10 Best Customer Communication Tools For Effective Interaction

Communication Tools are critical for effective customer relationship management. This is a given. But which tool should you invest your time and money in? How do you choose them?

I found answers to all your questions! The research is done. My team and I came up with a list of the best platforms you should try. You can choose the best one that suits your needs based on features, pricing, and online reviews.

But before that, there are a few things we need to look into. Our basics should be firm before we make any decision. But if you’re clear about what you need, feel free to jump right ahead to the list of software!

• 10 Customer Communication Tools

And here’s a table for a quick sneak peek into what we’ll deal with later!

Tool Name	Best Feature	Free Version	Starting Price
SurveySparrow	Conversational Surveys	✓	$19/month
JotForm	Multichannel Integration	✓	$34/month
Typeform	Conversational Interface	✓	$25/month
Zendesk	Multichannel Support	✗	$55/month
Freshdesk	Omnichannel Support	✓	$15/month
Help Scout	Shared Inbox	✗	$20/month
Intercom	Personalized Messaging	✗	$39/month
HubSpot	Unified CRM System	✓	$90/month
Zoom	Video Conferencing	✓	$14.99/month
Hootsuite	Social Media Management	✗	$99/month

For the rest of us…

Off we go!

What are Customer Communication Tools?

Customer communication tools help you maintain healthy customer interactions. This software streamlines customer relationship management and builds trust and loyalty. It also helps you with many things, including response ticketing, performance tracking, and even automating responses.

You can also improve team collaboration and provide exemplary customer service. These platforms can also give you insights into previous interactions so that you can segment and target your communication strategies.

So, what are these tools? They include multiple platforms that fall under categories such as survey software, live chat, messaging, helpdesk software, social media management software, and virtual platforms.

So…

What to Look For in Customer Communication Tools?

There’s not entirely a set checklist that you need to follow. After all, the tool you choose should depend on your basic requirements and needs. But there are a few mandatory things you should look for…

• Ease of use! This is extremely important. Why? Come to think of it, would you like it if you often get lost while using a new software? The platform you choose must be easy to navigate and pretty straightforward with the features.
• Next, you should look for something Scalable. Having a tool that grows with you is an added benefit, right? As you expand, your customer inquiries and requirements will increase. Choose one that adapts to your changing needs.
• There must be multi-channel support. You can’t confine your interaction to a single channel, can you? The communication software you choose must act as a centralized hub. The support must include email, live chats, social media, and even website interactions through chatbots. 
• Another requirement is advanced analytics and reporting features. These interactions provide insights into customer satisfaction and CX. So, you must not leave them without any care. Cater to the needs, analyze the conversations, work upon suggestions, and keep them in the loop!
• In the case of online reviews, Reputation Management is paramount to keeping the brand image intact. It also helps a company grow and stand out in the market.

Why don’t we look into the tools one by one?

Best Customer Communication Tools

I thought dividing the tools based on their types would be best!

• Online Survey Software
• Helpdesk Softwares
• Messaging Platforms
• Virtual Calls and Meetings
• Social Media Management Tool

Let’s start with the online survey tools…

1. SurveySparrow

SurveySparrow is an experience management platform that can help you keep your customers hooked! It allows you to create conversational surveys and reach out to specific audience segments for personalized interaction.

Key Features

• Conversational UI: You can engage your customers with chat-like surveys, conversational forms, and chatbots. Unlike a traditional form, the interactions won’t be monotonous. Moreover, the drag-and-drop builder makes creating surveys and forms easy. There are also 1000+ pre-designed templates that you can customize.
• Customize them to your heart’s desire- use multiple question types and add your logo, color, and font to match your brand image. The platform supports images, gifs, and videos, so advanced editing is easy. Other builder features include skip and display logic and question piping.

Here’s a sample template made with SurveySparrow. Feel free to use and customize it later if you like it! 

• AI Surveys: If you aren’t motivated to create a survey today, just enter a prompt and hit send. The AI-powered builder will give you a ready-made survey. You can edit the pre-filled fields with the Wing feature.

• Multichannel Distribution: Once the surveys are created, share them via the channel of your choice. You can embed them into an email or your website or send the shareable link via SMS, WhatsApp, or social media.
• Automation: You can close the loop without fail. Create a customer workflow for the collected responses. Schedule the surveys and notify the customers.

Other important features

• Enabling recurring surveys will help you keep track of responses at regular intervals. Don’t forget to toggle the throttle option! This will help you decide when and how one survey is sent to the same customer.
• CX Module: Send CSAT, CES, or NPS® surveys and get response summaries. Other aspects include product feedback surveys and event feedback.
• Offline Surveys: Your audience can take the surveys anytime, anywhere. Now, if you want to set up a booth, you can set it to kiosk mode, connect the device to the platform, and start collecting responses.
• Reputation Management: Analyze and control your online reviews and build your brand image. You can convert suggestions into tickets, assign them directly to teams, and take action without leaving a single dashboard.

Besides this, SurveySparrow offers advanced analytics and reporting tools, including sentiment analysis and AI-driven Text analytics (CogniVue).

Why don’t you take the platform for a free spin? There’s no need to share your card details until you decide to invest. If you need a demo, that’s also sorted! You can also shift to the free-forever plan later.

But for those who need paid features, here’s a breakdown:

Pricing Plans	Starting Price	Features
Basic Plan	$19	Multiple question types and basic features
Business Plan	$79	Advanced features
Professional Plan	$249	Additional features
CX Suite	$249	NPS, CSAT, CES surveys- measuring customer loyalty, satisfaction, and effort scores
360 Assessments	Custom Quote	Research-backed question banks, advanced performance analytics, and group reports
Reputation Management	$0	Limited free version; $79 for full features

Let’s quickly move on to the next tool…

2. Jotform

Jotform is a form builder known mainly for its advanced branching features. Aytekin Tank founded the platform in 2006 as an initiative to make online forms accessible to all.

Key Features

• No-code Builder: The platform has a drag-and-drop form builder. You can add new widgets and question fields and even upload images and videos as options.
• Conditional Branching: With logic, you can show only the questions that apply to the customer based on the previous answers. This allows you to personalize the experience.
• Template Library: You get 100+ pre-designed customer feedback and other survey templates.

G2 Rating: 4.7/5 (3,143 Reviews)

Users find the platform user-friendly and easy to use. A customer shared a review on G2 that they enjoy creating forms with Jotform for professional and personal use. They also appreciate its ability to integrate into their website and the budget-friendly pricing plans.

Pricing

• A free version is available.
• Pricing starts at $34/month

Now, if you want to explore, here is a list of the top Jotform alternatives! Check it out when you have time!

There’s one more survey tool on the list…

3. Typeform

Typeform lets you create beautiful surveys that will catch your customers’ eye. Its visual appeal is mainly due to its founders, David Okuniev and Robert Muñoz, who are web designers. Plus, the platform hosts an interactive interface that helps you reach out to your customers in a friendly manner.

Key Features

• User-Friendly Builder: You can create forms and surveys that fit your communication strategies without coding knowledge. Plus, Formless, Typeform’s AI form builder makes everything easier. You can reach out to a global audience, automate feedback responses, and close the loop without fail.
• Templates: There are 10,000+ ready-made templates for various needs and use cases.
• Videoask: Connect with your audience with video forms. This lets you collect data while keeping them entertained.

G2 Rating: 4.5/5 (716 Reviews)

There are opinions that the analytics and reporting features are limited. If you keep that aside, users keep coming back for more!

Pricing

• There is a free plan available.
• Paid plan starts at $25/month. 

Here’s a list of the best Typeform Alternatives.

Let’s move on to the next category of customer communication tools- Helpdesk Software. 

4. Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer communication management platform that can boost your engagement rate with AI-powered customer service! The tool acts as a centralized hub for all conversations with multichannel support.

Key Features

• 24/7 Customer Support: The live chat feature helps you Automate feedback responses with Zendesk bots and be available round the clock.
• Agent Workspace: This centralized space will have all customer interaction. From here, you can focus on those who need attention and take action based on the context.
• Zendesk AI: With an AI assistant, send personalized replies with features like text expansion and tone variations. You can also automate responses, optimize workflows, and analyze ticket context.

G2 Rating: 4.3/5 (5,849 Reviews)

A user on G2 shares that they use Zendesk to streamline ticket and support management and appreciate its ability to automate tasks by creating Macros.

Pricing

• No free plan. You can try the platform for free.
• For Suit Team, you must pay $55/agent/month.

Next up…

5. Freshdesk

This omnichannel support and ticket management platform is part of Freshworks. The platform’s multichannel support allows you to solve issues as a team. You can also create a self-service experience for your customer’s forums and a thorough knowledge base.

Key Features

• Self-Service: You can enable relevant pop-ups on your website regularly so you don’t have to intervene constantly. Generate solution articles from tickets, set up moderation workflows, and notify the writers about feedback.
• Thankyou Detector: Automatically close the loop when you receive thank-you messages from your customers. You can also add custom labels for each ticket to help you understand the stage.
• Portal Customization: Design a custom layout for your service portal and create your vanity URL.

G2 Rating: 4.4/5 (3,123 Reviews)

Users praise the platform for delivering such a vast feature set at a reasonable price. Some also mentioned that features such as Add Note and Merge greatly help them with ticket management.

Pricing

• A Free plan is available.
• Pricing starts at $15/month for Growth plan.

6. Help Scout

Helpscout is a communication tool that connects you with your users, partners, vendors, and clients. The user-friendly platform is easy to navigate and can be used by teams to collaborate and coordinate interactions. They also provide free resources for your teams.

Key Features

• Shared Inbox: This customer communications management software will be a centralized hub for incoming and outgoing customer interactions. It offers features like conversation assignments and collision detection. You can also save replies and make private notes.
• Beacon: This live chat widget can be embedded in your website or app. The platform will smoothly transition to emails if a chat cannot resolve an issue.
• Microsurveys: There are six survey types, including NPS®, multiple choice, and simple thumbs up.

G2 Rating: 4.4/5 (403 Reviews)

A user on G2 commented that Help Scout is the best way to provide customer support, especially with the ability ot set up a knowledge base for their clients.

Pricing

• The features of Help Scout can be tried for free.
• Pricing starts at $20/month for the Standard Plan.

Now, that’s it for the customer service tools. Now, it’s time for the messaging platforms. 

7. Intercom

Intercom is an AI-first customer service tool that personalizes interactions. It has an AI copilot, an AI agent, and even an analyst. With this set of tools, you can streamline engagement, interaction, and issue resolution to strengthen customer relationships.

Key Features

• AI Agent Fin: This AI chatbot can interact with your users in real-time, mimic human behavior, and be available 24/7. It will be built on your support content and will not provide misleading answers. Also, the style of the answers will not be repeated for each customer.
• Omnichannel: Whether email, phone, or messages, you can import all the conversations to your inbox. Moreover, it can detect 45 languages!
• Ticketing: You can resolve complex issues by converting the conversation into a ticket. This will help you retain the context and eliminate the need to move from one platform to another.

G2 Rating: 4.5/5 (2,974 Reviews)

A recent review stated that the platform is easy to navigate and user-friendly. However, there are slight delays in recovering conversations, which can disrupt the user’s work.

Pricing

• A free trial is available.
• The essentials plan starts at $39/seat/month.

Let’s quickly move on to the next tool…

8. Hubspot

Hubspot offers many effective ways to communicate without boring your audience. It provides an all-in-one CRM solution that combines sales, marketing, customer service, and commerce. The best part? The platform is AI-powered!

Key Features

• Scalability: With the AI-powered self-service feature and omnichannel messaging, the platform can grow with your increasing customer needs.
• 360-Degree Insights: This solution offers a fully integrated smart CRM for tracking your customers’ actions. The service analytics will provide critical insights.
• Insert Snippets: Break down your replies by inserting snippets of articles from the knowledge base. The app can block Spam responses and prioritize the ones that matter.

G2 Rating: 4.4/5 (2,246 Reviews)

Overall, the platform is easy to set up and intuitive. Owing to the advanced feature set, a user was pleasantly surprised to see how straightforward the tool is!

Pricing

• The Service Hub professional costs $90/seat/month.

That’s it. Next up, it is time to look at a virtual customer communication tool.

9. Zoom

Zoom is a real-time video interaction platform. It allows you to conduct virtual meetings, webinars, and training sessions to maintain healthy relationships with your clients. The tool offers features such as screen sharing, chat, and recording.

Key Features

• Scheduler: You’ll never miss an appointment anymore! Book appointments, schedule them, and share bookable time slots. Once that’s done, automate SMS and Email notifications to give your users a nudge!
• Virtual Feedback: You can collect feedback from team chats, meetings, and AI-powered phone systems.
• Record Sessions: You can record and choose to playback each session. This is useful for analysis as resisting crucial meetings can give you important points and insights into customer satisfaction.

G2 Rating: 4.5/5 (55,262 Reviews) (Zoom Workplace)

Though there have been some complaints regarding security issues during virtual meetings, Zoom is a preferred platform for customer communication.

Pricing

• Start free with their basic plan.
• Pro plan is priced at $14.99/month/user.

Last, you can’t leave out social media when it comes to user interactions, can you?

10. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that offers advanced analytics features. The company’s social media listening capabilities can help you maintain and improve your brand image.

Key Features

• Publish and Schedule: With the smart calendar, you can strategically choose the best time to publish. This can be done from a single dashboard.
• Social Advertising: Manage paid and organic campaigns on a single page. Plus, with automatic triggers, you can enhance the reach of your organic posts.
• Social Media Monitoring: You can track mentions from 150 million websites, 30 social media channels, and that too in 187 languages

G2 Rating: 4.2/5 (4,222 Reviews)

According to a review on Capterra, users adore the platform! They say the features are beginner-friendly and save a ton of time.

Pricing

• You can try the advanced plan with a 30-day free trial.
• Paid plan starts at $99/month.

Pheww! That’s about it.

Wrap Up!

Go through this list of advanced customer communication tools and choose one (or maybe more) that is best for you. There’s no hurry. Take your time, dwell on the needed features, and then invest.

While at it, if you are confused, take SurveySparrow for a free spin. A 14-day trial is all you need to get a feel of the platform. So what’s the wait for? Come onboard today!