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What Is the Zendesk-Slack Integration?
The Zendesk-Slack integration connects Zendesk’s ticketing system with Slack’s messaging platform, allowing support teams to handle customer requests more smoothly.
With this integration, new or updated Zendesk tickets automatically appear in selected Slack channels, so agents don’t miss any important updates.
Support teams can even manage tickets directly from Slack—assigning tasks, updating statuses, and collaborating with teammates—all without switching back and forth between platforms. This integration helps speed up response times and creates a more streamlined support experience by keeping communication and action in one place.
Key Benefits of Zendesk and Slack Integration
1. Enhanced Customer Experience
Your customers are already on Slack. So, it makes perfect sense to manage them via this channel while your agents stay on Zendesk. If both sides are happy, it’s a win-win, right?
Managing your customers on Slack means you can provide more immediate support. According to a survey by HubSpot, 90% of customers expect a fast response when they have an issue.
Thus, by integrating Zendesk and Slack, customer-facing teams can communicate more effectively, leading to faster response times, increased productivity, and higher customer satisfaction. The integration enables seamless team collaboration, resulting in a more positive overall customer experience.
2. Increased Support Productivity
Another benefit is that the integration can streamline the support process, significantly increasing support productivity. How? It’s simple.
The integration allows you to automate manual tasks and provide a centralized platform for customer support. This way, teams can handle more inquiries in less time.
3. Improved Cross-department Collaboration
One study found that 40% of US companies struggle to improve customer experience due to poor interdepartmental collaboration.
That said, Slack-Zendesk integration is a perfect solution that enables cross-department collaboration. Teams can take accountability for customer requests, redirect inquiries to the appropriate members, and follow up on unanswered customer messages. All of this can foster a team mentality, becoming a daily routine for all customer-facing team members.
4. Ownership of Customer Requests
Integrating Zendesk with Slack can also foster a sense of ownership among customer-facing teams by enabling them to take charge of customer requests and follow up on them efficiently. Handling all inquiries via Slack equals more visibility, ensuring no customer requests go unanswered.
5. Faster Escalation and Resolution of Complex Issues
Finally, when it comes to high-priority tickets or complex customer issues, time is of the essence. Zendesk-Slack integration allows for real-time escalation, meaning support agents can notify other teams immediately when additional expertise is needed. This immediacy is especially valuable for urgent or high-ticket customer issues, where response speed can make a big difference in customer satisfaction.
By setting up designated Slack channels or using tags for escalation, teams like product, technical support, or sales can jump in, access relevant information, and offer their assistance on the spot.
So, what's the best way to integrate Zendesk with Slack, you may ask?
You have the option to utilize built-in integrations or explore third-party solutions, both of which entail their own nuances. Below, we’ll examine these in further detail.
Native Slack-Zendesk Integrations: When They Work and When They Don’t
Most companies looking to connect Zendesk with Slack start by trying the native integration, known as the Zendesk App for Slack. It seems like the obvious choice—easy to set up, familiar, and able to handle basic needs. The expectation is that it will get the job done without much extra effort.
However, as companies start using it, they often run into limitations. While the native integration works well for simple updates, it can struggle with more complex needs, like involving different teams, handling specific customer requests, or customizing alerts.
Below, we outline some common challenges teams face when relying on the native Zendesk-Slack integration and how it can impact their ability to provide fast, effective support.
1. The Bi-directional Integration Does Not Exist
One of the issues businesses face with the Zendesk App for Slack is that they want their support team to be in Zendesk and their customers to remain on Slack. This requires a deep bi-directional integration which includes rich text, bullets, gifs, and attachments. None of these are supported in the native Zendesk app for Slack.
2. No Capability to Configure and Automate Support Requests
There is also no capability to configure and automate support requests to go directly to Zendesk.
3. Tricky White-labeling
Setting up a white-label branded portal is another difficulty many companies encounter. What's worse, the consumer feels like a bot is responding rather than a human.
4. Noisy
It is also impossible to configure Zendesk to be silent and come on only when you want it to.
5. Severely Restricted Natural Language Processing Capabilities
The Zendesk App for Slack offers extremely limited Natural Language Processing (NLP) features for ticket creation and the ability to flag potential requests.
So, is there a better way? Yes! And that’s what we’re focusing on in the next section.
Thena’s Zendesk Integration
Given the limitations of native APIs, it becomes clear that businesses should explore third-party solutions. And that’s where Thena comes in.
Thena not only overcomes the obstacles mentioned above but also enables seamless integration of Zendesk tickets with Slack—all to empower agents to provide high-touch conversational support via customers’ preferred channel of communication (Slack).
Take a look at the video where Jared Gaynes from our GTM team discusses the Zendesk Slack integration.
Streamlined Management of the Entire Ticket Lifecycle
The fully functional Slack-Zendesk integration enables support agents to handle the whole ticket lifecycle within one platform—Zendesk.
Thena facilitates the ticket lifecycle (Open>Pending>Close, for example) and allows for escalations and sharing of rich text, attachments, gifs, bullet points, and hyperlinks. Therefore, you no longer have to worry about the communication flow between Slack and Zendesk.
Straightforward Tracking of a Customer Request
As a customer-facing representative, you can stay in Slack and track the progress of a customer request (or across past customer interactions). If you need to escalate a request internally, Thena can also accommodate that.
Kanban Board for Visual Organization of Support Tickets from Slack as a channel
Thena also supports the Kanban board function, which lets you see all Zendesk tickets at the customer or organization level. In addition, the customer is also tagged in Zendesk.
Collect CSAT in Slack
Thena also has a CSAT function. This means that when you interact with your client through their preferred tool (Slack), they are more inclined to provide feedback.
CSAT response collection directly in Slack
Noiseless and White-labeled
Thena is set up to be noiseless and does not let the customer know that the reply is coming from an app. Instead, your support agent’s name and image appear normal, so you can give your customers the white-glove treatment they deserve.
Enhanced Configuration Capabilities
Thena offers enhanced configuration capabilities for your Zendesk and Slack integration, including white labeling, support agent response customization, and user notification preferences.
Request Escalation
Want to bring everyone on board to solve a customer problem? Thena’s escalation feature allows a customer or team to escalate a request in Slack. Subsequently, the escalation can be visible on Zendesk. Thena will also highlight the action items and send them to Zendesk.
Your CSM is Always in the Loop
Thena simplifies the task of tagging your CSM in Slack when a ticket is created by others, ensuring your CSM stays informed. After all, your CSM is critical to ensuring your customers achieve their desired outcomes with your product and have an exceptional experience with your business.
How to Integrate Slack with Zendesk Using Thena
You’ll be happy to know that Thena’s Zendesk to Slack integration is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step process on how to set it up.1.
First, sign up for Thena and add it to your Slack workspace.
Once you’re in, navigate to the ‘Settings’ section and click ‘Integrations.’
From the integrations list, select Zendesk.
On the next screen, you’ll see various configuration preferences, including enabling the bi-directional flow of messages and setting an initial default response. Choose the most appropriate settings for your use case.
Once you’ve configured your preferences, click the ‘Save’ button.
For more detailed instructions, you can visit Thena's Help Center.
Best Practices for Using Slack-Zendesk Integration with Thena
Integrating Zendesk with Slack through Thena offers powerful tools to enhance customer support, but to fully benefit, it’s essential to follow a few best practices. These tips will help you ensure a smooth implementation and create a better experience for both your customers and your internal teams.
1. Customize Agent Profiles for Clear Communication
Set up your Zendesk-to-Slack integration to control how replies from support agents appear in Slack. Choose whether messages come from the individual agent’s profile or a general company profile to keep communication clear and consistent for customers.
2. Set Up Default Responses to Acknowledge Customer Inquiries
Create an initial automated response that acknowledges each customer’s message in Slack. This reassures customers that their inquiry has been received, setting expectations for follow-up and providing a more responsive experience.
3. Use CSAT Surveys to Measure Customer Satisfaction
Enable Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys to gauge how customers feel about their support experience. This data can be invaluable for understanding customer sentiment, identifying areas for improvement, and enhancing your service over time.
The Power of Combining Zendesk, Slack, and Thena for B2B SaaS
In the competitive B2B SaaS world, excellent customer support is key to retention. Combining Zendesk, Slack, and Thena creates a high-performance support system that streamlines communication, improves workflow, and offers deep insights. Here’s how each platform contributes:
Zendesk: The Central Hub for Customer Support
Comprehensive Ticket Management: Zendesk acts as the command center for all support channels, from emails to Slack. It helps teams prioritize, route, and monitor progress on customer issues in one place.
Self-Service Options: Zendesk supports creating a knowledge base, giving customers self-service solutions that reduce support load.
Actionable Metrics: Zendesk provides detailed reports on key metrics, like resolution times and agent performance, to help teams continuously improve.
Slack: Enhancing Team Collaboration
Real-Time Communication: Slack’s channels, voice/video calls, and instant messaging enable seamless collaboration across departments, leading to faster resolutions.
Improved Visibility: Dedicated Slack channels for support queues allow team members to see the status of tickets in real time, ensuring coordinated and responsive service.
Team Culture: Slack’s informal, interactive environment fosters team morale and makes collaboration more natural and enjoyable.
Thena.ai: AI-Powered Efficiency and Insights
Ticket Automation: Thena automatically converts Slack conversations into Zendesk tickets, reducing manual tasks for agents.
Sentiment Analysis: Thena detects customer sentiment, helping teams identify and prioritize urgent issues.
In-Context Ticketing: Support conversations can happen directly in Slack, keeping communication convenient and comfortable for chat-oriented customers.
Smart Routing: Thena intelligently routes inquiries to the best-suited agents based on expertise, availability, and past performance, speeding up resolution times.
Automated Responses and Tagging: Thena provides pre-set replies, collects customer details, and tags relevant teams, saving time and ensuring efficient handling.
Advanced Analytics: Beyond standard reports, Thena offers deep insights into team dynamics, customer journeys, and predictive data to enhance support strategies.
Integrating Zendesk, Slack, and Thena builds a comprehensive support system for B2B SaaS companies. Precisely, it enhances service quality, facilitates smooth team collaboration, and provides essential insights for ongoing improvements.
Comparing Thena.ai and Zendesk for Enhanced Support Operations
Incorporating Slack and Zendesk into your support strategy can transform workflows, but choosing the right tools for ticket management can elevate that experience even further.
While Zendesk provides a strong foundation for managing customer interactions, adding Thena.ai brings AI-driven enhancements that support faster responses, smarter ticket routing, and deeper customer insights—factors that can significantly impact customer satisfaction and team efficiency.
To help you decide which features best fit your team’s needs, here’s a side-by-side comparison of Thena.ai and Zendesk. This breakdown highlights where Thena.ai’s automation and advanced analytics enhance what Zendesk offers, allowing for more seamless, proactive customer support.
