Teams | Collaboration | Customer Service | Project Management

August 2021

Personal selling 101: What it is and how to do it well

Customers love to feel special and understood. According to research from Epsilon, 80 percent of customers say they’re more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences. Additionally, 90 percent indicated they found personalization appealing. Personalization often begins long before a consumer even considers making a purchase.

Gross sales vs. net sales: Key differences explained

As a sales manager, your eyes are glued to your company’s revenue. You’re focused on helping your team close more deals and increasing profitability. But are you sure you’re measuring sales revenue in the best possible way? Gross sales and net sales are two common metrics that offer distinct advantages when it comes to gauging revenue. If you’re not sure what they are and how they differ from each other, you’re not alone.

Do-not-reply emails: Pros, cons, and best practices

Anyone on a support team will tell you that responding to every customer inquiry is tough, especially if you’re working for a small business with limited resources. Using a do-not-reply email—a special type of account that’s unable to receive incoming messages—may seem like a tempting way to lessen that volume. It’s true that do-not-reply emails have their perks, and they may have a place in your business model.

Zendesk welcomes Cleverly

At Zendesk, we believe a key component of providing great customer experiences includes ensuring your agents are armed with the right tools and processes to deliver them. But with conversation volume increasing by more than 20 percent year over year, over a growing number of channels, support teams are struggling to keep up. As a result, businesses increasingly turn to AI to provide faster and more reliable service and make teams more efficient.

B2B customer service: What it is and how to do it right

It’s a common myth that B2B companies aren’t as focused on customer service as their B2C counterparts. According to an Accenture report , over 90 percent of B2B leaders believe that providing a great customer experience is the key to reaching their company’s goals. Focusing on the customer experience is especially critical for B2B companies. They typically have fewer customers than B2C companies, making it imperative that none of them slip through the cracks.

A quick guide to enterprise sales (+ 4 tips to supercharge your strategy)

Enterprise sales is like running a marathon. Your focus isn’t on short-term wins—you’re playing the long game. And just like a marathon results in big physical and mental gains, enterprise sales results in significant revenue and increased opportunities for your business. That being said, you wouldn’t run a marathon without training first. You shouldn’t jump into enterprise sales unprepared, either.

A simple guide to customer perception (+ 4 actionable ways to improve it)

What do your customers think of your brand? How do they feel about the products and services you offer? If you’re unsure about the answers to these questions, you’re not alone. Customer perception is often difficult to understand because it’s subjective and varies from buyer to buyer. But this ambiguity doesn’t mean you should ignore your customers’ opinions.

3 ways healthtech startups are improving the patient experience

Never has the need for practical, accessible healthcare technology been more important. In the ongoing aftermath of COVID-19, healthtech startups around the world are rising to the occasion (and raising huge funding rounds) to help reimagine the healthcare industry.

10 best sales management software for small businesses

As a company grows, its ever-expanding sales team needs a capable CRM system to keep track of prospects and customers. Sales management software is used by many salespeople to organize their contacts, manage their pipeline, and streamline workflows and organizational processes for maximum efficiency—allowing small businesses to get bigger. Before settling on one CRM platform, it’s important to carefully consider your criteria and weigh the pros and cons of the most popular options.

Why the customer is not always right

“The customer is always right.” If you’ve ever worked a day in the service industry, you’ve seen this slogan plastered on a break room wall. The idea was coined by a turn-of-the-century retailer, and it’s so common that many businesses make it a mandate for their customer service teams. But, like any principle, “the customer is always right” shouldn’t be taken literally.

Creating your first app with Zendesk App Framework (ZAF)

On Thursday, August 12th, at 11:00 am CST, the Developer Community team shared the basics of the Zendesk Apps Framework and the journey from start to finish on creating your first app! They also covered topics such as how to use the ZCLI to scaffold up your first app, use the Javascript framework Next in your Zendesk app, and how to submit your app for review!

Digital-first customer service - it's good for customers and the bottom line

The way customers expect to interact with businesses has changed. Service has moved from customers calling at the first sign of trouble to wanting to communicate with businesses on more convenient digital channels they’re already using in their personal lives—email, live chat, and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Customers also expect support to be available 24/7 via self-service and AI solutions such as chatbots.

What is brand evangelism and how can you inspire it?

What is brand evangelism? Brand evangelism looks like customers standing in line for hours to buy an iPhone (even when they have a perfectly good one from last year). It’s people talking and posting about their Apple products, Lululemon pants, or Patagonia outdoor gear as aspects of their personalities and identities—the way some people talk about their favorite team or musical group.

3 essential customer service tips that SaaS startups need to know

“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.

5 types of consumer insights that can boost your business (+ how to use them)

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.

What is RCS messaging, and how can it improve the customer experience?

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.