Whether or not you are a customer support group making an attempt to help your organization’s clients or main an admissions division at a college and speaking with college students, getting folks the solutions they want — after they want them — is necessary.
However with regards to collaborating and speaking over e mail, it is easy to default to the instruments which might be already out there to you.
The commonest instance of that is utilizing an ordinary e mail shopper — like Outlook or Gmail — to handle your group’s inbox. However these instruments typically lack the options groups have to handle their inboxes in probably the most environment friendly method.
On this article we cowl the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing Outlook Shared Mailbox for e mail communication. We additionally provide seven Outlook Shared Mailbox alternate options to contemplate — and share some notable options of every.
Benefits and drawbacks of Outlook Shared Mailbox
Usually talking, Outlook Shared Mailbox’s largest benefit is that it’s free. You get entry to some very fundamental collaboration instruments that may show you how to kick off your help efforts, and the setup course of isn’t extremely sophisticated.
Additional, for those who’ve been utilizing Outlook as your normal e mail shopper, utilizing Shared Inbox is basically the identical interface. There shouldn’t be a lot of a studying curve for getting used to the fundamental performance of the instrument.
Nevertheless, Outlook Shared Mailbox is not a instrument expressly constructed for group e mail administration. There aren’t automations to scale back handbook work, and also you don’t get entry to the kinds of experiences that may show you how to higher perceive quantity and efficiency — issues that would enhance your group’s productiveness.
What all of it comes right down to is that this: Outlook Shared Mailbox merely isn’t a long-term resolution. In case you use it and have plans to develop, it’s not a query of if you’ll want a special resolution however when you’ll want one.
Indicators you will have outgrown Outlook Shared Mailbox
In case you’re nonetheless uncertain whether or not it’s essential discover a new resolution or not, see if any of the ache factors under apply to you. If a couple of does, chances are high you’re able to spend money on a special resolution.
Conversations are getting misplaced. With out the flexibility to assign conversations, maintaining observe of issues can get troublesome. When conversations slip by means of the cracks, each you and the folks you are replying to pay the value.
You might have hassle understanding group productiveness. Specialised instruments provide insights into issues like particular person efficiency and why persons are contacting you typically. With Shared Mailbox, you don’t get both.
Greater than two persons are utilizing Shared Mailbox. Shared Mailbox merely wasn’t constructed with collaboration in thoughts. We’ve discovered when the person rely exceeds two, issues like duplicate responses to the identical dialog begin taking place rather more steadily, which limits group productiveness and creates a irritating expertise for these contacting you.
You spend extra time creating fixes than responding to questions. When you have already got a program in place, it’s straightforward to attempt to make it bend to suit your particular wants. Nevertheless, typically you find yourself spending a lot time looking for options to deficiencies in a product that it hurts your skill to perform the first objective.
The 7 finest Outlook Shared Mailbox alternate options
In case you’re critical about managing e mail successfully, investing in a devoted e mail administration instrument is the path to go. Under are seven Outlook Shared Mailbox alternate options to contemplate in your search:
There’s some characteristic overlap among the many instruments under, however there are nuances to every possibility that make them higher fitted to totally different makes use of.
1. Assist Scout
Finest general Outlook Shared Mailbox different.
Assist Scout is e mail administration software program that empowers folks to collaborate extra effectively and work extra productively. Assist Scout’s shared inbox consists of collaboration options like:
Inner notes: Go away non-public notes to your teammates or one other division on incoming emails to collaborate extra successfully asynchronously.
Dialog assignments: Triage your incoming emails and rapidly assign them to the one who’s finest capable of present a solution.
Saved replies: Create a library of solutions to steadily requested questions, then insert any of these solutions into an e mail reply in two clicks to reply to routine questions in seconds.
Workflows: Automate repetitive actions — like assigning particular kinds of emails to particular people/departments — to scale back the quantity of handbook sorting work your group has to handle.
Together with a shared inbox, you additionally get entry to Docs, an easy-to-use information base builder. The WYSIWYG interface makes creating articles a breeze. You’re additionally capable of arrange articles by matter, and there’s built-in search performance, making it straightforward for the folks you are serving to to seek out the solutions they want.
Nevertheless, the very best factor about Assist Scout could also be its general ease of use. You may get began in as little as an hour and be an influence person by the top of week one. It’s really a product that’s capable of develop together with your wants and proceed to be a strong resolution for years to come back.
Worth: Beginning at $20/person per thirty days.
2. Hiver
Finest Outlook shared mailbox different for groups switching to Gmail.
One of the simplest ways to consider Hiver is as a Gmail extension. It connects to an present Gmail account however offers further help performance past what’s supplied in the usual e mail shopper. While you enroll, you get entry to collaboration instruments like inside notes and the flexibility to assign conversations to totally different workers.
Together with collaboration instruments, there are additionally productiveness instruments like saved replies, fundamental automations to restrict handbook work like dialog sorting, and experiences to see the place any gaps in service exist.
Nevertheless, Hiver doesn’t embrace instruments for issues like constructing a information base, and it additionally has seat limits on some plans, which can be problematic for some.
Worth: Beginning at $12/person per thirty days.
3. Zoho Desk
Finest Outlook Shared Mailbox different for groups utilizing different Zoho merchandise.
While you join Zoho Desk, you get entry to various instruments like a shared inbox, a information base builder, and the flexibility to supply reside help. Nevertheless, we must always be aware that not all these instruments are supplied on all plan ranges.
With Zoho Desk, you’re additionally capable of automate sure duties and ship satisfaction surveys to comply with up on buyer conversations. In addition they have various integrations supplied of their market. In case you use Zoho CRM, you’re capable of join the 2 seamlessly to get a full image of the particular person you’re interacting with.
Worth: Free plan out there. Paid plans beginning at $14/agent per thirty days.
4. Freshdesk
Finest Outlook Shared mailbox different for groups needing to supply cellphone help.
Freshdesk is usually related to bigger, name center-type groups, however they do serve different kinds of clients. They’ve two totally different plan varieties: help desk and omnichannel.
With help desk plans, you get entry to a shared inbox instrument that allows you to handle e mail, Fb, and Twitter conversations, and also you even have entry to a information base builder.
Their omnichannel plan is extra in keeping with different instruments on the checklist, like Assist Scout, and consists of further channel help for reside chat and proactive messaging. What actually makes Freshdesk stand out is their cellphone help choices, so if it’s essential provide help by cellphone, Freshdesk could also be price trying into.
Worth: Free plan out there. Paid plans beginning at $15/agent per thirty days.
5. Gorgias
Finest Outlook Shared Mailbox different for groups utilizing Shopify.
Gorgias is a platform with a heavy give attention to ecommerce. They provide many options you’d anticipate finding like inside notes, e mail task capabilities, and even some fundamental automations to scale back handbook work. In addition they provide a information base builder and reside chat software program to supply various kinds of help.
Gorgias’ true differentiator is the integrations they’ve with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Adobe Commerce. By means of these integrations, you’re capable of see order historical past, make modifications, and even course of refunds with out ever leaving Gorgias, which may very well be an enormous time saver.
One factor to notice about Gorgias is that they cost by ticket (e mail, chat, and so forth.) quantity, so the associated fee may differ considerably month over month.
Worth: Beginning at $76 per thirty days.
6. Entrance
Finest Outlook Shared Mailbox different for replying by means of a private e mail handle.
Entrance is a shared inbox instrument that permits customers to reply from a private e mail handle. They embrace among the normal options you’d anticipate like inside notes, the flexibility to assign conversations to totally different brokers, and a few fundamental automations to scale back handbook work.
In addition they have reporting options to measure group efficiency and various integrations to hook up with different instruments in your tech stack. Nevertheless, experiences are restricted to their higher-cost plans, whereas metrics reporting comes normal with many different choices on the checklist.
Worth: Beginning at $19/particular person per thirty days.
7. Helpwise
Finest Outlook different for groups needing venture administration performance.
Helpwise is sort of a mashup of customer support and venture administration software program. You get entry to most of the normal customer support instruments like a shared inbox, information base builder, and reside chat software program. There are additionally productiveness options like collision detection to cease duplicate work.
What’s totally different from others on the checklist is you’re capable of assign duties together with buyer conversations. The duties are on a Kanban-style board, and customers can replace the standing and mark them as pending, full, and so forth. You probably have a number of groups collaborating on requests, it may very well be a helpful characteristic.
Worth: Free plan out there. Paid plans beginning at $12/person per thirty days.
Choosing the proper shared inbox to your group
There’s so much to be mentioned for benefiting from what you’ve gotten. It appears like the sensible factor and may even really feel triumphant in a method once you make one thing less-than-ideal work. However the fact is that utilizing a suboptimal instrument, even one which’s free, can find yourself costing you in the long term.
Outlook Shared Mailbox is a good instrument for many issues, but it surely’s merely not meant to deal with modern-day e mail administration wants. As a substitute of investing vitality making an attempt to make it bend to suit, you’re in all probability higher off discovering a brand new resolution that may take its place and propel you ahead.