As with any large purchase that has a somewhat complicated implementation and affects a large number of people, you should do your homework before ever looking up "customer support solution companies" on the internet.

You need to know:

• How your process works now (it does work now, doesn't it?)
• Where the efficiencies are
  
• Where the ineffeciencies are
• What information you have and what you can do with it
• What information you don't have and what you can't do with what you do have
•  How you would like your process to work in the future.

In other words, know what you need. Set down the requirements before you go shopping. If this is your first time around the block with an application like customer support software, read up on what other customer support operations are doing, using, and keeping track of. Find out what you ought to be doing that you are not or cannot.

You need to know because if you don't, it is just like buying software off the shelf for personal use without making sure it will do what you need it to do.  That can get expensive.

Making a poor choice for your company is even more expensive because it impacts so many more people: the agents, the customers, the back and front offices. Everything that depends on the information and usability of that solution is affected.

So take your time. Educate yourself. Then start looking into solutions. A good vendor will help you by letting you know if what they offer will do all you need it to do. A poor vendor will try to make it seem like their solution will do anything.