• Sign in
  • Product Support
  • Company
    • About us
    • Press
    • Investors
    • Events
    • Careers
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Social impact
    • Legal
  • Contact us
  • English
    • English (US)
    • English (UK)
    • Español
    • Español (LATAM)
    • Português
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Italiano
    • Nederlands
    • 日本語
    • 한국어
    • 繁體中文 (台灣)
    • 繁體中文 (香港特區)
    • ไทย
  • Zendesk. Be the company your customers want you to be.
  • Contact Us
  • Toggle Mobile Menu
  • Watch Demo
  • Products
    • Zendesk for service

      The complete service solution

    • Zendesk for sales

      The modern sales solution

    • Sunshine Platform

      Fast, open and flexible

    • Marketplace

      Apps, integrations and partners

  • Pricing
    • Zendesk for service

      The complete service solution

    • Zendesk for sales

      The modern sales solution

  • Solutions
    • Enterprise

      Have conversations at scale

    • Small & medium businesses

      Grow without growing pains

    • Startups

      Get off on the right foot

    • Internal Help Desk

      Treat employees like customers

    • Industries

      Meet your market’s needs

  • Demo
  • Resources
    • Blog

      Guides, reports, and best practices

    • Events and webinars

      Learn from wherever you are

    • Community

      Connect, learn, and engage with Zendesk users

    • Professional services

      Get hands-on help, dedicated support or expert guidance

    • What’s New with Zendesk

      Check out recent product updates

    • API & Developers

      Info for building things with Zendesk

    • Partners

      How to locate or become a Zendesk partner

    • Customer Stories

      See what success with Zendesk looks like

  • More
    • Company
      • Contact us
      • About us
      • Press
      • Investors
      • Events
      • Careers
      • Diversity & Inclusion
      • Social impact
      • Legal
    • Language
      • English (US)
      • English (UK)
      • Español
      • Español (LATAM)
      • Português
      • Français
      • Deutsch
      • Italiano
      • Nederlands
      • 日本語
      • 한국어
      • 繁體中文 (台灣)
      • 繁體中文 (香港特區)
      • ไทย
  • Start free trial
  • Contact Us
  • Sign in

Trend 3

Emphasis on agility

Facing continued volatility, teams must find ways to quickly adapt to the changing needs of their customers.

Section 1

In uncertain times, agility is key

The only constant is change, and with 2020 being the most volatile year in recent memory, companies are looking to build greater flexibility into their support teams. CX leaders cited the ability to quickly adapt to the evolving needs of customers as their biggest pain point in 2020 and the highest priority going forward.

2020 sees unprecedented volatility in support requests

0 0 1500 1500
From 1/5/2020 to 9/13/2020
From 1/5/2020 to 9/13/2020
2019 2020
Avg Weekly Ticket Volume
0 0 1500 1500
Avg Weekly Ticket Volume
From 1/5/2020 to 9/13/2020
From 1/5/2020 to 9/13/2020
2019 2020
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Agility tops the post-COVID priority list

0% 20%
Percentage of respondents who said it is a priority
40% 60% 80%
Adapt quickly and easily
Customer satisfaction
Customer retention
Cost savings
Conversion or acquisition
Processing tickets efficiently
Product adoption
Agent
Manager
80% 60% 40% 20% 0%
Percentage of respondents who said it is a priority
Adapt quickly and easily
Customer satisfaction
Customer retention
Cost savings
Conversion or acquisition
Processing tickets efficiently
Product adoption
Agent
Manager
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Section 2

Boosting efficiency from within

To become more agile, support teams need to be able to quickly scale their operations, streamline workflows across teams and find opportunities to reduce the demand on agents. More agents are now working across channels, which means they need to be able to easily shift between them to meet any changes in demand from customers. In fact, the number of so-called blended agents has jumped 30 per cent compared to the previous year.

Companies, especially smaller ones, are also adding features to help boost collaboration and promote greater efficiency across teams. And support teams with the best track records in terms of speed, efficiency and happy customers use more than twice as many of these workflow management tools as their lower performing peers.

Most agents use multiple channels

Percentage of surveyed CX agents
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
How many communication channels (such as phone, email, chat, social media) do you use to engage with customers in a typical day?
One channel
Two channels
Three or more channels
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Percentage of surveyed CX agents
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
How many communication channels (such as phone, email, chat, social media) do you use to engage with customers in a typical day?
One channel
Two channels
Three or more channels
Australia
Benelux
Brazil
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Korea
Mexico
Nordics
Singapore
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

How many communication channels (such as phone, email, chat, social media) do you use to engage with customers in a typical day?
One channel
Two channels
Three or more channels
Percentage of surveyed CX agents
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
B2B
B2C
B2E
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Filter by:

Overall
80% 100% 60% 40% 20% 0%
Percentage of surveyed CX agents
How many communication channels (such as phone, email, chat, social media) do you use to engage with customers in a typical day?
Two channels
One channel
Three or more channels
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Country
80% 100% 60% 40% 20% 0%
Percentage of surveyed CX agents
How many communication channels (such as phone, email, chat, social media) do you use to engage with customers in a typical day?
Two channels
One channel
Three or more channels
Australia
Benelux
Brazil
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Korea
Mexico
Nordics
Singapore
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Use case
80% 100% 60% 40% 20% 0%
Percentage of surveyed CX agents
How many communication channels (such as phone, email, chat, social media) do you use to engage with customers in a typical day?
Two channels
One channel
Three or more channels
B2B B2C B2E
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

High performing support teams boost efficiency by using more workflow management tools

0% 20 60 40 80
Median number of workflow tools companies are using
High performer
Average performer
Low performer
100 80 60 40 20 0
Median number of workflow tools companies are using
High performer
Average performer
Low performer
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Section 3

Missed opportunities

Companies are seeking greater flexibility within their teams, but most are missing key opportunities to help them succeed. Self-service resources, like help centres, can intercept would-be tickets by directing customers to answers online. Though more companies are turning to conversational AI chatbots to help customers with common questions, usage rates are still low - particularly for smaller companies. And data access remains a persistent challenge for many, with less than half of agents able to access any kind of customer data that can help them better assist customers when they reach out.

AI remains an underutilised tool, despite adoption boost among larger firms

Per cent of companies using AI
0% 20% 2020 2021 40% 60%
Enterprise
Overall
Midsize
SMB
0% 20% 60% 40%
Percentage of companies using messaging
2020 2021
Enterprise
Midsize
SMB
Overall
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Most agents don’t have access to the most common types of customer data

0% 20% 10% 30% 50% 40%
Percentage of surveyed agents who do or don't have access
Can’t see customer data
Personal health information or data
Credit card used from last purchase
Recommended items
Information about customer’s device
Plan or subscription details
How a customer has used a product or service
Recent order status
Personal details (address, DOB, gender, etc.)
Order and chat history
Enterprise
Midsize
SMB
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

0% 20% 10% 30% 50% 40%
Percentage of surveyed agents who do or don't have access
Can’t see customer data
Personal health information or data
Credit card used from last purchase
Recommended items
Information about customer’s device
Plan or subscription details
How a customer has used a product or service
Recent order status
Personal details (address, DOB, gender, etc.)
Order and chat history
B2B
B2C
B2E
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Filter by:

Company size
50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Percentage of surveyed agents who do or don't have access
Can’t see customer data
Personal health information or data
Credit card used from last purchase
Recommended items
Information about customer’s device
Plan or subscription details
How a customer has used a product or service
Recent order status
Personal details (address, DOB, gender, etc.)
Order and chat history
Enterprise
Midsize
SMB
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

Use case
50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
Percentage of surveyed agents who do or don't have access
Can’t see customer data
Personal health information or data
Credit card used from last purchase
Recommended items
Information about customer’s device
Plan or subscription details
How a customer has used a product or service
Recent order status
Personal details (address, DOB, gender, etc.)
Order and chat history
B2B
B2C
B2E
Internet Explorer does not support these charts.

You deserve better. Treat yourself and view the report in an updated browser.

“We saw a 1,200 per cent increase in parents contacting us and over a 750 per cent increase in contacts from teachers…The ability to customise and set up complex rules to allow a truly seamless and well-organised user and agent experience is something that I really value, as well as the ability to track and report on all of those aspects.”

Laurie LeDuc

Head of Community Support, Khan Academy

NEXT CX TREND

The future of work is now

Explore Trends

  • 01

    Spotlight on CX

  • 02

    A more conversational world

  • 03

    Emphasis on agility

  • 04

    The future of work is now

  • 05

    The digital tipping point

  • Best practices

    Make the most of this year's trends

Zendesk

Champions of customer service

Our Products
  • Zendesk for service
  • Zendesk for sales
  • Sunshine Platform
  • Marketplace
  • Product updates
Top Features
  • Ticketing System
  • Messaging & live chat
  • Help Centre
  • Voice
  • Community forums
  • Reporting & Analytics
  • Answer Bot
  • Customer service software
  • Ticketing system software
  • Live chat software
  • Knowledge base
  • Forum software
  • Help desk software
  • Security
Resources
  • Product support
  • Request a demo
  • Blog
  • Training
  • Partners
  • Webinars
  • Customer Stories
  • Services
Company
  • About us
  • Press
  • Investors
  • Events
  • Careers
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Social impact
  • Contact us
  • Site Map
  • Systems status
  • Legal
Favourite Things
  • What is Zendesk?
  • Zendesk for Enterprise
  • Zendesk for Small Business
  • Zendesk for Startups
  • Zendesk Benchmark
  • Gartner CRM Magic Quadrant
  • Customer Experience Trends

Subscribe to receive news and updates from Zendesk.

Enter the fold

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Please enter a valid email address
Please enter a valid email address.
Email addresses may not begin with:
By submitting my personal information, I consent to Zendesk collecting, processing, and storing my information in accordance with the Zendesk Privacy Notice. Zendesk uses the information you provide to send future occasional emails about Zendesk products, services and relevant content. You can unsubscribe at any time.
By submitting my personal information, I understand and agree that Zendesk may collect, process, and retain my data pursuant to the Zendesk Privacy Policy.

Thank you for subscribing to our email communication. You can update your preferences or unsubscribe at any time.

Welcome to the club!

Sorry, something went wrong!

Please reload the page and try again, or you can contact Zendesk for support.

Terms of Use Privacy Notice Cookie Policy Cookie settings Modern slavery act statement ©Zendesk 2022