2020 saw the UK's biggest growth in online sales and this trend is forecast to continue as we head towards Q4, 2021.
The biggest challenge faced by customer service teams during peak is keeping up with enquiries, requests and complaints.
Customers now demand real-time support in the channels that are easiest to use and most accessible to them (e.g. social messaging, app-based or website). Legacy contact centre or hybrid solutions are simply unable to provide this to customers.
At peak, avoiding customer frustration is the prime objective. Real-time support in a channel of the customer’s choosing, with an agent who knows who the customer is and what their history of interaction is with your brand, is of paramount importance.
Agents also need the tools to be able to apply context to each and every interaction and have more time to deal with requests properly (i.e. provide rapid resolution). Creating time requires access to a suite of technologies that can automate and streamline conversations to the right place, as quickly as possible.
Zendesk Suite provides tools to reduce unnecessary volumes by automating responses to FAQs (reducing time required for data entry or information collation) whilst allowing agents to work across multiple channels in a single interface, with full visibility of every customer interaction.
Here’s how Zendesk tools can help your company retain customers, as well as sustain and scale customer service for continued success in this post-pandemic landscape.
In peak trading, the requirement to reduce customer frustration and avoid creating poor experiences is essential. Zendesk can assist you to:
Add to this Messaging and you can map information straight to a ticket so an agent can get straight on with problem solving.
Both this and Agent Workspace can save valuable time that might be spent manually entering or gathering data.
For retailers that are experiencing spikes in inbound customer interactions during peak, Zendesk can be of huge value in terms of its ability to streamline, automate and enable faster, easier resolution – either through the process of self-management or interactive agent resolution.
Technology cannot replace an agent at Peak, but automated technologies such as Bots and cross-functional tools such as Agent Workspace can make an agent more effective (and happier in their work). Technology can help deflect the ‘frequently asked’ and enable agents to deal with more complex enquiries.
The ability for the technology to learn from every interaction with a customer means future tickets will be resolved faster, more efficiently and with more relevancy.
Zendesk’s tools and technologies are an extension of the capabilities of your support team. Technology is not in competition with human resources, it is there to complement.
Over the past year we have reconfigured the Zendesk platforms of multiple companies to add extra departments and bring in-store colleagues into the mix.
One fantastic example of this occurred over lockdown, when Charlotte Tilbury decided to add online departments for their beauty consultants within Zendesk. As people couldn’t go into their stores, the company offered online consultations where trained beauty technicians were able to provide expert advice on a Zoom call. By simply altering their roles slightly, the in-store staff were able to become remote agents within the Contact Centre.
Other companies have used Zendesk integrations to place their product specialists in stores to offer a digital personal shopper experience, showing customers around via video call on their phone to display and describe different product options and features. Linking Zoom to Zendesk then allowed the agents to schedule these video meetings directly from their Zendesk calendars.
At Appamondo, we have the ability to create these bespoke systems to help you bridge the gap between digital and in-person shopping. Even if you still have physical stores with people coming in to browse and buy, bringing your aftercare and the presale care online is a great option to have.
Linking up your services to an online care team, who have the information to hand and can see the information, means your customers receive the best possible attention and results whilst still being able to physically shop in your store. This ensures that customers can have the shopping experience they want from your company, either on or offline.
To find out more about how Appamondo can help your company benefit from Zendesk technology, get in touch today.