New updates to Zendesk platform enable businesses to act on customer data in one central workspace

Zendesk announced no-code tools to help businesses bring custom data into its platform and create differentiated customer experiences (CX). Admins can now leverage the new custom objects in integrated triggers to easily create tailored, efficient workflows. Additionally, agents can leverage end-to-end context to deliver more personalised conversations.

The volume of data created, captured, copied, and consumed is expected to exceed 180 trillion gigabytes by 2025. However, according to the Zendesk 2023 CX Trends Report, 67% of business leaders report seeing disorganised, reactive efforts to use customer data. It is critical for leaders to not only unify data across their operations, but use it strategically to improve CX.

“There is a clear path for CX teams to create personalised interactions that build stronger customer relationships, but to get there, data from all parts of a company’s business needs to be readily available to them,” said Paxton Cooper, Senior Vice President, Product Management, Zendesk. “Our customers have long benefited from Zendesk’s open, flexible platform, and our new offerings will allow service teams to act quickly and unlock more of their data’s potential.”

Provide complete customer context for more intelligent CX

Personalised experiences are the new standard as 70% of customers expect anyone they interact with to have full context. However, 69% of agents do not feel equipped with the data they need to improve or personalise experiences.

Building on Zendesk’s powerful agent workspace, businesses can now customise their workspaces further without code, and seamlessly integrate custom objects into their workflows. This gives agents easy access to important details they need for their tasks. Instead of building or buying an asset management app to keep track of IT equipment, a company can use custom objects to record details about each item. Then, when someone needs help with a piece of equipment, all the information about it will appear within their ticket.

Zendesk is also releasing a flexible layout builder that allows teams to create tailored interfaces for specific agent roles and workflows. That way, agents only see the information they need for a specific type of request, allowing them to focus and solve issues faster. As an example, an IT team can create separate layouts for software approvals, hardware requests, and general IT questions.

Stay agile with custom workflows

63% of service leaders surveyed by Gartner say improving their service operations and growing the business are among their most important goals. Service teams rely on a variety of workflows that reflect their team structure, internal processes, and business model. With customer expectations rising across channels, businesses need the flexibility to quickly modify operations.

With Zendesk, businesses can swiftly act on their data to create efficient, tailored workflows. New releases include object triggers, which are available through an early access program. Unlike traditional ticket triggers, object triggers do not need to be associated with a ticket, so service teams can create robust workflows based on the data they bring in through custom objects. For example, a SaaS company storing contract data in custom objects can use object triggers to automatically update a customer’s support tier when their contract meets specific criteria. Triggers’ expanded capabilities give businesses the functionality and flexibility needed to adapt workflows as they scale. Agents, in turn, can spend less time on administrative tasks, and more time personalising customer interactions.

“Zendesk’s custom objects give us the confidence in knowing that everything is being updated in a uniform way, everything is displayed in a uniform way, and people are working the same across the board, making it an efficient use of everybody’s time,” said Andrew Schreiner, Director of Customer Success Operations, Optimisely.

Connect data across the business to put service at the center

According to Deloitte, brands that lead in personalisation improve customer loyalty 1.5x more effectively than brands with poor personalisation. To deliver seamless service across the entire CX, it is critical for companies to connect service and business data. Today’s new platform offerings – such as the new, no-code custom objects interface – enable businesses to elevate and expedite personalisation. This means that the admin for a retail brand can model order data with custom objects, and immediately create triggers based on that data without needing dedicated developer resources. These build on previous releases, such as custom ticket statuses and Zendesk Integration Services, to ensure businesses are equipped to personalise their CX.

The future of business success is not just about having data, but about intelligently using that data to deliver exceptional customer experiences. With the Zendesk platform, businesses can continue to unlock the full potential of their customer data, streamline their operations, and deliver a better CX.