Moving Historical Helpdesk Data to Freshdesk Shouldn’t be a Nightmare

When businesses start out, they usually pick a free or a low-priced helpdesk software—perhaps they do not have enough financial resources or they do not have too many customers to handle. But as the business evolves and expands, the need for more features drives companies to look for a better alternative. Another reason for businesses to seek out a different helpdesk software is that they are unhappy with the one they are presently using. Whatever be the case, a helpdesk software is integral to your customer support and your support teams rely heavily on it to provide great support to your customers. Hence, it is important that your team is ready for the change and it doesn’t disrupt support for your customers. One of the biggest challenges that you will face during the switch is data migration.

Plan the Migration of Data

Moving data from a helpdesk software to Freshdesk can seem like a daunting task. However, we thought we will make it easier for people looking to make the switch with a few useful tips. To begin with, you need to plan the migration well in advance so that you have enough time to get your team on board with the transition and inform your customers of the upcoming changes. There are basically three buckets of data that you will be moving to Freshdesk (or another new helpdesk software).

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Importing Your Customers

If you have customers (or end-users /, contacts, etc, depending on how your source helpdesk labels those) to import, you’ll first need to determine—

  • Whether your source helpdesk allows you to export data into CSV.
  • If not, do you have developer resources to export data over the API?

If you can get your data in CSV file, you can use Freshdesk’s customer import tool to import these into your Freshdesk account. Please note that your CSV file must contain the name and either email or phone number to be able to do the import.

Importing Your Organizations

Similar to importing your customers’ details, you can manage your organization’s import via CSV file or through the API. Freshdesk provides the guide for importing organizations here

Importing Your Tickets

The ticket import takes more effort, as Freshdesk does not currently have a tool to import these from a CSV file. You can still import your tickets, however, using the API. If you have developer resources, you can build an API connection into your Freshdesk account to import ticket data. Freshdesk API Reference would be a good place to start.

Use Import2 to Migrate Data

If you do not have the resources or time to do the migration yourself,  you can use a data migration solution by Import2, a certified Freshdesk partner.

Import2 simplifies the data migration process by automating the import of all data for you – including tickets, customers and organizations. The process is quick and effective to get all your historical helpdesk data into Freshdesk, with minimal disruption to your customer support team.

You begin with a free sample import, so you can validate how the import will look in Freshdesk with your own data. If you have any questions or need to make any changes to how your data is imported, an Import2 specialist is available throughout the entire process to support you.

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Once you’re ready for the full data migration, Import2 will coordinate with you the time and date to initiate the import, so you can time your team’s move to Freshdesk for a seamless transition.

Pro Tips for a Smoother Data Migration

Make a list of all the support channels that customers use to reach out to you. Ensure that all support entry points are intact because there is a high chance that some of them can be broken during a helpdesk data migration. You do not want your customers’ queries sitting unaccounted for just because of an email alias that you changed during the migration, a social support channel that was not linked, or an app integration that is not supported by the new helpdesk software.

Keep your support teams in the loop. They are the ones who will be using the helpdesk software day in and day out. Provide them with the required access or permissions to begin using the tool well in advance. This will help your support agents get familiar with the helpdesk software so that the transition is easier for them. Let them know of any changes in terminology, support process, structure within the new helpdesk software.

Inform your customers of the change if the migration is going to affect them in any way. This could include a change in support email alias, links to the knowledge base or help docs, terminology, process, etc. Send them an email in advance telling them what to changes to expect and when to expect them. Your customers will be well-aware and better prepared when reaching out to you for support.

Don’t rush your migration as it involves plenty of data and process changes. If you have large data, then it is better to move them in smaller chunks to avoid the risk of data loss. Also, keep in mind the end of your subscription with the previous helpdesk vendor. Begin the migration a week or two before the end of the billing cycle to avoid any confusion. If the migration doesn’t go as planned, you will have a week or two to get it back on track.

Keep in mind that during the time of migration there will be active customer conversations that need to be handled. Wherever these conversations are you need to ensure that they do not get missed out. Since you will begin your migration a little ahead of the end of your subscription with the previous helpdesk vendor, you will have time to respond and resolve those customer queries.

Test and Refine

Though a lot of planning has gone into the migration process, you need to keep an eye out for customer queries that are reaching the previous helpdesk software that you were using. With time, you will be able to find scope for improving the support process using the new helpdesk software. This will eventually up your support team’s performance and your customer satisfaction. Most importantly switching to a new helpdesk software presents plenty of opportunities to refine your customer support strategy. If you have trouble migrating to Freshdesk, drop a line to support@freshdesk.com