A CRM centres on the record
A CRM is built to store and organise information about customers and deals. It is strong at pipelines, ownership of accounts and reporting on sales. It is usually weaker at live conversations on WhatsApp or voice.
A helpdesk centres on the ticket
A helpdesk is built to track requests until they are resolved, with queues, priorities and service-level timers. It is strong when work arrives as discrete issues, and can feel clumsy for ongoing, informal conversations.
A customer experience platform centres on the conversation
It starts from the live conversation across channels, links it to a customer profile and turns requests into tickets when they need tracking. It is a good fit when customers use several channels and service quality is what you want to improve.
How to decide
If your main goal is managing a sales pipeline, start with a CRM. If you handle a high volume of formal requests on one channel, a helpdesk may be enough. If customers reach you on several channels and you need one history and fast response, look at an omnichannel platform.
Whatever you pick, ask how it handles WhatsApp and calls, how it limits what each person can see, and what you can export if you leave.
Keep reading
What is an omnichannel customer experience platform?A plain-language explanation of omnichannel customer experience, how it differs from multichannel, and what a platform needs to do for it.How to build a customer support workflowDefine channels, owners, priorities and escalation so every customer request has a clear path from first message to resolution.Want this set up for your team?
Tell us your channels and how requests flow today, and we will show you how it would look in KitoDesk.
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- Security and rollout questions answered
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