ZenDesk: You Are Their Hero by Heather Bartron

[Doha]

ZenDesk: You Are Their Hero
by Heather Bartron

ZenDesk knows a thing or two about customer appreciation. They have recently created and hosted an event for that sole purpose. The 2012 Customer Service Hero Tour hit most major cities in the US, kicking off in LA in March and ending in NYC in October. The tour included insights from industry leaders such as Zappos and Groupon, as well as inspirational stories to help give ZenDesk customers a better idea about how to improve the customer experience for their company.

We sat down with Pam Dodrill, VP of Customer Support at ZenDesk, to get some insights on the subject from a pioneer in the art of customer appreciation:

How important is social media to a customer service platform?

Social media venues drive the trend towards corporate transparency. If you aren?t transparent and open with your customers, they?ll tell their Social Media circles. Companies need to reply quickly to customers that engage them in social media venues. Companies who are slow to respond or flat out ignore customers on Social Media risk the flight of their customers and the loss of good reputation. So, overall, social media is very important to a customer service platform. By integrating the Customer Service Platform with these social channels, companies remove delays in responses. They can also track the amount of work required to support these social conversations, which allows them to plan and staff appropriately.

What are some interesting ways ZenDesk shows appreciation to their customers?

Ah, we love our customers. We kind of have it easy because our customers do what we do ? they provide support. We celebrate milestones with them, recognize them when they are actively engaged in our communities, and we sponsor user groups. We send swag, and we allocate some of our Support Advocates to assist customers on calls about best practices and how best to leverage Zendesk so they can be successful. But most of all, the focused and attentive support our Advocates deliver every day is the best way we show appreciation to our customers.

What makes a customer loyal to a brand?

Making things simple for them. The less they need to contact you about your product, service, or their order, the happier they are. Quality also counts for a lot. If customers can count on your product or service consistently, they will keep using it. Customer engagement is another big one. If you engage with your customers in ways that add value to their use of your product (in our case, suggestions on how better to leverage features, or doing health checks), they know you are thinking of them and doing what you can to make them successful. These engagements are best if they are altruistic in nature. If your intent is to help them rather than sell more product, chances are, they will buy more product because you engaged them at the right times about the right things. And finally, always follow through. If you say you?re going to do something, do it.

What are some words and phrases to avoid when dealing with an angry customer?   

Don?t ask them to repeat a step they?ve already taken.

?I told you?

?What you need to do?

?You should have?

?I?m not able to do that?

?if you had??

And at all costs: avoid interrupting them!

Pam Dodrill is the VP of Customer Support at ZenDesk. She has a solid track record of leveraging world-class customer service best practices and call center management expertise to build client loyalty, satisfaction, and sustainable business growth.