complaints received via email. It automates the process of converting incoming customer emails into support tickets within a centralized system, allowing support teams to efficiently track, prioritize, and resolve customer issues. Each ticket is created with a distinct identification code to ensure that every ticket is unique and can be verified.
Features of email ticketing software
Email ticketing software helps in managing, organizing, and responding to customer service requests efficiently. These are some key features that let it do that:
Ticket creation, routing, and assignment
The software automatically converts incoming support emails into tickets. These tickets are then assigned to appropriate support agents using the round-robin method.
Categorization and prioritization
Incoming customer emails can be automatically categorized based on predefined criteria such as the nature of the inquiry, product or service category, or department responsible for handling the request. Tickets can be prioritized based on the urgency of the issue, the customer’s service-level agreement (SLA), or the potential impact on the customer’s business.
Automated and canned responses
Create and save prewritten responses to speed up communication and ensure consistent messaging for common questions. You can also set up automatic replies to acknowledge receipt of emails.
Internal notes and collaboration tools
Agents can collaborate on tickets by adding private notes, @mentions, CCs, tags, labels, and more.
Reporting and analytics
The software provides data on metrics such as response times, resolution times, ticket volume, and customer satisfaction, helping managers to monitor performance and identify areas for improvement.
SLA management
Set and monitor SLAs for response and resolution times.
Integration
Connect with or include other tools like live chat systems, phone systems, and social media platforms for a unified approach to customer service.
Customer portal
A self-service portal lets customers track tickets, update requests, and communicate with agents directly.
Status tracking
The software keeps track of the status of each ticket (e.g., open, pending, resolved) and updates it as the ticket progresses through the support process.
15 best email ticketing systems for businesses
Considering implementing an email ticketing system to improve your team’s management of inbound and outbound emails? Take a look at the top email ticketing software solutions on the market.
1. BoldDesk
BoldDesk offers a reliable and efficient email ticketing system designed to streamline email-based customer support operations. This comprehensive software automates the handling of customer inquiries sent and received via email, helping your team respond promptly to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. Incoming emails are automatically converted into tickets for easy tracking and response.
BoldDesk’s intuitive user interface lets support agents manage tickets, streamline workflows, and access customer information effortlessly.
Security is a priority for BoldDesk, with features like DKIM keys for outbound emails and spam filters for inbound emails. Administrators can set restrictions and whitelist specific email addresses and domains.
The email ticketing system consolidates customer information in one place, providing agents with easy access to customer history, order details, and other data for effective issue resolution. Powerful automation features, such as automatic responses, custom workflows, and SLA settings, allow you to save time and streamline various tasks.
In summary, BoldDesk equips you with tools to manage customer inquiries, collaborate within your team, and gain valuable insights to improve customer satisfaction.
Top features
- Ticket routing and assignment: Automatically convert all incoming emails into support tickets and route them to appropriate agents.
- Custom email templates: Compose and save frequently sent emails for reuse to maintain uniformity in tone and content.
- Shared inbox: Organize all your customer support inquiries in one place, route them to the right agents, monitor their progress, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.
- Collision detection: Prevent multiple agents from simultaneously working on the same customer ticket.
- Seamless integration: Integrate BoldDesk with your existing tools and apps to streamline workflows.
- Artificial intelligence: Utilize AI assist features within tickets and knowledge base articles, including translation, summarization, and more, to enhance your team’s ability to deliver better responses and information.
- Built-in reports: Utilize the built-in reports and dashboards to examine real-time support data, aiding in making informed choices to improve client support.
- SLA management: Define the response and resolution timeframe for a support issue, set reminders and notifications to ensure prompt resolution of customer issues.
- Multichannel support: Handle customer inquiries and support requests coming from various communication channels such as phone, social media, and web forms in addition to email.
Pricing
Startup plan: Free/10 agents/1 year
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Free trial: Free, 15-day trial with no credit card required.
Contact the BoldDesk support team to schedule a 30-minute live demo and discover how our email ticketing software can fulfill your requirements.
2. Intercom
Intercom offers an email ticketing system designed to integrate with other support channels, providing a unified experience for both agents and customers. Intercom enables companies to collect, monitor, and route customer inquiries; evaluate support effectiveness; and implement support ticket processes.
Top features
- Ticketing capabilities
- Omnichannel communication support
- Reporting
- Automations
- AI-powered bots
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| Essential |
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| Expert |
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| Proactive Support Plus |
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Free trial: 14 days
3. JitBit
JitBit offers a user-friendly email ticketing system designed to centralize your email-based customer support operations. It enables teams to categorize and tag email tickets, assign them to support agents, monitor time spent on tickets, and prevent instances where multiple agents work on the same ticket simultaneously.
Top features
- Ticket management
- Collision detection
- Automations
- Reporting and analytics
- Knowledge base management
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Free trial duration: 21 days
4. TeamSupport
TeamSupport includes an email ticketing system as part of its customer support and help desk ticketing system. Its feature set makes it a good option for businesses seeking to streamline email-based customer support.
Top features
- Ticket automation and workflows
- Basic reporting
- Advanced ticket routing
- Ticket collaboration features
- SLA management
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| Essential Support |
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| Professional Support |
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| Enterprise Support |
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5. HelpCrunch
HelpCrunch is a customer communication platform that provides a variety of tools for customer support, marketing, and sales. Utilizing HelpCrunch, teams can simplify ticket handling and leverage advanced features, including analytics and detailed customer profiles.
Top features
- Ticket management
- Shared inbox
- SLA management
- Reporting and analytics
- Multichannel support
| PRICING | |
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Free trial: 14 days
6. LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a customer support platform that offers an email ticketing system among its features. It is designed to help businesses manage customer inquiries, support requests, and customer communication.
Top features
- Omnichannel support
- Universal inbox
- Automations
- Automatic spam filtering
- Self-help portals
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| Free |
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| Medium business |
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7. Front
Front is a collaborative communication platform designed to streamline team inboxes, including email management, shared inboxes, and collaborative messaging. It provides email-based customer support, especially for those already invested in the Front ecosystem.
Top features
- Shared inbox
- Multichannel support
- Reporting and analytics
- 50+ integrations
- Rule-based SLAs
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| Starter |
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| Growth |
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| Scale |
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| Premier |
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Free trial: 7 days
8. HubSpot Service Hub
HubSpot Service Hub offers an email ticketing system as part of its customer service platform. This email support system enables teams to track and prioritize incoming service email inquiries through a shared inbox.
Top features
- Shared inbox
- Multichannel support
- Reporting dashboard
- Conversation routing
- Simple ticket automation
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| Free plan |
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| Starter |
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| Professional |
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| Enterprise |
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9. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is cloud-based customer support software provided by Freshworks, Inc. Freshdesk’s email support system allows organizations to convert incoming support-related emails into tickets automatically.
Top features
- Knowledge base software
- Custom email server
- Shared inbox
- SLA management
- Performance analytics tools
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| Free plan |
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| Pro |
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Free trial: 21 days
10. ProProfs Help Desk
ProProfs Help Desk is a customer support and email ticketing system that allows businesses to centralize email-based customer support operations.
Top features
- Shared inboxes
- Collision detection
- Ticket tracking and prioritization
- Knowledge base software
- Reports and analytics
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Free trial: 15 days
11. Help Scout
Help Scout is a customer support platform that includes an email ticketing system. The software allows support teams to handle customer emails through a shared inbox.
Top features
- Shared inbox
- API and integrations
- Email templates
- Automations
- Reports and analytics
| PRICING | |
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| Standard |
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| Plus |
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| Pro |
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Free trial: 15 days
12. HappyFox
HappyFox is customer support and ticketing software that helps organizations manage their customer support requests and inquiries. HappyFox provides an email ticketing system that allows businesses to convert incoming emails into tickets.
Top features
- Ticket management
- Automation tools
- SLA management
- Omnichannel support
- Reports
| PRICING | |
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| All plans require at least 5 users. | |
| Mighty |
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| Fantastic |
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| Enterprise |
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| Enterprise Plus |
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Free trial: 14 days
13. Hiver
Hiver is an email collaboration tool enabling teams to track, assign, and manage emails in shared email inboxes.
Top features
- Email management: assignment, tags and notes
- Shared drafts
- Knowledge base software
- Shared inboxes
- Automations
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| Lite |
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| Pro |
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| Elite |
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Free trial: 7 days
14. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is cloud-based customer service software that provides businesses with an email ticketing system, along with other support channels. The email ticketing system in Zoho Desk allows businesses to manage, organize, and respond to customer service emails.
Top features
- Predefined SLAs
- Email templates
- Ticket sorting
- Multichannel support
- Multilingual support
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| Standard |
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| Professional |
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| Enterprise |
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Free trial: 15 days
15. Zendesk
Zendesk is a customer service platform that offers an email ticketing system as part of its suite of tools. This system allows businesses to manage, organize, and respond to customer service email requests.
Top features
- Email templates
- Email triggers
- SLA management
- Email tracking
- Omnichannel support
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| Support Professional |
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| Support Enterprise |
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Free trial: 14 days
Comparison table for the best email ticketing solutions for 2024
| Ticketing tool & key features | Starting price |
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| $25 for 3 agents/month |
| $39/seat/month |
| $29/month |
| $35/agent/month |
| $12/user/month |
| $9/agent/month |
| $19/seat/month |
| $45/user/month |
| $15/agent/month |
| $20/agent/month |
| $20/agent/month |
| $29/user/month |
| $15/user per month |
| $14/user/month |
| $19/agent/month |
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Best practices for email ticket systems
Implementing an email ticket system effectively involves following best practices to ensure optimal performance, streamlined processes, and a positive customer experience.
Following are some best practices for managing an email ticket system.
Have clear ticketing system guidelines
Establish clear guidelines and procedures for creating, categorizing, and prioritizing tickets. Ensure that all team members are trained on these guidelines to maintain consistency.
Establish proper automation rules
Set up automation rules to streamline the ticket routing process. Automate repetitive tasks to improve efficiency, such as ticket assignment, sending responses, or categorizing tickets.
Set up well-defined ticket categories
Define and use a clear and comprehensive set of ticket categories that reflect the nature of customer inquiries. This helps in better organization, prioritization, and reporting.
Define and implement SLAs
Implement SLAs to define response and resolution time expectations for different types of tickets. Monitor and track compliance with SLAs to ensure timely and efficient customer support.
Consistently update ticket statuses
Regularly update the status of tickets to reflect their progress. Use standardized status labels (e.g., open, in progress, closed) to maintain clarity.
Promote internal collaboration
Encourage internal collaboration among support agents through private notes or private tickets features within the email ticketing system. Ensure that agents can easily share questions, solutions, and updates on customer issues.
Ensure clear communication
Craft clear and concise responses to customer inquiries. Keep customers informed about the status of their tickets and provide updates on the progress of issue resolution. Also learn how to draft apology emails to your customers when you have not met their expectations.
Integrate with a knowledge base
Integrate the email ticketing system with a knowledge base to provide agents with quick access to relevant information. An external knowledge base provides customers with a self-service option for solving their issues.
Regular training and updates
Conduct regular training sessions for support agents to keep them updated on new features, best practices, and system changes. Stay informed about system updates and utilize new features to enhance efficiency.
Prioritize data security and privacy
Implement robust security measures to safeguard customer information and ensure compliance with data protection regulations. Regularly audit and review access controls to protect sensitive data.
Continuous monitoring and reporting
Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) regularly to assess the effectiveness of the ticketing system. Generate and analyze reports to identify trends and areas for improvement.
Collect user feedback and improve
Collect feedback from both customers and support agents to identify issues. Use feedback to refine processes, update guidelines, and enhance the overall performance of the ticketing system.
Benefits of an email support system
Email support systems offer a range of advantages that can improve both the customer experience and the support team’s productivity.
Benefits for businesses
- Improved ticket organization: An email ticketing system centralizes all customer inquiries into a single platform. This ensures that no request is lost or overlooked, as every ticket is tracked and monitored until resolution.
- Increased efficiency: Automate ticket routing and repetitive tasks like sending initial greetings. Agents can focus on resolving complex issues.
- Enhanced agent collaboration: Internal notes and mentions within tickets facilitate teamwork and ensure everyone is on the same page.
- Data-driven decision making: Generate reports to analyze ticket volume, resolution times, and customer satisfaction. Use these insights to identify areas for improvement.
- Ability to handle growth: Easily accommodate a growing customer base with a system that can handle increasing email traffic.
Benefits for customers
- Faster resolution times: Ticketing systems ensure your inquiries are routed to the appropriate agent and don’t get lost in the shuffle.
- Clear communication: Track the progress of your request and communicate directly with agents through the ticketing system.
- Self-service options: Some systems integrate with knowledge bases, allowing customers to find solutions independently without needing to contact support.
- Improved customer experience: Efficient and timely resolution of issues leads to higher customer satisfaction.
- 24/7 availability: Even when support agents are not available, an email ticketing system can acknowledge customer emails and inform them about expected wait times, which can improve the overall customer experience.
Choose the right email ticketing support tool for your business
Email ticketing systems bridge the gap between traditional email communication and a structured support system, leading to a more streamlined and efficient customer support experience for both businesses and their customers.
By carefully considering your needs, exploring options, and prioritizing key features, you’ll be well-equipped to choose the perfect email ticketing tool for your business.
FAQs
1. How does an email ticketing system work?
An email ticketing system works by converting incoming customer emails into structured tickets. Each ticket represents a unique customer inquiry or issue. Automation rules categorize, prioritize, and route tickets to appropriate agents or departments based on predefined criteria. Agents can then access the system, view and manage tickets, respond to customer inquiries, and track the status of each ticket through to resolution.
2. How does an email ticketing system prioritize tickets?
An email ticketing system prioritizes tickets based on predefined criteria such as urgency, issue type, or customer status. Automated rules or SLAs can be set to help facilitate timely responses. Higher priority tickets receive immediate attention, allowing support teams to address critical issues promptly.
3. Can tickets be assigned to specific agents or departments within an email ticketing system?
Yes, tickets in an email ticketing system can be assigned to specific agents or departments. This assignment ensures that customer inquiries and issues are directed to the most qualified personnel. This feature enhances efficiency, accountability, and specialization within the customer support team.
4. How scalable is the email ticketing system for growing businesses?
The scalability of an email ticketing system depends on the specific platform. However, many systems are designed to be scalable, accommodating the growth of businesses. They offer flexible user access, expandable storage, and efficient workflows to handle an increasing volume of tickets as a business expands its customer base.
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