Kustomer is a customer relationship management software that facilitates customer support and aims to personalize the ticket resolution process. It claims to create smarter processes that help agents deliver better results and drive revenue through customer support. It has features like live chat, process automation, and a CRM for customer service. 

Kustomer is a great software for businesses looking for a centralized hub for their customer communications. However, as a customer service software, it fails to provide more than that. It simplifies communication with the customers but does little to address problems such as CX reporting and routing that would truly help a business scale their customer service. 

Kustomer provides fewer features with a comparatively complex user interface. It takes time to understand and adapt to, and many businesses rely on a tech team to set up the platform to suit their needs. 

This is one of the primary reasons to look for a Kustomer alternative. There are several good customer service platform, each with its unique features. But before we dive in, here’s a closer look at Kustomer’s pros and cons:

Kustomer: 

Kustomer aims to simplify and personalize customer communications and improve the support team's efficiency. Here’s how it functions:

• Provides a timeline view of the customer data so that agents have valuable insights and can make informed decisions
• Kustomer IQ is an AI-powered chatbot that improves the customer experience and reduces turnaround time when agents aren’t available.
• It allows you to track agent performance based on data like the average response time.

Chatbots are a polarizing subject in the customer support world. And rightly so. Many businesses prefer to provide 24*7 support and value quick responses. Others, however, feel like automation is impersonal and tends to sound robotic, making customers feel less valued. This is one of the reasons why businesses struggle to adapt to Kustomer, which relies heavily on AI and automation. Understanding the Limitations and Drawbacks of Chatbot

Kustomer has several other issues as well. The software offering fewer features than its counterparts should be much simpler. However, it has a complex UI and is not very adaptable. It takes time to set up and has a steep learning curve. 

Kustomer does act as a communication hub and live chat support. But the other features like reporting fail to meet the mark. It offers very few customizations and needs coding experience to set up. You end up relying on your tech team for the job, which adds discomfort. 

The same is the case with their integrations. They integrate with platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, and Magento, but these integrations are relatively complex and take some technical know-how to set it up.  

Kustomer Alternatives in 2024: Best Help desk Software

There are several Kustomer Alternatives to choose from. Here are some of the most popular options:

• Richpanel
• Gladly
• Zendesk 
• Gorgias
• Re:Amaze

1. Richpanel: 

Richpanel is a leading customer service software that aims to improve the customer experience and agent experience. Richpanel have a robust self-service portal that reduces the volume of tickets, while intuitive backend helps agents simplify their day-to-day processes. Here are some of Richpanel’s most popular features:

Self-Service: 

Richpanel has the most powerful self-help portal with an “Amazon-like” interface. It is easy to use and helps the customers take order actions such as edit an order, cancel it or ask for a refund. This reduces redundant tickets and makes the agents’ jobs easier. Not to forget, it gives the customers control and improves their experience. Apart from this, it also features a comprehensive and customizable knowledge base that helps customers find answers to their queries right away. With this feature, Richpanel has halved many clients' tickets.

Agent-Experience:

Richpanel is the only customer service software that focuses on the agent experience as much as it aims to improve customer satisfaction. This is why it has an intuitive backend that is easy to use, offers complete customer context, along with the entire customer conversation from different channels. Combined with the deep integrations with eCommerce tools and collaborative features, Richpanel makes it easier for agents to perform their daily processes without switching between multiple windows. 

Multilingual Support:

Richpanel recognizes more than 52 languages. For businesses that have a diverse audience, this is a boon. Customers feel at ease and make a more robust brand connection when they can communicate in their native language. This is one of the most popular features of Richpanel. 

Best Suited For:

Richpanel is best suited for growing businesses that want to scale their customer support without increasing costs. 

Review: 5.0 ⭐ (97 Reviews on Shopify Store)

‍

Gladly:

Gladly is a customer service platform and ticketing system that aims to improve agent productivity. It provides many functionalities you’d look for in ticketing software. Here are some of its key features:

Live Chat:

Gladly has a live chat featured powered by AI. It sends messages to customers when they struggle to make decisions, helps them understand products, and converts site visitors to customers. 

While this is an excellent feature for businesses leaning towards automation, Gladly doesn't meet the basic requirements for a great communication hub. Agents report losing messages in the inbox and end up with timed conversations. This affects their performance and negatively impacts the customer experience. 

IVR:

Gladly also relies heavily on automation to deflect customer queries. They’ve introduced an IVR feature that addresses customer queries even when the agents are not available to respond. The menu is customizable. However, it is frustrating to go through the recorded menu to find simple answers. The automated and robotic processes are impersonal and can negatively affect how customers view the brand. 

Gladly also has some technical glitches and often slows down when the ticket volume increases. It tends to shut down abruptly and disrupt conversations, leading to a bad user experience. 

Best Suited For:

SMBs that want to maintain consistency across all communication channels.

Read Also: Gladly Alternatives - Right Customer Service Software for Ecom Store

Zendesk:

Zendesk is a versatile customer service software. Unlike the other Kustomer alternatives on the list, it does not aim to serve eCommerce businesses but is built for a wide range of industries. It is highly customizable and has various helpful features such as omnichannel customer service and live chat features. Here are some of the popular features:

Customizations:

One of the critical features of Zendesk is its customizability. While this is a feature many businesses look forward to, it has drawbacks. Zendesk is not built for a single industry and caters to a larger audience. All the elements, from the reports to the live chat, are customizable and can be attuned to your business needs. However, an overwhelming number of choices add to the difficulty of setting up this highly complex software. 

For many businesses looking for a one-stop solution, Zendesk becomes challenging to adapt to as Zendesk has a family of solutions like the Zendesk Guide you need to pay for. With the added features and flexibility comes a hefty price. 

Reporting:

Much like all the other Zendesk features, the reporting is customizable, with many different options available. However, the choices can overwhelm users who want simple performance and revenue reporting. You’ll need to rely on a tech team to set it up, and it might take time for CX leaders to adopt this. One of the reasons Zendesk is not the preferred choice for eCommerce businesses.

Best Suited For:

Zendesk is best for businesses with a tech team to help them configure the customer service platform to suit their needs. 

‍Recommended Reading: Zendesk Alternatives and Competitors‍

Gorgias:

Gorgias is one of the most popular Kustomer alternatives. It has a deep Shopify integration and can help a business increase agent productivity and drive revenue through customer support. Here are some of its key features:

‍Sentiment Analysis:

Gorgias offers sentiment analysis that helps agents read between the lines and understand the customers' moods to help them navigate the conversation better. Given Gorgias’s integration with social media applications, it also helps with social media monitoring and helps find negative comments in time and address them appropriately. 

However, the feature is inaccurate and tends to misinterpret customers' intent. It leads to discrepancies, and it needs diligent manual oversight, despite aiming to simplify things for its users. 

Shopify Integration:

Gorgias provides deep integration with Shopify. However, their integrations with other platforms like BigCommerce and Magento do not have the same functionality. Learn more on Gorgias Alternatives

Best Suited For:

Shopify stores that want to maintain consistency in customer service across all channels. 

ReAmaze:

ReAmaze is a CRM and ticketing system that aims to centralize customer communication and simplify day-to-day processes for the customer support teams. Here are some of the most noteworthy features:

‍Live Chat:

ReAmaze also relies on automation and facilitates chatbots that send messages to website visitors and prompt them to make purchases. It aims to improve the shopping experience and convert website visitors to customers. 

ReAmaze does reduce the response time, but for customers that value human interaction over speed, the automation may be off-putting and diminish the effectiveness of customer communications. 

Omnichannel Support:

Re:Amaze compiles messages from different platforms such as email, SMS, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter so that agents can access it through one window. It also facilitates collaborations through features like notes. 

ReAmaze does have a tricky back-end, and while it has all the features to make it a great customer support software, it fails to make the agents’ lives easier. It is pretty challenging to adopt, and the learning curve is steep. 

Best Suited For:

Re:Amaze is best suited for e-commerce brands that want to centralize multi-channel support and improve customer communications. 

Related Read: 5 Reasons Why you Need to Make The Switch from ReAmaze‍

Choose Your Kustomer Alternative: The Right Customer Service Software for your Ecommerce Store

Kustomer is an excellent customer support software. But it comes with its own set of drawbacks. If you are looking for better Kustomer alternatives, there are several options to choose from- 

ReAmaze and Gorgias are best suited for businesses whose primary aim is to provide multi-channel customer support and maintain consistency through all channels. 

Gladly is an excellent alternative for businesses that rely on automation and prefer to speed up the process and deflect tickets to smoothen their processes. 

Zendesk is tedious for eCommerce businesses, but it is an excellent option for companies in other industries.

Richpanel helps scale businesses and aims to eliminate redundant tickets while giving the customers the power to address simple issues without contacting customer support agents. Create your Free Account Now.

‍