Companies that aim to deliver excellent customer experiences (CX) need to adopt an agile mindset, as well as a lean and flexible approach to both technology and its implementation. Zendesk’s service platform helps companies move faster than ever, while still delivering incredible experiences. 

The latest capabilities, introduced today, include:

• Messaging at scale: Zendesk’s expanded messaging platform for conversational business introduces proactive messaging tools to help brands offer assistance up front to clarify customer needs. Supporting brands in agile learning and improvements, Zendesk’s reporting tools offer insights on the performance of a brand’s automation strategy, such as the number of bot interactions escalated to an agent.

• Improved agent workspace tools: Businesses can ensure agents’ time and energy are invested where it is needed the most with improved routing tools for social channels. And, to help agents manage more complex requests, integrated live chat and voice, now makes it easy to switch the conversation between channels. Content cues, which use machine learning to help improve a company’s knowledge base health, are also now available in more languages, including Spanish, German and Portuguese. Also leveraging machine learning are suggested macros for recommending ticket responses, which support increased agent efficiency at scale.

• Streamlined collaboration tools and integrations: In this new hybrid, digital-first economy, it is critical to keep your teams connected. Power your best CX with Zendesk Sunshine, and improve service with our powerful new pre-built integrations for collaborations like Slack, Monday.com and Microsoft Teams. 

“In today’s business environment where change is the only constant, organisations are investing in solutions that promote agile collaboration across teams and get rid of rigid legacy processes that aren’t fit for a digital-first world,” says Tim Marsden, Senior Director, Technology Partner Ecosystem at Zendesk. “Our partnerships with leading collaboration tools like Slack, Monday.com and Microsoft Teamscan help companies of all sizes stay in sync within one platform, connecting information across the business to better understand and support their customers, no matter where they may be working.”

“Delivering great CX is top of mind for most Indian organisations considering the rapid digitalisation since 2020. Changing customer expectations are driving Indian businesses to invest in customer service technology that is conversational and can easily be customised,” says KT Prasad, MD & RVP, India and SAARC, Zendesk. “Our latest capabilities will help businesses achieve agility, simplify complex workflows and deliver better customer experiences.”

Earlier in August, Zendesk acquired Cleverly.ai – an investment that accelerates the existing efforts in AI-powered agent and admin productivity tools. Cleverly provides AI solutions with insight-driven automation that make agents more productive. Cleverly’s technology will be integrated across Zendesk’s platform, enhancing the trusted Zendesk AI solutions already enabling teams to automate more of their processes, reduce costs, and keep up with customer demand.

Zendesk’s customers in India include ITC Foods, Ola, 1MG, DevFactory, Dream11, Slice, Magicbricks.com, etc.

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The pandemic taught companies of all sizes that customer responsiveness is critical not only for business success but first and foremost for survival. In the past year, organizations had to shift towards new business models to quickly adapt to new consumer behaviour. However, new data released today from Zendesk shows that although organizations in India recognise the importance of anticipating and adapting to customers’ needs, only 10% of enterprise business leaders and 19% of managers and admins in India have actually demonstrated having the minimum set of agility competencies that are needed to classify as “market leading”. 

Yet it can be difficult for businesses to understand where to start in their journey to agility. As organizations around the globe consider how to recover from more than a year of uncertainty, while preparing to be ready for any emerging trends in the future, Zendesk’s Agility in Action research explores how organizations can adopt an agile mindset. Top findings include:

• Offer more choice, more often: More than half (59%) of customers in India are more or much more likely to buy from a company that offers their preferred approach to service. However, many companies are still missing valuable opportunities to hear from their customers where they are. Only 37% of mid-market companies in India offer three or more channels to their customers, and that number drops to 31% for enterprise outfits.
• Put the voice of the customer first: Customer feedback can act as a warning sign for trouble ahead, or a crystal ball for future trends. Globally, agile leaders are 4.7x more likely to report customer metrics in real time, making it easier to use CX analytics to recognise and respond to these shifts.
• Be ready for change: Leaders are consistently more flexible about changes in how customer service agents work. In fact, 85% of companies in India offer work from anywhere arrangements and 74% offer alternate work schedules.
• The right tools for support:  To be ready for a landscape of ongoing change, companies are adopting a lean and flexible approach to both technology and its implementation. Globally, the‌ ‌main‌ ‌areas‌ ‌for‌ ‌investment‌ ‌identified‌ ‌are:‌ ‌expanding/adding‌ ‌business‌ ‌process‌ ‌automation‌ ‌(33%);‌ ‌investing‌ ‌in‌ ‌CX‌ ‌technology‌ ‌that‌ ‌easily‌ ‌adjusts‌ ‌to‌ ‌their‌ ‌needs‌ ‌(29%);‌ ‌and‌ ‌adding‌ ‌and/or‌ ‌expanding‌ ‌AI‌ ‌or‌ ‌machine‌ ‌learning‌ ‌capabilities‌ ‌(28%).‌

The research also revealed that businesses who have led in investing in the tools, process and culture for agility have seen positive returns. In particular:

• Agility is linked to cost and time savings: Agile businesses were better placed to reduce service costs in the past year. In fact, 68% of business leaders in India report that having high agility reduced their costs by 25%.
• Realising the potential for CX as a driver of revenue: Businesses are increasingly seeing the value of adapting to customer needs as the call centre takes on a new role. Nearly half (41%) of SMB business leaders view CX primarily as a revenue driver and 19% view it as a cost center. That number goes up for mid-market companies, with nearly two thirds (64%) of them viewing CX primarily as a revenue driver.

“In India, 93% of companies say COVID-19 sped up digital adoption. With hyper-digitalisation, organisations have no choice but to become agile to meet customer expectations and stay ahead of the curve,” said KT Prasad, MD & RVP, India and SAARC, Zendesk. “Customers today want simplicity and convenience despite the disruption caused by the pandemic. This is where agility bears fruits. Successful companies adopt a lean and flexible approach to change, be it tech adoption or its implementation. Investing in the right tools, removing knowledge gaps and rigid processes are all essential. Investing in agility goes beyond providing superior CX. It is a strategic investment for businesses.”

Zendesk’s customers in India include ITC Foods, Ola, 1MG, DevFactory, Dream11, Slice, Magicbricks.com, etc. For more information, including data and insights by region, industry and company size, get the full Agility in Action Report here, or test your own company’s agility with the interactive quiz here.

Methodology

To better understand how businesses are thinking about and becoming more agile, Zendesk surveyed 3,900 customers and 3,900 customer experience and customer service leaders, managers, and agents. We also analyzed top agility capability data from more than 90,000 Zendesk companies across 175 countries.

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The most successful companies are adopting new technologies at light speed. This accelerated timeline of adopting innovative solutions and technology – known as the “digital tipping point”. In fact, among tech decision makers in India, 93% of them say COVID-19 sped up digital adoption. More than half say that digital transformation has been sped up by 1-3 years. At the same time, 72% of customers in India say that customer experience (CX) is more important to them now than a year ago.

“CX isn’t just a sideline part in a company’s digital transformation, it is the driving force behind it. The past year has shown us that the most successful companies are infusing great customer experiences in everything they do, and this will remain true in 2021 and beyond. Case in point, 41% of tech decision makers in APAC saw increased investment in CX in 2020, with 53% seeing continued increase in 2021. We believe there will be a continued focus on customer centricity and ongoing digital transformation as we adapt to our next normal,” said KT Prasad, MD & RVP SAARC, Zendesk.

The pressure on delivering great CX has never been higher. Across APAC, two in five customers use multiple channels for the same issue – meaning support teams need to be prepared to serve customers across multiple channels. Not only that, customers increasingly expect personalisation from brands throughout their CX journey – 89% of customers in India agree.

In response to the increased spotlight on CX and digital adoption, businesses in India are recognising the need to up their CX game and are investing in their customers and employees. 90% of Indian companies say CX is now a priority in their digital business transformation efforts. In APAC, 55% of tech decision makers say their budgets for tech purchases will increase in 2021, helping them to better manage more distributed workforces, adapt to the next normal and add new ways to offer support. 

Navigating across the digital tipping point

Zendesk has outlined five main areas of investment for every company to consider a great customer experience:

1. Messaging has evolved from being how people communicate in their personal lives to becoming a business essential, and has grown faster than any other customer service channel. It will remain the dominant channel for both simple self-service as well as more complex conversations.
2. Artificial intelligence will become table stakes for customers who want to be in control of their conversations. Companies need to leverage self-service and automation to deliver friction-free customer experiences. 61% of APAC customers say chatbots are helpful with simple issues.
3. Build agility into the business from Day 1 to have the infrastructure needed to adapt immediately to unexpected volatility, new customer needs and changing business demands.
4. Remote work tools will keep maturing to enable better collaboration, establish deeper trust, and build meaningful connections.
5. Being able to make data-driven decisions that address emerging CX challenges will be a major differentiator.

For more insights into the Digital Tipping Point, click here.

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Zendesk, Inc. announced the launch of Explore Enterprise, the newest solution within its service-first CRM platform, which enables companies to analyze real-time data in order to understand changing needs.

Leaders can use Explore Enterprise to share relevant insights instantly with other teams and departments as global ticket volume reaches record highs, helping them make faster decisions to improve their entire customer experience.

KT Prasad, MD and RVP Sales, India & SAARC at Zendesk said, “Over the past few months, companies in India have been striving to adapt to the changing needs and demands of their customers as the pandemic continues to unfold and new trends emerge. Our Benchmark Snapshot Report indicates that even though service requests may finally be stabilizing after months of volatility, higher volumes may continue to persist, at least for a foreseeable future. Therefore, having timely insights are even more crucial for businesses to spot gaps in their customer service and quickly implement modifications that people expect.”

He added, “With the ability to stay a step ahead of their customers and proactively improve their overall customer experience journey, Explore Enterprise will help many businesses in India not just survive but thrive in today’s landscape.”

“Customers are seeking more support from businesses than ever before, which is putting increased pressure on CX leaders and their teams,” said Shawna Wolverton, EVP of Product, Zendesk. She added “With Explore Enterprise, Zendesk gives companies the ability to analyze data in order to have a clear view of customer trends they are seeing across our Support and Sales Suites. These comprehensive insights allow businesses to quickly address emerging challenges and opportunities not just in customer service, but throughout their entire business.”

With real-time analytics and enhanced team collaboration features, Explore Enterprise enables leaders to manage and scale their business by:

• Monitoring data across customer support channels with pre-built and customizable live charts
• Acting on current trends by setting threshold alerts to see when teams are under a heavy load
• Improving productivity and reducing context switching with embeddable dashboards
• Boosting team collaboration with advanced report sharing and scheduling capabilities inside and outside the organization

Zendesk customers such as Mailchimp are already benefiting from using Explore’s reporting analytics to understand trends in over 30,000 tickets a month.

“It’s about understanding our data as a whole, and being able to look at the big picture, We’re able to take that cumulative voice of the customer and distill that down to figure out what needs to be prioritized and make meaningful fixes that happen,” said Spencer Caratti, Senior Director of Customer Support at Mailchimp.

Sheryl Kingstone of 451 Research said that “There is still a massive global shift towards digital transformation, and that has recently accelerated across every industry sector. Businesses must respond to this new pace of change and the organizations that are already digitally-driven will pivot faster.”

Explore Enterprise provides instant insight across Zendesk products including Support, Talk, Chat, Sell, and Guide to provide a comprehensive, unified view of the customer. This includes information on how customers are using social messaging for support and which channels they prefer for communication.

These learnings enable leaders to refine how they serve customers over channels such as Apple Business Chat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Twitter Direct Messages, WeChat, and LINE.

In addition, teams will be able to bring in data from external third-party systems through integrations with Zendesk’s open and flexible CRM platform, Sunshine, for a holistic picture of their business.

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