5 benefits of using Zoom for remote customer support

Personalized customer support doesn’t have to mean in-person service—especially during a global pandemic.

With 50 percent of customer experience teams working from home, companies are making the switch to remote support. While email, phone, and messaging are popular channels for connecting with customers remotely, there’s a great benefit in offering an interpersonal experience via video.

Few know the power of creating virtual connections more than our friends at Zoom, the California-based video communications service. The company has incorporated its video and audio tools with Zendesk to create apps that are readily available in the Zendesk Marketplace, giving all Zendesk Support users the opportunity to build stronger relationships with their own customers.

Zoom empowers support agents to solve complex problems in less time while humanizing the support experience remotely. And it’s easier than ever to use this technology with the three powerful Zoom + Zendesk integrations—Zoom meetings, Zoom phone, and the Zendesk app for Zoom. Read on for the five biggest benefits of using video for remote customer support.

1. Humanize the customer experience

   
   It’s often easier to strike the right tone when you can speak with customers “face-to-face” on a video call instead of through written correspondence.
   Video conferencing allows reps to express and read nonverbal cues, so they can pick up on customers’ feelings and show genuine empathy and kindness. This is especially important, as over 30 percent of consumers say an essential part of a positive customer experience is the support agent’s friendliness.
   Matt Hoffman, a Zendesk solutions consultant, describes remote support as “a much warmer and inviting collaborative experience to take a look at something together.” It helps the customer feel as though the agent is right there with them, and it allows the agent to see how their assistance makes an impact firsthand.

2. Resolve complex problems in minutes

   
   Going back and forth over email extends resolution time, leading to a frustrating experience for customers. According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report, a fast resolution is one of the most important aspects of good customer service.
   Resolving a customer’s problem via Zoom meetings can be a much faster and more organic method of interaction. But you shouldn’t jump on a video call with every single customer. Video works best for complex or unique issues that are hard to explain and resolve over email, text, or phone, so you should reserve this support channel for more complicated problems.
   When addressing such nuanced issues, support agents can use screen sharing on video calls to walk customers through solutions. Available through our Zoom integration, this feature allows customers to see exactly how they should be using the product or share the challenges that they’re having.
   For simpler customer issues, more traditional audio support through Zendesk’s integration with Zoom phone might be more effective. The integration enables agents to make and receive calls within the Zendesk app, giving them easy access to all the relevant user data within Zendesk. Armed with the proper customer context, agents are able to deliver better and faster support.

3. Improve support with call recordings

   
   Each interaction with a customer holds valuable lessons for support teams. With video call recordings, agents can see the visual cues and responses that would normally go unnoticed in text-based training. They can identify what responses made the customer confused, irritated, happy, or satisfied.
   Recordings are especially great for training new support agents. Instead of figuring out how things work by trial and error, they can watch real-life customer support scenarios play out and learn what to do and what to avoid.
   Managers can use video call recordings to gauge agents’ customer service skills, too. They can then point out areas for improvement to help raise the quality of customer support.
   The benefits aren’t limited to managers and support agents alone. Call recordings can also help engineering, UX, and product teams identify bugs faster and fix them.

4. Automate data collection

   
   Recording customer information during calls is important for ensuring details don’t slip through the cracks. But switching between windows while trying to listen to the customer can be difficult.
   The Zendesk Zoom meetings integration can automatically record meetings and post them as private comments on Zendesk Support tickets after each session ends, giving agents the information they need to provide better support in the future.

5. Personalize onboarding experiences

   
   First impressions matter a lot during customer onboarding. They can determine whether buyers will stick around or leave in a heartbeat and whether they will tell others about your brand. Using live video chat to connect with new customers can make all the difference.
   Onboarding video calls help you build rapport with new users and learn more about their needs.
   Using Zendesk for Zoom apps, you can take notes and update information directly within the Meetings interface.

Strengthen remote support with real-time interactions

With so many customer service teams working remotely, it’s easy to fall back on asynchronous support methods—chatbots, email, and so on. These communication tools certainly have a place in a modern support team’s tech stack, but many customers also want to interact with agents in real-time.

Exceed their expectations by using Zoom and Zendesk together. Agents can use video chat not only to interact with customers face-to-face but also to share information organically through screen sharing. Whether agents are making phone or video calls via Zoom, they’ll be able to access Zendesk during the meeting for quick access to customer information and to take notes.

Start providing unparalleled support with the Zoom integrations on Zendesk Marketplace today.