What to look for.
WHAT ANY PLATFORM MUST DO
Capture requests from your channels Assign ownership Track status Keep history Search past tickets Report on volume and timing
WHAT MATTERS BEYOND THAT
Templates for common replies A knowledge base Automation rules Customer visibility of their own tickets
WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE COMMITTING
Cost per agent, at your expected size Whether it supports the channels you use Whether you can export your data Where data is stored
WHY EXPORT SPECIFICALLY
Ticket history is valuable, and being unable to take it is lock-in.
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Per-agent pricing that punishes adding occasional helpers Features only in expensive tiers Platforms requiring substantial configuration to be useful
WHAT MATTERS LOCALLY
Whether messaging platforms customers actually use are supported Whether the pricing is in foreign currency Performance on a slow connection
WHAT TO AVOID
Choosing on feature lists Building your own
WHY NOT BUILD
It is a solved problem, and maintaining it consumes effort that should go to customers.
WHAT TO START WITH
The simplest platform covering your channels.
WHAT TO REVISIT
The choice, when volume or the team changes materially.
