Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

“Is SaaS the next big thing?” asked Eric Knorr in a piece for InfoWorld. The year was 2006. It was the year Amazon launched AWS, and Shakira’s Hips Don’t Lie topped the charts. The aftermath of the burst dot com bubble left a sour taste in investors’ mouths. Still, a new generation of enterprises was offering something that had already been revolutionizing tech: Software on demand, centrally hosted in the cloud and subscription-based.

Operating as a business without consumer insights is like working in a library without knowing how to read. Just because you come across a lot of information doesn’t mean you necessarily understand it or know how to use it effectively. While any company can uncover customer insights, not every business is taking the opportunity to do so—potentially stifling their growth and their revenue in the long run.

Your phone buzzes one Saturday afternoon. It’s a text message from an unknown number noting that there’s a big sale at one of your favorite stores. No pictures. No branding. Just a spammy-looking URL you’re told to click on to view more details. Now imagine getting that same text message, but this time, it’s a little different: It features clear and recognizable branding.

Coming out of a pandemic that rocked the retail world, this year’s NRF Converge event focused on dealing with change. The world’s largest retail trade association brought together industry experts who shared their stories and advice for meeting consumers where they are in the new normal. From embracing the role of ecommerce to finding new ways to connect with shoppers on a human level, retail leadership is focused on delivering great customer experiences.

Here are the newest integrations from Zendesk to help your team provide great experiences.

These are painful customer experiences we can all relate to and top indicators of poor customer service according to Zendesk’s 2021 Customer Experience Trends Report. With 75% of people willing to spend more money on a brand that provides a great customer experience, companies now know that customer loyalty depends on delivering exceptional customer service. However, brands often go about trying to improve customer experience in the wrong way, despite their best intentions.

When a customer contacts a support team, two things are top of mind—how quickly they can solve their problem and how fast a company responds to them when they need help. In recent Zendesk research, 73 percent of customers say their number one priority is a fast resolution, while 59 percent say it’s a fast response that matters most. Either way, it’s reason enough for companies to pay attention.

You’re at a party nibbling on cheese when someone who looks vaguely familiar strikes up a conversation. You’re doing a good enough job faking your way through it, until your partner joins and asks for an introduction ... and you don’t know the person’s name. Sales and support conversations aren’t so different from chats at parties.

In fact, according to Gartner, by 2022 70% of all customer interactions will involve emerging tools like chatbots, machine learning, and mobile messaging, up from 15% from 2018. Customer service automation has proven to reduce agent frustration and turnover, increase customer satisfaction and improve customer loyalty. Automation does not come without any challenges, however.