On today’s show, we’re going to review how Zendesk can save your time and increase satisfaction with your customer, clients and end users.

Too many requests on Monday morning from your users?

Have trouble keeping track of computer issues on your network?

Looking for that servererror message from last month?
Zendesk is your no worry, easy to use helpdesk solution for you. Learn how it stacks up against other helpdesk solutions, how it can save you time and money plus I’ll share my personal experience with it.

With out of the box support for custom subdomains, an open REST and mail API, custom email & forwarding, macros/triggers, SSL, integrations to a ton of cloud apps including Salesforce, Harvest, Batchbook, Get Satisfaction plus support for remote authentication via Active Directory, website authentication including Drupal and Ruby on Rails and user import options, Zendesk is a rocking solution for supporting customers!

I’ve been using it for 2 years and now I do the webinars at Zendesk to help new folks get started on the platform.

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What is a helpdesk?

A centralized location to create, track and resolve technology issues submitted by users or noted by IT staff
Other names – issue tracking, help desk, ticket tracking, support system

Benefits of using a helpdesk

Less overlap of effort
Reduce data entry
Fix issues faster
Less downtime
Centralize solutions

How IT staff manage requests

Email
Paper
In their head

Problems with existing helpdesk solutions

Lost requests
Incorrect understanding of the problem
Unable to track status
Ineffective communication of status to end user
Unable to reuse solutions

Why are more companies not using helpdesk solutions?

Unaware
Used to doing things a certain way
Perception of complexity
Perception you need to be techie
Helpdesk and ticket tracking software is simply a tool to manage requests

Comparing helpdesk solutions I’ve tried

Kayako
Cerberus
Remedy
RT Request Tracker
Active Campaign
Spiceworks
Various PHP based helpdesks
There are  nearly 80 helpdesk solutions listed at Wikipedia

Features of Zendesk

Send updates to end users
Reopen tickets
Primary company contact can see all tickets
Logic in Macros
TimeTracking
open API
Forums/Knowledgebase
Convert solutions to Forum/Knowledgebase

My Support experience with Zendesk

Fast
Accurate
Expertise
Flexible
Open
Interactive
Active in Social Media
Have a blog

Cost of Zendesk

Updated 5/11/2010
30 day trial

Plans start at $9 month for the solo Zendesk plan.  You then can go with the regular or Plus+ plan to support additional users.

Starts at $19/month with cost increasing based on number of agents, branding, SSL
They have a free plan with limit of 50 end users

Wishlist

Import tickets / formal export tickets
import users / formal export users
Ability to share a specific solution with multiple Forums
Easier to embed video from hosted video sites using wysiwyg editor
Monthly live QnA where we can tune in, listen to recent development news and ask questions