Intercom: Customer service platform with live chat and automation

What is Intercom?

95% of customers say that customer service is extremely important in gaining and maintaining brand loyalty.

For this, it is essential that you choose the appropriate tools to offer a quality service to each customer.

Intercom is a platform for customer relationship management (CRM) that allows the organization to offer better customer relationships through personalized, messaging based experiences throughout the customer journey.

They mainly offer three features: live chat, Chatbots and a support service.

Features

1. Real-time messaging

Intercom is revolutionizing customer communication with its real-time messaging, offering direct and personalized interaction.

This functionality is integrated into websites and applications, allowing for constant accessibility and instant response to customer requests.

• Direct communication: Enables real-time interactions for immediate assistance.
• Easy integration: Easily integrates with websites and mobile applications.

Real-time messaging is the core of the Intercom experience, providing invaluable value in customer satisfaction and retention.

2. Customer Support Automation

Intercom's customer support automation is designed to maximize efficiency and minimize response time. Thanks to its chatbots and automated responses, it relieves the workload of support teams while ensuring a rapid response to customers.

• Smart Chatbots: Provide automated and relevant responses
• Smart Routing: Direct messages to the appropriate teams.

This automation contributes to more effective management of customer requests, improving the user experience while optimizing business resources.

3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Intercom's integrated CRM is a major asset, offering detailed monitoring of customer interactions and allowing precise segmentation for targeted marketing campaigns.

• Detailed follow-up: Records and analyzes interactions for personalized communication.
• Effective segmentation: Allows campaigns to be targeted based on customer behavior.

With this feature, Intercom sets itself apart by providing powerful tools for optimal customer relationship management.

4. Email Marketing Campaigns

Intercom email marketing campaigns are designed to increase customer engagement through personalized messages based on customer behavior and preferences.

• Advanced Customization: Create targeted email campaigns.
• Performance Analysis: Track the effectiveness of campaigns for strategic adjustments.

This feature reinforces Intercom's marketing reach, allowing businesses to communicate effectively with their customers.

5. Customer Feedback and Surveys

Intercom's customer feedback and surveys function provides valuable feedback that is essential for the continuous improvement of products and services.

• Easy collection: Use surveys to gather customer feedback.
• Useful analysis: Use feedback data to improve offers.

This aspect of Intercom is crucial to understanding and meeting customer needs, a pillar in building a customer-focused business.

6. Integrations

Intercom's ability to integrate with a multitude of other tools adds a layer of versatility, making customer communications management even more seamless and integrated.

• Extensive compatibility: Integrations with CRM, marketing and support tools.
• Unified Workflows: Centralize your tools for increased efficiency.

The integrability of Intercom with other systems is a major asset, allowing perfect synchronization of the various aspects of customer management.

7. Mobile app

Intercom's mobile application ensures that teams stay connected with customers regardless of their location, allowing customer interactions to be managed at all times.

• Mobile Management: Access and manage customer interactions from anywhere.
• Flexibility and Accessibility: Stay connected with customers all the time.

This mobile functionality reinforces the responsiveness and flexibility of customer support, an essential asset in today's connected world.

8. Dashboards and Reporting

Intercom dashboards and reports provide a clear picture of customer interactions, support performance, and marketing campaigns, which are essential for informed decision-making.

• Performance monitoring: Analyze important data to optimize strategies.
• Valuable Insights: Get detailed information on customer engagement and performance.

Intercom's analytical capabilities help businesses stay informed and adjust strategies based on trends and feedback.

9. Security and Compliance

Data security and compliance at Intercom are of the utmost importance, ensuring the protection of sensitive customer information and compliance with global regulations.

• High Security: Protects customer data with high standards.
• Regulatory compliance: Complies with global standards such as the GDPR.

Intercom's focus on security and compliance is reassuring for businesses that want to protect customer data and comply with regulations.

Pricing

Intercom's pricing plans are very simple. Just pick a plan and grow with Intercom. Let's discuss the plans offered by Intercom:

Rates Intercom offers flexible pricing options tailored to different business needs and sizes. Here is an overview of their main plans:

Essential (Starting at $136/month)

• Multi-Channel Management: Manage conversations across platforms.
• Targeted Messages: Send personalized messages on your website or product.
• Integrations: Compatible with HubSpot, Stripe, Shopify, etc.

Pro (Starting at $202/month)

• Workflow Automation: Create intelligent, automated campaigns.
• Advanced Customization: Customize workflows with rules and automations.
• Messenger control: Manage the display of the messenger according to the user.
• Additional integrations: Includes Salesforce, Zendesk, GitHub, and more.

Premium (Customized)

• Custom robots: Engage users with advanced chatbots.
• Detailed reports: Get insights into team performance and revenue.
• Expanded Integrations: Includes Salesforce, Sandbox, Marketo, Clearbit Reveal, and more
• Lead conversion: Use account-based marketing campaigns to target effectively.

Intercom also offers a free trial period of 14 days, allowing you to test the platform without obligation. The plans are flexible, with no cancellation fees or binding contracts.

Alternatives to Intercom

1. Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers an intuitive customer support and helpdesk solution, focused on ease of use and operational efficiency.

Features

• Ticket Automation: Automatic ticket management for quick problem resolution.
• Integrated Knowledge Base: Helps customers find answers quickly through a comprehensive knowledge base.
• Performance Monitoring: Tools to assess and improve the performance of the support team.

Pricing

• Free: Basic features for small teams.
• Growth: Starting at €15/month per agent.
• Pro: Starting at €49/month per agent.

Freshdesk is ideal for businesses looking for an easy to use helpdesk solution with a strong focus on efficiency and automation. Its approach based on simplicity and performance makes it an attractive choice for SMEs and growing teams.

SEE MORE: Try FreshDesk for free

2. Drift

Drift is a conversational marketing and live chat platform designed to transform the customer journey into an interactive and personalized experience.

Features

• Intelligent Chatbot: Automating customer interactions with precise answers and directions.
• CRM integration: Seamless sync with Salesforce and others CRM for unified customer management.
• Personalization of Messages: Messages adapted to the behavior of visitors for more targeted communication.

Pricing

• Free: Limited access to essential features.
• Premium: Tailor-made offer based on company requirements.

Drift stands out for its approach that focuses on conversational marketing, offering a unique and direct way to engage customers. Its ability to personalize interactions in real time makes it a solid choice for businesses looking to improve customer engagement.

3. Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer service software recognized for its versatility and its ability to manage customer interactions across multiple channels.

Features

• Multi-channel support: Management of customer requests via chat, email, and social networks.
• Automation and AI: Use of artificial intelligence for quick and effective responses.
• Reporting and Analytics: Detailed insights to optimize customer service strategies.

Pricing

• Essential: Starting at €5/month per agent.
• Team: Starting at €19/month per agent.
• Professional: Starting at €49/month per agent.

Zendesk is particularly effective for businesses that need a multi-channel customer service solution. Its ability to automate and its robust analysis tools offer a complete platform for effective and thorough customer management.

FAQs

Who are Intercom's competitors?

Intercom's competitors include Freshdesk Messaging, CloudTutorial, Zendesk Support Suite, Drift, Helpshift, and Birdeye.

Can I use Intercom for free?

Each Intercom product is developed on the free Intercom platform, which allows you to see who your visitors and users are, and what activity they are doing on your site. You can also start conversations with these people.

Is Intercom a startup?

Intercom is a startup that offers customer chat software that works with marketing and support teams. Several levels of its service make it possible to personalize bots and automate “conversational” campaigns.

Final Verdict

In this review of Intercom, it can be judged that it helps you create self-service articles and create powerful chatbots. However, it is not intuitive. Also, it can be difficult to navigate and find the items you need. You need a demo to understand its configuration and features.