In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Phil Crump, Principle Implementation Consultant at Route 101. Phil's wealth of experience and expertise with the Zendesk platform makes this conversation a valuable resource for those embarking on their Zendesk journey or seeking to elevate their existing setup.
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Could you tell us about your role as Route 101 Zendesk Implementation Consultant? What are your key areas of focus?
I began as a Zendesk consultant when the practice was in its infancy. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects all around the UK. While working in the team, I was encouraged to take the Zendesk accreditation and received the Zendesk Support Administrator Expert certification. In my current role as Principle Zendesk Consultant, I spend a lot of time keeping up with the latest functional updates to Zendesk as well as helping customers deploy and enhance their Zendesk instances.
Can you share a noteworthy success story from a recent Zendesk project you've worked on? Were there any innovative solutions or customisations you've applied?
We recently undertook an extensive optimisation project for a multi-brand organisation. We upgraded the customer to Zendesk’s Messaging from their Legacy Live Chat. This was one of our first deployments utilising the Flow Builder to create our own Answer Bot. It allowed us to create a small number of flows that could be reused across the many brands, saving the customer lots of administration time when making changes to their flows.
What are you most excited about when it comes to Zendesk?
The ease of use. I don’t like to encourage people to use software that I don’t have a high opinion of. Zendesk is a very capable, stable software. It’s easy to deploy and customise, and, most of all, it's always able to scale alongside the customer. This makes life easy for me when it comes to helping customers understand how to get the most of out the software.
What is the one piece of advice you’d give someone who is just starting their journey with Zendesk?
If you’re just starting out, then you have no doubt only scratched the surface of what is available in Zendesk. My advice is to think carefully about how you want to use Zendesk and plan your build before getting in there. Zendesk is at its best when it’s been properly configured.
How can existing Zendesk users stay in-the-know and maximise the potential of their platforms?
Zendesk has an excellent online presence for announcements, product documentation, feature feedback and training. And all of that is totally free!
If the free resources don't fully meet your needs, make sure to speak to our team for a more in-depth dive into the world of Zendesk.
What are your three top tips for Zendesk users?
My top three tips are:
1. Think outside the box. A fairly generic tip, I know, but while Zendesk gives you a lot of features out of the box, it really shines when users are taking advantage of all the customisable elements and combining them.
2. Trial and error. Another generic tip, but until you try some things in Zendesk, you might not know exactly how they will work. So, get a trial instance set up (free for 14 days) and take it for a spin.
3. Consider your users. Throughout your time with Zendesk, it’s important to place emphasis on user interaction. Whether it’s the staff using the tool every day, or the customers raising enquiries. You have the power to make Zendesk engaging for your users: be sure to have some fun with it.
