71+ Essential Help Desk Statistics: 2024 Analysis of Trends, Data and Market Share

A new version of this article, featuring the latest data and statistics, is available. Check out our report on Help Desk Software Statistics for 2022.

Help desks have certainly changed over the years. Thanks to technology, what started as ticketing systems to accommodate customer concerns have now become platforms for customer experience best practices through which companies can improve the overall experience of their clients. However, your ability to leverage these to your advantage is heavily anchored on your knowledge of the industry and the changes that are shaping it.

To help you out, we have prepared a compilation of help desk software facts and statistics. This tackles all the trends you should watch out for, ranging from what customers expect from companies to the challenges of implementing help desk software. Hopefully, with this guide, you’ll be able to find ways on how you can optimize your customer support efforts through 2021 and beyond.

General Help Desk Statistics

Taking care of customers goes a long way. This is why it comes as no surprise that the help desk software market size has grown exponentially since the technology was introduced. What’s more, is investing in customer support now seems to have a bigger and more direct impact on your bottom line than ever before.

Luckily, there are plenty of help desk software providers that offer high-quality SaaS products to help you improve your overall service and meet the expectations of your clientele.

• The help desk software market share is projected to reach $11 billion by 2023. (Transparency Market Research, 2021)
• By 2020, the key brand differentiator will no longer be competitive pricing and product quality but overall customer experience. (Walker, 2020)
• 84% of shoppers are willing to spend more to get better customer service. (Gladly, 2020)
• 2/3 of Global 2000 companies are looking to shift to digital solutions to improve customer experience. (Seagate, 2018)
• 52% of brands report that technology helps them deliver better customer support operations. (Sitecore, 2016)
• Meanwhile, 86% of service teams note that having a help desk system increases their productivity. (HubSpot, 2020)
• Moreover, among high growth service teams, 51% rely on help desk systems. (HubSpot, 2020)
• Leveraging help desk software big data can save up to 670 working hours per year, reduce the number of phone calls by 10%, and allow 25% of your help desk resources to be available for attention-demanding incident resolution. (HDI, 2015)
• The communication channels that customers most often use are chatbot (44%), Facebook (42%), WhatsApp (34%), SMS (32%), Email (28%), and Twitter (19%). (Commbox, 2020)

However, you might be wondering, what exactly do consumers expect from your help desk? As you can see below, they want your representatives to be efficient enough in answering their queries but personable enough to engage them. Beyond providing support, your help desk software should improve customer experience.

• 93% of customer support teams say that the expectations of consumers today are higher than ever. (HubSpot, 2020)
• For starters, 75% of shoppers expect consistency across customer support channels. (Salesforce)
• Moreover, customers say that good customer service means finding the information they need without the need to contact anyone (12%), being assisted by a knowledgeable representative (31%), not having to repeat their data (21%), and resolving their problem in a single interaction (33%). (Microsoft, 2019)
• In addition, 46% of shoppers say that being able to interact on their preferred channel is an important aspect of the personalized help desk experience. (Aspect, 2020)
• 79% of customers also say that personalized customer support is more important than personalized marketing. (Gladly, 2020)
• In line with this, consumers say that it is important for businesses to take note of their identification (66%), previous conversations (56%), and purchase history (55%). (Gladly, 2020)
• In 19 out of 27 markets, personalization is one of the strongest drivers of customer loyalty. (KPMG, 2020)
• Lastly, 90% of customers see problem resolution as the most critical customer service issue they have. (KPMG, 2020)

Help Desk Cost and Savings

Manually handling help desk operations not only eats away a good chunk of your productive hours, but it can also hurt your bottom line. Luckily, there are now plenty of affordable and easy-to-use help desk systems that can optimize your workflow and save you a few bucks as you manage your customer support efforts.

What’s more, by investing in customer experience, you can build better relationships with your customers so that they may continue patronizing your brand for the foreseeable future. This way, you can rest assured knowing you will get a return on your investment in practically no time.

• The cost of manually handling a help desk ticket is $22. By automating the process, 22% of total service desk tickets were resolved at practically no cost. (BMC, 2020)
• On average, the cost per voice minute for US service desks is $2.13. Meanwhile, the average cost per minute of handle times is $1.60. (BMC, 2019)
• Companies in the United States lose more than $62 billion per year due to poor customer service. (Vonage, 2016)
• For every $1 you invest in customer experience via help desks and similar platforms, you can reap a return on investment of $3. (Sitecore, 2016)
• By improving the customer support experience, a company with $1 billion in yearly revenues can increase its yield by up to $823 million in three years. (TTEC, 2017)
• Organizations focusing on customer experience have a return that is three times greater than CX laggards. (BARE International, 2020)

Most Popular Help Desk Software

1. Zendesk. It is a help desk suite that empowers customer service agents to assist customers with their issues and queries by giving them access to ticketing, chat, and call center tools as well as a knowledgebase. This Zendesk review can show you its capabilities succinctly.
2. Freshdesk. This is a well-known help desk software that promotes collaboration between customer support representatives. You can learn more about its features in this Freshdesk review.
3. Salesforce Service Cloud. The resolution of cases is fast-tracked with this support platform by Salesforce, as it provides a comprehensive view of each customer, from earlier interactions to previously resolved issues. Our Salesforce Service Cloud review outlines the benefits you can gain from it.
4. Groove. It may be a simple software but it is intuitive and enables businesses of all sizes to provide quick and efficient support. You can learn more about its capabilities in this Groove review.
5. Freshservice. A popular customer support application, this helps ensure that every customer query is attended to. Discover its functionalities and the benefits it offers in this Freshservice review.

Help Desk Management Trends

Consumers want to communicate with you. By providing proactive customer support and making it convenient for them to reach you on multiple channels, you will surely be able to keep your clientele happy.

However, you should note that while modern help desk systems may now allow you to consolidate all of your communication platforms in one hub, it doesn’t mean you should manage them all in the same way. As you browse through the statistics below, you’ll see that customers have different expectations depending on their preferred communication channel, so finding ways to personalize each interaction is crucial.

Email

• As of 2019, there were 3.9 billion email users. This number is expected to grow to 4.48 billion by 2024. (The Radicati Group, 2020)
• Email is the third most preferred communication channel of customers for resolving customer service issues. (The Northridge Group, 2019)
• The most used digital customer service channel is email, with 47% of consumers opting to leverage the platform for their queries in the previous years. (Netomi, 2020)

Voice Calls

• 36% of consumers over the age of 56 prefer conversing over the phone than any other communication channel. (RingCentral, 2020)
• 23% of consumers prefer phone calls as their main customer service channel. (Netomi, 2020)
• However, companies only utilize 45.1% of their voice call agents. (MetricNet, 2020)
• The call abandonment rate in the US can get as high as 9.6%. (MetricNet, 2020)

Social Media

• 3.80 billion people are active social media users, making up 49% of the worldwide population. (We are Social, 2020)
• Among the most used mobile apps are for social networking (89%). (We are Social, 2020)
• The average internet user has eight social media accounts in 2020. (GlobalWebIndex, 2020)
• Moreover, each social media user spends an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes each day on these sites. (GlobalWebIndex, 2020)
• 32.3% of consumers under the age of 25 say social media is their top customer support channel. (Consumer Reports, 2019)
• Addressing complaints on social media can increase customer advocacy by up to 25%. (Convince&Convert, 2016)
• A majority of consumers who voice out their concerns via social media expect a response on the same day that they posted their queries. 25% of which says it should be within 24 hours, 10% says it should be within 60 minutes, and 12% says it should be within 30 minutes. (Convince&Convert, 2019)
• 37% of consumers message a brand on social media to get help on customer service concerns. (Sprout Social, 2020)
• The top three reasons why consumers unfollow brands on social media include poor customer support (49%), poor product quality (49%), and too many ads (45%). (Sprout Social, 2020)

Live Chat

• 23% of consumers prefer using live chat compared to other customer support channels. (Netomi, 2020)
• Live chat yields a higher satisfaction rating (85%) than other communication channels for customer service. (Zendesk)
• Live chat can increase conversion rates by 3.84%. (Inflow, 2019)
• As such, 90% of service teams say that live chat is a successful channel when it comes to helping customers. (HubSpot, 2020)
• The use of chatbots in customer service is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 31.6% from 2019 to 2026. (Reports and Data, 2019)
• 52% of consumers say they will repurchase from companies that provide live chat as an option for customer support. (Kayako, 2021)
• Help desk software research shows that only 9% of companies leverage live chat functionalities for their official sites. (SuperOffice, 2021)

Customer Self-Service

• 68% of customers view the provision of self-service options as a form of customer service. (Aspect, 2020)
• 42% of customers prefer self-service options over contacting a live agent (58%) when dealing with simple issues. (Aspect, 2020)
• Customers prefer self-service options for mobile AIA (65%), SMS (64%), mobile app notifications (59%), messaging apps (47%), and email (45%). It is least preferred on chat (26%) and voice calls (10%). (Aspect, 2020)
• 69% of consumers prefer to resolve their customer service problems on their own before seeking help from agents. (Zendesk, 2020)
• Meanwhile, when faced with product/service/technical issues, 63% of consumers begin by researching the company’s online resources before contacting the help desk. (Zendesk, 2020)
• However, only 1/3 of businesses offer self-service options such as knowledge bases and forums. (Zendesk, 2020)
• Between 2016 and 2020, self-service help desk adoption has grown by 103%. (Zendesk, 2020)

Help Desk Challenges

The fast-paced nature of the digital age has made consumers more impatient and demanding. So, best believe that meeting their expectations will be no walk in the park. If you truly want to provide your customers with the kind of support that they want, you will have to go the extra mile in optimizing response times and making sure that your help desk representatives are at the top of their game at all times.

• 86% of customers say they expect to be able to move from channel to channel but still have seamless conversations with agents. (Gladly, 2020)
• 70% of consumers say they have a favorable view of brands that provide proactive customer service. (Microsoft, 2019)
• 59% of customers report having higher customer service expectations in 2019 compared to 2018. (Microsoft, 2019)
• A more recent study reported that 93% of service teams believe that customer support expectations in 2020 are higher than ever. Moreover, 86% say customers are more informed now than in the past. (HubSpot, 2020)
• 33% of customers say the most important aspect of a good customer experience is to get their issue resolved in one interaction. (Microsoft, 2019)
• 75% of consumers expect companies to anticipate their needs. (Salesforce, 2019)
• In addition, 84% of customers say that they have a better impression of brands that treat them like a person, not a number. (Salesforce, 2019)
• 57% of consumers have stopped patronizing companies because a competitor offered better customer service. (Salesforce, 2019)
• What is more, customers say they want a fast resolution (61%), a favorable outcome (57%), and convenience (47%) in every customer service interaction. (Netomi, 2020)
• 27% of consumers want proactive customer service. (Netomi, 2020)
• 70% of customers expect businesses to offer them the same standard of personalized service across physical stores and online platforms. (Suzy, 2020)
• 64% of consumers feel that a lack of personalization makes them feel like they are being treated more like tickets than paying customers. (Gladly, 2020)

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Industry

In addition to the challenge of meeting the demands and expectations of customers, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to many disruptions in the industry. For starters, it has caused a surge in ticket volumes, which consequently made many companies consider the need for automation systems. Moreover, as many consumers underwent big lifestyle changes during the pandemic, they have also turned to different online channels for customer service concerns. It may also be good to note that many companies have been forced to let their agents work from home. As such, investing in tools and laying down policies for remote work might be something worth looking into in the coming years.

• Average ticket volume has risen by 16% since the pandemic, making it more difficult for help desk agents. (Zendesk, 2021)
• Over the course of the pandemic, channel preferences have also fluctuated. Globally, help desk interactions increased on WhatsApp 111%, SMS (15%), social media (11%), and chat (10%). (Zendesk, 2021)
• Moreover, when it comes to concerns related to the pandemic, 58% of customers prefer calling support agents over other channels. (Accenture, 2020)
• 64% of workers, which include help desk agents, in the United States have shifted to remote work due to the pandemic. (SHRM, 2020)
• In addition, three in five employees who are working remotely during the pandemic are looking to continue the setup even after the pandemic. (Gallup, 2020)
• 64% of companies are looking to increase automation technology investments as a result of the pandemic. (Inference Solutions, 2020)

Future Outlook for Help Desk Software

The future of the help desk software market looks highly promising, driven by increasing demand for more efficient customer support solutions. As businesses continue to scale, they turn to help desk solutions that offer automation, AI, and multi-channel support to improve customer service.

• Increased Demand for AI Integration: With advancements in artificial intelligence, the demand for AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants is growing. These tools can automate routine tasks, allowing customer support agents to focus on complex issues and improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.
• Cloud-Based Solutions: The shift toward cloud-based help desk software is another significant trend. Cloud platforms offer scalability, flexibility, and remote access, making them more appealing to businesses of all sizes. This trend is expected to continue as businesses prioritize cloud solutions for their cost-effectiveness and ease of integration.
• Omni-Channel Support: Consumers increasingly expect support across multiple platforms, including social media, email, live chat, and phone. Help desk solutions are evolving to meet these needs, ensuring companies can offer seamless, multi-channel customer support.
• Integration with Other Business Systems: Help desk software integrates more with other business systems, such as CRM and marketing automation platforms. This integration helps provide a more holistic view of customer interactions, improving service delivery.
• Proactive Support: The shift toward proactive support, where businesses address potential issues before customers even notice them, is expected to continue. This helps build stronger relationships with customers and prevents issues from escalating.

What Do These Help Desk Statistics Mean for Your Business?

These help desk software statistics only imply one thing: businesses need to step up their customer support efforts if they want to succeed. However, the internet’s increasing accessibility, the emergence of new communication channels, and the COVID-19 pandemic present challenges for the help desk industry.

For starters, customers are becoming more demanding than ever, expecting fast, convenient, and highly personalized service from companies. They can easily rate and review your offerings through social media or even on your online marketplace. Meaning, customers can talk about your brand anytime and anywhere. This is why it is more important for you to focus on the quality of support you provide via help desks.

To put it simply, even if you offer the best products and services, customer support is what will take your brand to the next level.

With this in mind, companies should start viewing the customer experience as a strategic initiative to keep up with customer expectations instead of considering it as just a “part of the operations.” Moreover, you will need to make it easy for customers to reach you whenever they want, so it is important for you to start utilizing multiple channels. You should also be ready to ramp up customer support during the seasonal rush.

One way for you to achieve this omnichannel system is to invest in new technologies such as help desk platforms. By simply finding out which one works best for your operations and keeping up with the latest help desk software trends, reaping the benefits that these innovations have to offer should be a piece of cake.

If you have yet to utilize a help desk solution for your company, now is perhaps the best time for you to invest in one. Not only are there plenty of reasonably priced options on the market today. These platforms are also becoming more intuitive and easy to learn. You can start by assessing the different help desk software for small businesses or if you’re a large company, help desk software for mid-sized companies, and enterprises.

Key Insights

• The help desk software market is rapidly expanding, with projected market size reaching $11 billion by 2023.
• Customer experience is becoming the primary brand differentiator over competitive pricing and product quality.
• High-quality customer service can lead to significant financial benefits, with 84% of shoppers willing to spend more for better service.
• The use of help desk systems can substantially increase productivity and efficiency for service teams.
• Customers expect seamless and personalized interactions across various support channels, including email, social media, and live chat.
• Automating help desk operations can lead to significant cost savings and improved resolution times.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for remote work solutions and automation in help desk operations.
• Investing in help desk software can provide a high return on investment by improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

FAQ

1. What are the key trends in help desk software? The key trends in help desk software include the growing market size, increasing emphasis on customer experience, rising demand for personalized service, and the shift towards digital solutions. Additionally, there is a notable increase in the use of multiple communication channels and the adoption of automation and remote work solutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. How can help desk software benefit my business financially? Help desk software can benefit your business financially by increasing productivity, reducing the number of phone calls, and allowing more resources to be available for complex issues. Automating help desk operations can significantly reduce the cost per ticket and overall operational expenses. Moreover, providing excellent customer service can lead to higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and repeat business, resulting in increased revenue.
3. What do customers expect from a modern help desk? Customers expect a modern help desk to provide quick and efficient resolution of their issues, personalized interactions, and seamless communication across multiple channels. They value the ability to find information without contacting support, being assisted by knowledgeable representatives, and having their issues resolved in a single interaction. Customers also prefer interacting through their preferred channels and appreciate proactive customer service.
4. How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted help desk operations? The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in ticket volumes and fluctuating channel preferences, with increased interactions on platforms like WhatsApp, SMS, social media, and live chat. Many companies have shifted to remote work setups for help desk agents, necessitating investments in tools and policies for remote operations. There is also a growing focus on automation technology to handle the increased demand and improve efficiency.
5. What should businesses focus on to improve their customer support efforts? Businesses should focus on providing personalized and seamless customer service across multiple channels, investing in help desk software, and adopting automation to improve efficiency and reduce costs. They should also prioritize proactive customer service, anticipate customer needs, and ensure quick and convenient resolution of issues. Keeping up with the latest trends and technologies in help desk software is essential for staying competitive and meeting customer expectations.

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By Astrid Eira

Astrid Eira is a resident B2B expert of FinancesOnline, focusing on the SaaS niche. She specializes in accounting and human resource management software, writing honest and straightforward reviews of some of the most popular systems around. Being a small business owner herself, Astrid uses her expertise to help educate business owners and entrepreneurs on how new technology can help them run their operations. She's an avid fan of the outdoors, where you'll find her when she's not crunching numbers or testing out new software.