Zendesk Chat - Features, Implementation, and Use Cases

Posted by
Natalia Zhontsa

August 19, 2021

Are you considering implementing a third-party support chat system? Then you should probably take a closer look at Zendesk’s customer service solutions. Their Zendesk Chat system is famous for delivering some of the best results out there and bringing happier customers. Hence why we decided to take you through the entire tool by displaying what the system is, what it can do, and how to properly implement it.

We’ll also take a closer look at some use cases to demonstrate real value. As usual, the length of this analysis won’t be short, so let’s not waste any time!

What is Zendesk Chat

Designed to provide a competitive edge, Zendesk Chat support is a sophisticated widget-like system that companies use to provide better customer support inside Zendesk Agent Workspace. Previously the tool had the name Zopim and has now transformed into a multi-function tool that genuinely understands customer behavior and will not intrude on anyone.

However, what sets this system apart from the competition is the more flexible pricing system. That’s right, Zendesk makes sure their system suits both small start-ups and large corporations to provide an effective connection with customers.

Benefits You Can Expect

Now that we know what Zendesk Chat is let’s take a brief look as to what benefits you can expect from the solution. And the first thing we’d like to note is that Zendesk Chat is perfect for automating chats and rapid response to customer questions. It will make sure that your install base knows where to look for you, whereas you will be aware of said install base way before they even press the Chat button.

Another key benefit of the system is that it will help you keep track of visitors that are likely to be converted into leads. It does this by analyzing their behavior and navigation habits, which will subsequently help you form a proper proposition. Also, part of this benefit is the fact that you can use the tool to track customer content rate, agent performance, and finally, the time it takes for a problem to be resolved.

You can also check out this manual to Zendesk Guide

Core Zendesk Chat Support Features

Alright, and now for some features. As you might have guessed, this isn’t a definitive list, far from it. However, these features are not only the highlight of the system but are considered to be industry-leading. Here’s what you’ll be getting with Zendesk Chat.

Pre-chat forms — Allows you to politely ask your visitors for basic contact information before they can start a chat. This function also has an offline mode that allows you to leave different forms that you visitors can use to send you a message even when you are away.

Visitor list — While it doesn’t reveal anything super specific, this function can be used to track how many people visit your site at any given time, as well as it can be used to guide people to a specific product.

Triggers — As the name suggests, this system allows you to settle specific triggers that will pop-up as soon as a user settles a definite activity. A good example would be when someone is ready to make the purchase, you can reach them to help them complete the order.

Chat ratings — Feedback is technically everything when it comes to business. If you are not getting it, you are likely to fail, actually. Chat ratings, while don’t provide enough details, will give you a rudimentary look at customer satisfaction and how your chat efforts are paying off.

File sending — Better see it once than read it twice. This saying is ever so relevant in customer support. Zendesk allows your customer and your staff to exchange images and GIFs for solving issues in a streamlined fashion.

Chatbots — Have a ton of simple requests that take way too much work time off of your agents? Customer service chatbots are AI-powered systems that can solve simple problems using historical and knowledge base data. As a result, they free up time for your agents all the same.

Zendesk Chat web widget - Source

Customization from Dashboard - You can edit and customize your dashboard in Zendesk explore. The dashboard is divided into four groups:

• The Chats tab - contains info about the Chat sessions, their quantity, assignees, types, and completion.
• The Efficiency tab - helps to estimate the efficiency of a separate agent.
• The Satisfaction tab - shows information about customer experiences.
• The Agent activity tab - displays the amount of work performed by the agent and the general involvement of each.

Implementation Strategy

Knowing how to provide Zendesk Chat integration properly will help you avoid common roadblocks, as well as help you to start your work faster and enhance your customer support strategy. Here are a few recommendations that are worth following when you are about to use the system.

Define Business Objectives 

It is true. Every big change happens with the definition of business objectives. You should align all your activities clearly with your business needs. Failing to do so might result in a lot of wasted time, as well as money. Every party involved will have its own set of requirements.

Support will want to improve customer experience; sales would like to improve their sales figures, whereas your accountants might want a cheaper plan. As a rule of thumb, including the following characteristics of Zendesk Chat into objectives is highly advisable:

• Improving CSAT. The core benefit of chat systems is that they allow you to provide a more personal service in the same way that customer service leaders do. Furthermore, chats allow you to provide better response times and higher resolution rates as everything takes place in real-time. People value time more than they did before, hence why chats are good tools for speeding things up.

• Reducing support costs. One of the most overlooked features of chats is that they can be used to reduce support costs significantly. A single agent can handle several different chat windows at the same time. And the more windows you handle, the less you spend money on manpower.

• Increasing sales. For many, using another third-party tool means extra expenses. However, data suggest that consumers are three times more likely to convert if you talk to them through a chat window. The reason is that some customers need more confidence to complete the order, something you can provide through a proper chat channel.

• Reducing the cart abandonment rate. On average, 6 out of 10 customers leave their carts. This is roughly 55% of your potential revenue rate that you might not even realize. Chats help reduce this trend by allowing you to assist in all stages of the buyer journey.

Define Success Metrics

As you might have guessed, your success metrics have to be directly tied to your business needs and objectives. We suggest that you take into account the following list of metrics:

• The number of logged in and serving agents. Knowing how long your agents have been serving and what is the average number of them at any moment will help you optimize the entire process. This metric is also useful to determine agent overlap, which in turn can help you reduce costs as well.

• The average chat duration. If it takes more time to serve a single customer, then you will have to spend more. Not only because the person providing support will have more hours logged but the fact that other customers might turn on you. This metric will help you learn what takes up most of the time, but be careful not to lower this metric too much as it can have a negative connotation on your CSAT.

• The average wait time. As the name implies, this is the time your customers wait before they can start getting support from an agent. The idea is simple, the less it takes to answer your question, the higher the satisfaction rate will be. But don’t sacrifice quality and take away people from other chats.

Manage Customer Experience

After you finish outlining your core metrics, you need to shift your focus toward improving your customer experience. Essentially, your primary objective is to set your chat in a position where it would be the most necessary for your customers.

In other words, your chat should be in places where a unique product is being introduced (a product that requires an extra explanation for the viewer to see its value), where many people gather, and most importantly, where most people end up. Somewhere between 7 to 15 out of 100 visitors will most likely contact you.

However, this number can also be influenced by several additional factors. They include the aforementioned widget location, the number of people that have access to the widget, and finally, whether the chat is proactive or reactive.

Settling on Staff Requirements

When it comes to providing support, the quality of your equipment, and the proficiency of your staff, play a vital role in delivering a solid experience. We suggest that you make the following list of activities before deploying your Zendesk Chat system:

• Define Agent Quantity. You must know many support requests you have to settle on a proper number of agents. Knowing this number will allow you to provide quality service at all times.

• Define Agent Experience. A person that doesn’t have a lot of experience might not be able to juggle more than 2 chats at a time. However, if most of your staff is well-versed in handling chats, then you can increase the previous number to four or even six.

• Define Ticket Resolution Time. Usually, all tickets are divided into three tiers, namely 1,2, and 3. If you have a ton of Tier 1 tickets (that take a single touch to solve), then funneling them into email just doesn’t make sense. Make them appear in chats, and you’ll have a better time solving them there.

(Optional) Create Chat Workflows

A good chunk of business owners does not provide just chat support to their install base. They also strive to give their customers complimentary contact channels. These usually include emails, social media profiles, FAQs, and even video chats. It is a challenging process but an essential one, nonetheless. It's all because there are cases when a person might ask something in the lines of “how does your refund policy work?”.

Instead of simply answering the question, we suggest that you throw in a link to an existing FAQ alongside the message. Doing so will help you reduce the average response time, as well as improve CSAT as all will be fast and effective. Another good thing is that it will free up the chat for more difficult requests.

Using Shortcuts to streamline Zendesk Chat workflow - Source

Use Cases to Consider

Zendesk has been kind enough to provide a couple of use cases themselves, so we’ll just reinstate them here. But not without adding something we’ve managed to dig on our own, so no worries here.

Foodpanda Case

The company created a separate set of accounts for each brand and a website for different departments. The company later set up a trigger that would route the corresponding customer (of a particular brand) to a proper department. All this allowed them to streamline work and avoid both employee and customer confusion as everything is tied to a specific box. 

Informaticsonline Case

Thanks to Zendesk Chat, Informaticsonline was able to have direct communication with each customer in a separate channel. This also allowed them to speed things up and provide even more professionalized help as they were able to extract valuable information from the reports.

Zendesk Chat Pricing Plans

The pricing for Zendesk chat plans may seem a bit complicated, but still, it is quite adaptive to various business needs. Moreover, Zendesk initiated some changes by excluding the Lite pricing plan. As a result, there are three Zendesk Chat pricing plans:

• Team, included with Suite Team and Suite Growth.

14$/month annual subscription per agent

19$/month monthly subscription per agent

• Professional, included with Suite Professional.

29$/month annual subscription per agent

35$/month monthly subscription per agent

• Enterprise, included with Suite Enterprise and Suite Enterprise Plus.

59$/month annual subscription per agent

70$/month monthly subscription per agent

Go to Zendesk help to view more details about the available features and services of each tariff plan.

In Conclusion

Zendesk Support Chat is a proven tool. It has a massive install base, and the product just keeps getting better. Every new release introduces a new feature, and the pricing isn’t that harsh on the wallet. If you can’t afford a paid plan, we still urge you to give the Lite plan, which is free a try.

It will give you a taste of the system, and you can see the user experience first-hand. But that’s all for now from us. If you liked what you read, be sure to come back as we post stuff like this all the time. And if you need help moving your stuff to any Zendesk platform, we are your go-to place. Thanks for joining!