10 Best Customer Support Platforms for Startups

Starting a business is a challenging task. Providing customer support is the basic requirement that is expected by a startup. Keeping customers and employees happy is an essential part of starting a new startup and finding ways to make money. Customer support platforms are required to maintain constant customer support.

Usage of chatbots for live chat is used by various businesses and startups. Analyzing the problems and acknowledging the strengths helps the startup grow. There are some websites or platforms that help in providing this customer support for startups. Here are the 10 best customer support platforms for startups:

10 Best Customer Support Platforms for Startups

Gainsight CS

Gainsight customer success software is a customer support platform that provides data analytics on customer health. Even helps in increasing engagement by providing specialized tools.

Features:

• Health scoring of every customer is provided with insights.
• Journey mapping is done for each customer which is personalized.
• Highly customized to your specific needs.

Pros:

• Provides active customer success and reduces burn.
• Provides deep insights into customers’ lives.

Cons:

• Very costly for startups.
• The learning curve is steep.

Price:

• Pricing is customized.

Link: https://www.gainsight.com/

Zoho

Zoho provides multiple features that are beneficial or enhance customer services. It serves as a customer support platform with features such as Zoho Desk, Zoho CRM, and Zoho Assist. Even provides ticket management in one place, and a multi-brand help center.

Features:

• A help desk that allows startups to manage and inquire efficiently.
• Provides tasks that are personalized to the customer’s routine.
• Facilitates communication with customers with Customer relationship management.

Pros:

• Easy to use user interface.
• Implementation is quick and simple.

Cons:

• The learning curve is steeper.
• Limited advanced features for larger customer success.

Price:

• Standard at $14 per month
• Professional at $23 per month
• Enterprise at $40 per month

Link: https://www.zoho.com/desk/

Churn 360

Churn 360 is an AI-powered customer support platform that helps a startup in reducing churn. It provides users with a 360-degree view of their customers’ data and usage. This data is used for identifying customers who are at risk.

Features:

• Provides analytics for preventing potential customer churn.
• Analyzes customer behaviour precisely to understand the triggers of churn.
• Provides retention strategies to customers who are at risk.

Pros:

• Cost efficiency with great data analytics.
• Prevents burn at larger rates.

Cons:

• Faces scalable issues with a large customer base.
• Integration requires a technical person.

Price:

• For a startup $399 per month
• Professional at $799 per month
• Enterprise is customized.

Link: https://churn360.com/

Totango

Totango is a customer support platform that helps businesses improve their customer retention. The customer relationship is also flexible and scalable. Even it helps in enhancing the relationship and managing the customer relationship.

Features:

• Tracks and analyzes customer health and alerts customers at risk.
• Helps in customer communication and engagement.
• Provides in-depth analysis that helps in providing customer support at a personalized level.

Pros:

• Provides flexibility with collaboration and workflow.
• The analysis is very accurate.

Cons:

• Management features for tasks are very limited.
• The learning curve is steep.

Price:

• Customized pricing is available.

Link: https://www.totango.com/

Hiver

Hiver is a customer support platform that mainly uses emails. It strengthens the team collaboration, knowledge base and communication. Highly integrates with Gmail for all actions and tasks.

Features:

• Collaboration with a team is very easy with a shared inbox.
• Creates engagement by sharing repetitive emails regarding tasks and workflow.
• Provides 24*7 customer support with all the plans.

Pros:

• Cost-efficient compared to other CRM systems.
• Team collaboration is very easy.

Cons:

• Lacks CRM features comparatively.
• Highly dependent on Gmail.

Price:

• 7-day free trial available.
• Lite at $15 per month.
• Pro at $49 per month
• Elite at $79 per month

Link: https://hiverhq.com/

PlanHat

PlanHat is known for its data analytics and improvising feedback. There are very few customer support platforms that focus on surveys or feedback but Planhat does.

Features:

• Manages customer success by providing all the information regarding the cycle till the end.
• Provides analysis regarding the customer’s account.
• Collects and analyzes the feedback received by the customers.

Pros:

• Easy to use user interface.
• Collects data and provides accurate analysis.

Cons:

• Customization requires a technical person.
• Expensive and third-party integration is difficult.

Price:

• Customized pricing is provided.

Link: https://www.planhat.com/

WotNot

WotNot creates an AI that can communicate share and analyze data shared by the customer. Customer support highly depends on data shared and analyzing the at-risk customers. These chatbots reply instantly and effectively.

Features:

• AI chatbots provide instant support that collects data and provides analysis.
• Provides multiple channels for customer support including social media platforms.
• Automates workflow and tasks that reduce response time.

Pros:

• Available 24*7 at a reasonable cost.
• Provides personalized customer support.

Cons:

• Not scalable when used for a large audience.
• Limitations in customization and integration.

Price:

• Free with limitations.
• Starter at $99 per month
• Premium at $299 per month
• Ultimate at $899 per month

Link: https://wotnot.io/

Client Success

ClientSuccess is a customer support platform that highly focuses on growth and is very easy to use without a technician. It has multiple features such as a journey builder and forum for the community. It enhances relationships with customers and manages them.

Features:

• UI/UX features are very advanced and well-known.
• It even provides CSMs and 24*7 instant customer support.
• Implementation is very easy and anyone can use it.

Pros:

• Provides customer insights essential for startups.
• Provides retention strategy for customers at risk.

Cons:

• API requests are limited to 10 per second.
• Customizations are limited for reporting.

Price:

• Provides customized plans.

Link: https://www.clientsuccess.com/

Podium

Podium is mostly used by small-scale businesses or startups. It provides interactive surveys for customer support and for getting a better understanding of the needs and scope for improvement. It is a cloud-based software that manages customer interactions and keeps the record.

Features:

• Takes customer feedback through surveys and reviews.
• Helps startups gather reviews from different platforms to maintain an online presence.
• Provides a shared inbox for all the platforms and analyzes them.

Pros:

• Interacts with customers through messages from one platform.
• Enhances user engagement by taking feedback.

Cons:

• Pricing is high for startups.
• The learning curve is steep.

Price:

• Core at $399 per month
• Pro at $599 per month
• The signature is customized.

Link: https://www.podium.com/

HappyFox

HappyFox is a help desk easy-to-use software which provides multiple channels for support. It provides support through various mediums such as SMS, web pages or emails. It even provides live chat that is easy and fast.

Features:

• Help desk ticketing which is used to manage customer inquiries and issues effectively.
• Provides a self-service knowledge base that contains answers to common questions.
• The help desk automates repetitive tasks and manages workflow.

Pros:

• Helps in organizing and prioritizing customer requirements.
• Third-party automation is also easy.

Cons:

• UI/UX is less interactive comparatively.
• Require technical expertise for some tasks.

Price:

• Mighty at $39 per month
• Fantastic at $59 per month
• Enterprise at $79 per month
• Enterprise Plus at $99 per month

Link: https://www.happyfox.com/

Conclusion

Various customer support platforms can be used by startups. Startups are highly dependent on customers and need instant and informative support which requires technicians for setup. However, there are even some customer support platforms that can be used without any technical assistance. The market consists of very few platforms that offer assistance at an affordable rate.

Customer support platforms for startups have to serve basic requirements such as user-friendliness or budget etc. Some offer advanced features such as a shared inbox beneficial for collaboration, etc. You have to choose according to your needs from the list of the best customer support platforms.

FAQs – 10 Best Customer Support Platforms for Startups

What features should be prioritized by startups while choosing a customer support platform?

Startups should discuss features required with the team and prioritize ease of use, budget and choose the platform that manages feedback effectively.

Are the plans flexible regarding the resources available in a small startup?

Yes, there are customized plans available for startups that are budget friendly and provide free trials and are highly scalable.

Are these customer support platforms easily integrated with third-party apps?

Most of the platforms provide easy integration with multiple business apps and ensure workflow efficiently.

How can a customer support platform help a startup in operations?

Some platforms offer some features such as ticket management, knowledge base creation, live chat support, and analysis with customer support processes.

What is the level of support provided by these platforms to startups?

Different levels of customer support are provided by different platforms. Some only integrate with gmail, SMS or live chats whereas some provide support on all platforms from one place.