“Actions speak louder than words,” right? How you behave means more than what you say or what you look like. Turns out, this applies not just to people, but to sales, marketing, social media, and especially customer service management. In our latest Zendesk Benchmark report (released today), we decided to explore this idea by taking the time to look beyond typical industry designations (what your company “looks” or “sounds” like) in a search of a more relevant and accurate classification for benchmarking customer service performance. The four types of customer service organizations Using a cluster analysis process, we grouped customer service...

  It goes without saying that today’s customer service tools are not one-size-fits-all. Different communication channels—social, phone, email, chat–offer different benefits to the company and to the customer. When it comes to offering highly personalized, on-demand customer service, live chat and the phone are the most obvious options. Both allow for a close agent-customer connection and both let customers explain a problem or ask a question and receive an immediate response. There are a few key differences between these channels, however, that can impact your team, your customers, and your business. One notable difference between live chat vs. phone...