We all know that guy.
When he first burst on your social circle’s scene, he was a refreshing change of pace. He was cool. He shared great stories. He whisked you to awesome, hidden spots for the best tacos. It felt like he unlocked an unmatched freedom to do, to be, to explore.
But it didn’t stop there.
He kept pushing, insisting on himself, inserting himself into the center…of everything. He inflated his own ego to a point where he artificially increased his own gravity.
Then he starts hijacking every conversation, ensuring everyone within earshot knows he has actually been to [insert exotic location you dream about visiting] and it wasn’t as awesome as [insert obscure location]. When your friends will get together, it must be on his terms. Everything is required to revolve around him.
Where once your social circle was built around relationships, over time it will all become about him.
Thankfully, as quickly as he appeared he will be gone. Having outgrown your social scene, he will find a new, bigger, better, more connected, wealthier group to commandeer.
***
When Zendesk launched six years ago, they gave startups and small teams the simple tools they needed to support their customers. In stark comparison to legacy helpdesk providers, Zendesk provided an affordable alternative. Accessible anytime, anywhere, the cloud offering gave businesses unmatched flexibility from dated on-premise offerings, and did it all for just $19 per agent/per month.
There was no complicated contract, confusing sales process, or consultants needed. And they were just cool.
As Zendesk has grown, things have changed.
Their plan offerings (and of course prices) have also grown. And as the product matured, the freedom they seemed to offer initially became a forced mantra ensuring users of all shapes and sizes adopt their version of zen.
They promise customer service enlightenment, but not until you pay the guru for access to his process. Regardless of their needs, users must center their process around the software. It’s all about the tool and never about the customer.
Today, Zendesk offers five plans to enlightment, ranging from a hollow “starter” to “enterprise elite” that runs a hefty $195 a month for each agent. This plan also requires you call their experts to learn exactly how it differs from their enterprise plan.
Zooming up the ladder, Zendesk has done everything they can to court the enterprise big bucks while forgetting the core business that fattened them up.
But your and your customers don't have to be left behind. Here at Zoho, we remained solely focused on the unique needs of growing businesses and their customers.
So yes, publicly traded Zendesk needs to reel in the big fish with their "enterprise elite" bait to deliver on Wall Street. But we at Zoho remain focused on our only shareholders—you, our customers. At Zoho Support, we are committed to empowering you to better serve your customers.
Instead of chasing bigger (and bigger) fish, we’ve narrowed our focus on the heart of customer service: the customer. At Zoho Support we’ve built the only customer service software natively integrated with a leading CRM.
We have continually refined your ability to connect, serve, and build relationships with your customers across channels. By linking Zoho Support with Zoho CRM we are illuminating a crystal-clear and complete view of each-and-every customer. By diving into your customer data, we unlock the power for you to deliver amazing, contextually-aware customer service with every interaction.
Zoho Support’s philosophy (and software) puts the customer at the center of customer service. With useful tools built around the customer you can deliver more happiness directly to them. And unlike Zendesk, Zoho Support is flexible, bending into the positions you and your customers need. No yoga instructors or consultants needed. Quickly customize it to fit your team perfectly. As you grow and your needs change the system effortlessly adapts.
Easy to learn, and designed for collaboration, Zoho Support empowers small teams to thrive by allowing everyone to serve customers. With pricing and plans that fit growing businesses of all shapes and sizes—including the best free offering in customer service software—everyone can adopt a customer-centered culture.
If you are currently a Zendesk customer, it’s never been easier to taste the sweetness of customer-centered customer service. With a click, our migration tool will bring all your data over to Zoho Support, where you can test drive our powerful and flexible plans for free.
Ditching a software-dictated process can be daunting, so we will also provide free training for your whole team on the unbeatable value of customer-centered customer service.
Quit worshiping software. Instead, devote yourself to your customers and build long lasting, valuable relationships. Because after all, you don't want to become that guy.
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