People have a certain perception that customer service has to focus on customers alone. The truth is, the participation and the role of management, employees, and systems used plays a vital role in the delivery of proper customer service. Based on the system and the features it offers, this is what Zendesk aims to deliver.
What is Zendesk?
Zendesk is a customer relationship management software firm that focuses on customer support to improve customer relationships. It was founded in Denmark (current headquarters is now in San Francisco, California) by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl, and Alexander Aghassipour in 2007.
The company acquired other customer service software through the years, where Zendesk continuously improved its CRM platform and other services.
Currently, Zendesk offers products and services in four categories. First is the native Zendesk for Service that promises to provide complete customer service solutions.
Next is Zendesk for Sales – a CRM (customer relations management) platform dedicated to sales teams.
The third one is the platform and APIs that include Zendesk Sunshine – a CRM platform that can be used with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The last one is their app store that is the so-called ‘Marketplace’, where users can find partners, apps, and integration to make Zendesk more tailor-fit with their needs.
Zendesk Features
We will focus on Zendesk’s well-known and highly rated Zendesk Suite (Zendesk for Service). Simply put, Zendesk is a help desk solution that assists businesses in providing better customer service. Many customer service professionals consider this as a top customer support solution.
It can fit any business size because of its different plans and pricing ranges. Many users have applauded the platform’s simple interface and can be used right away after logging in.
Zendesk’s ticketing system is called ‘Zendesk Support’. This system has the capability to create a separate category, department, or product line for a more organized distribution to the most appropriate agent to answer the customer’s inquiry.
This also helps in providing a faster and more efficient customer support experience. The options provided in the ticketing form have a drag and drop system that makes it easy to manage and ensures complete information is provided by the customer. It results in faster response times as ticket forms collect data upfront.
Next is the Zendesk Guide – the knowledge base platform. When customer support agents answer a top question, the system can turn it into a published content with a few clicks. These articles can be viewed in the website’s help center, web widget, or mobile app. This feature will be helpful for new agents, as it can be used as a guide or to be more familiar with certain processes or operations.
The system also has what they call the Answer Bot, a chatbot that can answer customer’s questions before the ticket reaches an agent. Zendesk promises that the Answer Bot gets smarter when it is used more often, like any other AI-powered system.
The suite also includes an email management system, where agents can be assigned into groups or departments. This will get the first agent available in the group to respond to the email received from its customers.
Managers will be able to see how well their agents are doing based on the reports available in the system. This system can be connected to Zendesk Support (the ticketing system), where agents or customers can fill up a specific ticket to get more information from customers or ask for a solution from another department or agent.
To further improve customer support operations, it includes hundreds of advanced integrations and APIs from the Zendesk Marketplace. This can help link some of the tools that the business might already be using or to get more flexible with customer needs as the business grows.
It can be customized and extended to fit specific requirements, in the hopes to provide top-notch support especially when customers need it the most.
Is Zendesk Easy to Use?
The Zendesk platform can be applauded for its organized interface. Since most of the complicated options are made easier by the system’s drag and drop system, it is easier to modify certain tasks or requested output from customers. This also forces customers to fill up a more comprehensive form, so they can provide complete information.
Most of the operations in the Zendesk platform make customer service easier for both agents and customers. Reports about an agent’s productivity and customer satisfaction can be accessed in just a few clicks by the management.
When talking about system compatibility, the ‘Marketplace’ in the system can link current business tools less complicated to the Zendesk platform. However, it is recommended to check first with Zendesk to see how you can transfer information to their system or know the compatibility of the existing tools the business is using.
Plans and Pricing
Plans are divided into two: ‘Plans for everyone’ and ‘Plans for enterprises.’
Plans for everyone start with the Suite Team package for US$49 per agent monthly that will be billed annually.
The more popular package is called ‘Suite Professional,’ which includes complete Zendesk services. It is priced at US$99 per agent monthly, which is also billed annually.
On the other hand, ‘Plans for enterprises’ has two packages. First is the ‘Suite Enterprise’ that will be US$150 per agent monthly, and the other is a custom-made Zendesk access for your business where prices start from US$215 per agent monthly.
Foundational support is also available for US$19 monthly per agent, also billed annually. It has the most basic support that includes basic ticketing service, customer details and interaction, reports dashboard, and prebuilt apps & integrations.
Free trial for all plans is available for those who would like to give the system a try before getting full access. It will require registration and the user will receive a verification email in order to proceed with the setup.
Conclusion
According to Zendesk, businesses that use their system achieve an average of 95% in customer satisfaction. This is the result of Zendesk’s overall customer support system offering, where it makes customer service easier by assigning tickets and emails to the appropriate agent.
The Zendesk Marketplace could be very helpful to those that would like to use an existing tool but prefers to upgrade to this platform. In addition, the integration of different tools and apps in the platform can deliver easier, faster, and organized support.
