Top 10 Customer Service Email Software Solutions

Ludovic Armand
by Ludovic Armand

As a business owner, you already know how important providing excellent customer service is for your growth. Email is still one of the most popular ways customers use to reach out to businesses.

And response time to customer service emails is vital in building trust and loyalty. Surprisingly, 62% of companies don’t respond to their clients’ emails, while 46% of customers expect a fast reply in less than 4 hours.

To make sure you meet your customer’s expectations, you need response time standards and improve your team’s communication skills.

Various customer service email software options are available to help achieve this. In this post, we will explore some of the top solutions to improve your customer service game.

What is Customer Service Email Management Software?

A customer service email management software is a tool that helps your business manage all your customer support emails so you can offer the best service possible. It provides a centralized platform so you can receive, organize, collaborate, and respond to your customer emails.

It makes it easier to follow customer service best practices and manage emails. You can assign them to specific support agents and set up canned responses to common questions or inquiries. By adding these features to your tool kit you can improve your customer satisfaction.

Top 10 Customer Service Email Management Software

If you're looking for the best email management software to improve your customer service, you've come to the right place. Here are the top 10 customer service email management software to manage customer inquiries via email.

From shared inboxes to automated responses, they can make your customer service team more efficient. Let's dive in and explore the best options available.

Software Main Features Pricing G2 Rating
Missive
  • Email management with collaboration, delegation, and multiple email address management
  • Native app for all communications channels
  • Automation with fine-grained control
  • Chat with team members and real-time collaboration
  • Free
  • Starter: $18/month per user
  • Productive: $30/month per user
  • Business: $45/month per user
4.8 ⭐️
Zendesk
  • Email management with ticket management, automation, and collaboration tools
  • Live chat and social media integration
  • Free
  • Growth: $18/month per user
  • Pro: $59/month per user
  • Enterprise: $95/month per user
4.3 ⭐️
Help Scout
  • Customer service email management with shared inbox and collaboration
  • Knowledge base for quick answers
  • Live chat feature
  • Standard: $25/month per user
  • Plus: $50/month per user
  • Pricing information is not available
4.4 ⭐️
Front
  • Manages customer interactions across multiple channels
  • Efficiently manages support activities
  • Offers automation capabilities such as rules
  • Advanced features like CRM and analytics (higher price tag)
  • Starter: $19/month per user
  • Growth: $59/month per user
  • Scale: $99/month per user
  • Premier: $229/month per user
4.7 ⭐️
Freshdesk
  • Manages customer interactions across email, phone, chat, and social media
  • Multi-channel support, automation, and collaboration
  • Improves support with automation
  • Uses a ticketing system for customer inquiries
  • Growth: $18/month per user
  • Pro: $59/month per user
  • Enterprise: $95/month per user
4.4 ⭐️
Zoho Desk
  • Manages customer interactions with ticket management and automation
  • Multi-channel support and a knowledge base
  • Offers rule feature to automate tasks
  • Standard: $20/month per user
  • Professional: $35/month per user
  • Enterprise: $50/month per user
4.4 ⭐️
Hiver
  • Manages customer emails received in Gmail
  • Shared inbox management
  • Email delegation and assignments
  • Email notes and comments
  • Lite: $19/month per user
  • Pro: $49/month per user
  • Elite: $69/month per user
4.6 ⭐️
Drag
  • Transforms Gmail into a help desk
  • Manage customer support emails, tasks, and internal communications
  • Collaboration features: assigning emails, adding notes and comments, tracking email progress
  • Visualize email workflows with Kanban-style boards
  • Starter: $10/month per user
  • Plus: $15/month per user
  • Pro: $20/month per user
4.4 ⭐️
Happyfox
  • Ticketing, knowledge base, community forums, live chat, and email management
  • Manage customer queries across multiple channels
  • Rules to improve support processes and reduce response times
  • Mighty: $39/month per user
  • Fantastic: $59/month per user
  • Enterprise: $79/month per user
  • Enterprise Plus: $99/month per user
4.5 ⭐️
Helpwise
  • Browser-based customer service email management software
  • Features for small businesses, primarily built for customer support
  • Shared inboxes, collision detection, and email templates
  • Team: $7/month per user
  • Growth: $13/month per user
  • Scale: $20/month per user
4.6 ⭐️

1. Missive

Missive UI

Missive is a solution for managing customer service emails with a team. It offers a shared inbox and email management software in one app. Missive was built with collaboration in mind. The goal is to reduce back-and-forth between communication apps.

Missive aims at humanizing customer support interactions.

Its focus is on simplifying communication and collaboration for teams. It offers a user-friendly interface and integrations with popular tools like Salesforce, Pipedrive, Grammarly, OpenAI, and Aircall.

Email Management

Missive is a robust email management tool. It offers a variety of features such as collaboration, email delegation, and management of multiple email addresses. It is ideal for any small businesses needing to efficiently manage their email communications.

You can easily manage emails with labels, assignments, and team inboxes all in a clean interface to is similar to a traditional email client UI. Plus, you can add labels to the sidebar to quickly access communications depending on their status.

Native App for All Communications

Missive on all your devices

With Missive's native app on multiple platforms, you can efficiently manage conversations in one place without switching between different apps. Plus, you can manage all your communication channels inside on inbox and share them all with your team.

Missive offers support for various communication channels, including email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and more.

Automation with Fine-Grained Control

Missive offers rules to automate your workflows for incoming/outgoing messages and user actions, allowing for a more personalized and customizable experience.

Plus you can use our OpenAI integration as an AI email assistant to make you more productive.

Chat with Team Members

Missive offers a direct chat feature within any conversation for collaboration and communication between team members.

You can also edit a live draft with team members in real time, just like you would with Google Docs.

Affordable Pricing

Missive's pricing is one of the most affordable on the list, making it a great fit for small businesses on a budget. Even with a budget-friendly plan, you won't miss out on features and quality.

Free Starter Productive Business
$0 / month $18 / month per user $30 / month per user $45 / month per user

2. Zendesk

Zendesk help desk software

Zendesk is a popular customer service email management software. It helps businesses manage their customer support communications. A range of features are offered to manage email communication with customers. These include ticket management, automation, and collaboration tools for teams.

Its ticketing system allows businesses to prioritize, and assign support requests. It ensures that all conversations get a reply.

Also to email management, Zendesk also provides a range of other tools like live chat, and social media integration.

Pricing

Zendesk pricing starts at $18 per user per month for the basic version. More advanced features are available on higher-tier plans. Zendesk also offers a 30-day free trial for businesses to test out its features.

Free Growth Pro Enterprise
$0 / month $18 / month per user $59 / month per user $95 / month per user

3. Help Scout

Help Scout UI for customer support

Help Scout is a customer service email management software to manage customer support messages. It offers a range of features for teams to manage customer requests and track interactions.

Like Missive, Help Scout offers a shared inbox. It allows teams to collaborate on customer emails, assign conversations, and manage customer inquiries. They also have a knowledge base, which helps customers find answers to common questions quickly and easily.

Help Scout also offers a live chat feature to expand the ways customers can reach your business.

Pricing

Help Scout's pricing starts at $25 per month per user for their basic plan with a free 15-day trial.

Standard Plus Pro
$25 / month per user $50 / month per user Pricing information is not available

You can also explore some Help Scout alternatives here.

4. Front

Shared inbox in Front

Front is a customer service email management software to manages customer interactions across many channels. Front helps teams to efficiently manage support activities. The platform offers automation capabilities such as rules to save time.

In addition to its basic features, Front also offers advanced features like CRM and analytics. However, these advanced features come with a higher price tag compared to the basic plan.

Pricing

Front's most basic plan starts at $19 per month per user on a one-year contract which only offers the basic feature.

Starter Growth Scale Premier
$19 / month per user $59 / month per user $99 / month per user $229 / month per user

5. Freshdesk

Freshdesk software UI

Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer service email management software to manages customer interactions across email, phone, chat, and social media.

The key features include multi-channel support, automation, and collaboration. Team members can work together to resolve support tickets.

Freshdesk can help your business improve its support with automation.

Unlike Missive which has a more “human” approach, Freshdesk uses a ticketing system for customer inquiries.

Pricing

Freshdesk offers a free option with basic features, and paid plans starting at $18 per person per month, which increase based on the number of agents and features needed. However, to access live chat functionality, a subscription to their Freshchat tool will be required.

Growth Pro Enterprise
$18 / month per user $59 / month per user $95 / month per user

6. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk software UI

Zoho Desk is another cloud-based customer service software with a range of features to manage customer interactions.

It offers features like ticket management, automation, multi-channel support, and a knowledge base. With its ticketing system, you can track customer inquiries and support requests.

Like the other tools on the list, they also offer a rule feature to automate some tasks. You could use it to route tickets to the appropriate agent or team, set up response templates, and track SLAs.

Pricing

Zoho Desk pricing starts at $20 per user per month. They also offer a free trial for their paid plans.

Standard Professional Enterprise
$20 / month per user $35 / month per user $50 / month per user

7. Hiver

Hiver shared inbox in Gmail

Hiver is a customer service email management software built as an add-on for your Gmail account. With it, your team can manage customer emails received in Gmail. Team members are able to assign emails, set up reminders, track email threads, and tag emails for better organization.

One of the key features of Hiver is its shared inbox management. Similarly to Missive, it allows your team to work together on shared emails and tasks. It also offers email delegation and assignments, email notes, and comments.

However, it's important to note that Hiver only supports emails and live chat as communication channels and you’ll need to be a Gmail user to use it.

Pricing

Hiver pricing starts at $19 per month per user. They also offer a free 7-day trial.

Lite Pro Elite
$19 / month per user $49 / month per user $69 / month per user

8. Drag

Drag app UI in Gmail

Drag App is a shared inbox software that transforms Gmail into a help desk for customer support. It allows your team to manage customer support emails, tasks, and internal communications in Gmail.

With Drag, your team can collaborate by assigning emails, adding notes and comments, and tracking email progress. Drag uses the same interface as Gmail so it is easier to get started than with some of the solutions on the list.

One of the key features of Drag is the ability to visualize email workflows in Kanban-style boards. This feature makes it easy to manage customer support requests by moving emails across different stages of a workflow.

Pricing

Drag pricing starts at $10 per month per user for their basic plan. They also offer a free plan.

Starter Plus Pro
$10 / month per user $15 / month per user $20 / month per user

9. Happyfox

Happyfox UI

Happyfox is a cloud-based help desk software that offers a wide range of features. It offers ticketing, a knowledge base, community forums, live chat, and email management.

Like most tools on the list, Happyfox allows your business to manage customer queries across multiple channels from a single app. It also offers rules to improve support processes and reduce response times.

Pricing

Happyfox pricing starts at $39 per month for their most basic plan.

Mighty Fantastic Enterprise Enterprise Plus
$39 / month per user $59 / month per user $79 / month per user $99 / month per user

10. Helpwise

Shared inbox in Helpwise

Helpwise is a browser-based customer service email management software designed for small businesses. It's primarily built for customer support. Features range from shared inboxes, email templates, notes, and rules, to assignments.

With the shared inbox you can manage requests from different channels like email, WhatsApp, social media, and live chat. It enables your team to collaborate and ensure that no customer requests are forgotten.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, Helpwise offers a standard plan starting at $15 per month per user, with a free 7-day trial to test out the platform.

Standard Premium Advanced Enterprise
$15 / month per user $25 / month per user $50 / month per user Pricing information is not available

The Importance of Customer Service Email Management Software

Providing excellent customer support is important for any business. But, managing customer inquiries and responding to them in time can be overwhelming. It is especially true as your business grows.

That's where customer service email management software comes in to save the day. This software can help your team be efficient and provide high-quality customer support.

With the right email management software, you can automate repetitive tasks, assign conversations, and respond faster. It will result in improved response times and reduce the workload for your support team. They will be able to focus on providing excellent customer service.

Implementing an email management software can save your business time and resources. Plus, providing excellent customer service can lead to increased revenue and profits.

How to Choose the Right Customer Service Email Software

Choosing the right customer service email software can make an impact on your business' success. But, with so many options available, it can be hard to understand what to look for when choosing the right software.

An email management tool for your customer support should reduce some pain points like slow response time, and inability to collaborate on support inquiries.

Here are some key factors to consider when selecting the right software for your business.

Factors to choose the customer service email software

Features

Look for email software that can automate some basic tasks using rules and canned responses. It also needs to offer features to help you rank emails and help your team collaborate on support to provide top-notch customer service.

It can be useful to make a list of the features you need and compare them against the options available.

Scalability

The solution you choose to manage your customer service emails needs to be able to grow with your business. As your company becomes bigger, you'll handle more customer inquiries and have more support agents.

You don't want to switch software down the road. Putting in place a whole new way of working could disrupt your customer service.

Integration

A good customer service email software needs to offer a minimum of integrations so you can integrate the tools you’re already using. For example, it can be a good idea if the solution offers integration with your CRM or a way to connect the two together.

Some tools like Missive, can also be used to manage your social media platforms. This way you can provide a seamless customer experience and keep all your interactions in one place.

Pricing

Check out the pricing options available and choose software that fits your budget and doesn't have any hidden fees. Also, beware of software that lock you in with a contract. For example, looking at the best Intercom alternatives may help you save a lot on your monthly subscriptions.

Reviews & Recommendations

Reviews from other users in your industry can help you get more information bout the software. You can also ask for recommendations from colleagues or other people in your industry.

By considering these factors, you'll be well on your way to choosing the right customer service email software for your business.

Conclusion

In today's always-evolving business world, customer service is more important than ever. It has never been easier for customers to switch to competitors if they feel that their needs are not being met.

We have looked at some of the top email management software solutions available on the market today. By using one you can improve customer satisfaction, reduce response times, and grow your business.

So why not give one of these platforms a try and take your customer service to the next level?


FAQ

How Do I Create a Customer Service Email?

Creating an effective customer service email requires paying attention to several key elements to make sure that the communications are clear and stay positive. We recommend that you have a look at our guide but here's a summary of the most important element:

  1. Respond Promptly
  2. Personalize Your Responses
  3. Use Clear & Concise Language
  4. Show Empathy & Understanding
  5. Provide Detailed & Relevant Information
  6. Proofread & Edit
  7. Offer Additional Assistance
  8. Follow Up & Close the Loop
  9. Monitor & Improve

What is the Most Popular Customer Support Software?

There are many popular customer support software on the market. They all have their unique strengths and features. It is impossible to determine the most popular tool since it will vary depending on the industry, company size, and features required. However here are some of the most popular customer support email software:

  1. Missive
  2. Zendesk
  3. Help Scout
  4. Front
  5. Freshdesk
  6. Zoho Desk
  7. Hiver
  8. Drag App
  9. Happyfox
  10. Helpwise

What is the Best Customer Service Email Format?

The best format for your customer service email is one that is clear, concise, and focus on resolving your customer inquiry. However, there's not one size fits all customer service email format. It will always depend on your business brand and on the need of your client.

Here are some general tips that can help you format your customer service email in an effective way.

  • Use your customer’s name to make it more personal.
  • Read each customer message carefully to make sure you understand what they’re communicating is also important.
  • Structure your email with sections and use bullet points or numbered lists to make it more readable.
Ludovic
Ludovic Armand

Digital Marketing Lead at Missive
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