Make Your Help Desk The Nerve Center Of Your Online Business

What? No Help Desk?

If you’re still using a standard email address to field Customer Support requests, you’re missing out on a good way to promote your Internet Marketing business.

And you’re also subjecting yourself to a barrage of spam from bots and unethical marketers who visit sites with the express purpose of harvesting support email addresses.

Many marketers believe that publishing a Support email address on their sites adds to their credibility. It’s a fine sentiment — but one that can backfire in a hurry.

It’s not uncommon for individuals to spend hours scouring the Internet for sites that list Support email addresses. Sometimes “teams” of individuals work together to “mine” the addresses, so they can be sold in bulk or used to build lists.

Step outside the firing line by adding a Help Desk with spam-taming CAPTCHA protection to your site.

A CAPTCHA Help Desk system produces a tiny box that may contain distorted numbers and letters. The process is designed to distinguish robots from humans and minimize spam by not exposing the company’s Support email address.

Three Pillars Help Desk is a Support solution that offers users CAPTCHA protection.

But it doesn’t stop there. Three Pillars Help Desk assigns a ticket number to each customer who submits a request for Support. The system sends the customer an email automatically.

This assures the customer that the Support request has been received, taking guesswork out of play. In short, customers know right away that you’re aware of their problem and will respond to their inquiry after you’ve reviewed the information they’ve submitted.

Three Pillars Help Desk can become the nerve center of your operation. Not only does it send confirmation that the inquiry has been received, it also starts a “thread” just between the customer and you once you’ve responded to the inquiry.

It’s like a mini-forum. The thread will show the history of the Support request, from the initial inquiry to your response. If the customer has additional questions, those inquiries and your responses also appear in the thread.

A quality Help Desk solution not only minimizes spam, but shows customers you’re serious about your business. A Help Desk adds value to an online business for the customer and the owner.

One of the nice features of Three Pillars Help Desk is that the headers and footers are editable, meaning you can add your own graphic or logo to help build your website identity and brand.

Because the footer can be edited, you can insert short messages about other products and services you offer. These messages can become “clickable” by adding standard html code.

Don’t oversell. Simply edit the footer template to remind visitors that you run a dynamic online business. The messages are unobtrusive, appearing at the bottom of the page.

Another nice thing about Three Pillars Help Desk is that you don’t have to limit it to fielding Support inquiries. You could invite visitors to a special promotion by encouraging them to contact you through your Help Desk, for example.

Three Pillars Help Desk permits you to add a signature to the email customers receive. Meanwhile, you can use your Three Pillars administrative back office to add a Knowledge Base of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to aid customers.

At the same time, you can list your products in a pull-down menu and let customers prioritize their inquiries from “Normal” to “Urgent.”

Use Three Pillars proactively. It can become the nerve center for your business, not just a Help Desk. Customers benefit from the interactivity, and you’ll benefit by using your Three Pillars Help Desk to demonstrate your commitment to serve their needs.

Patrick Pretty is a writer and Internet Marketing’s “Sensational Master Of Eye Candy.” He is co-author of 20 Ways to Make $100 Per Day Online.