Encompassing the theme of ‘Relationships are complicated’, the conference was packed with training workshops, breakout sessions, and thought-provoking keynotes by industry leaders, including Zendesk founder and CEO Mikkel Svane, and Naomi Simson, Shark Tank judge and founder of the online experience gift retailer, RedBalloon.

Exploring the complicated relationships we have with customers, with companies, and with each other,  Relative Live provided TechSoup New Zealand and other attendees the opportunity to take part in interactive presentations and workshops, examining the influencers of human relationships such as empathy, customer experience, and the science of satisfaction. 

Zendesk CEO Mikkel Svane spoke of the new era of customer relationships – where business models, consumer relationships and technologies are all evolving – and how the best brands are moving from transaction based to life-cycle engagements with their customers. Svane identified research that shows customers who have had a positive customer experience have a relationship that is 6 times longer than someone who does not have a positive experience. 

“If you give your customers a bad experience, they’ll go elsewhere because it has never been easier,” said Svane. “Providing great customer experience is critical for building long-term relationships that power lifetime value. If you have difficulty justifying why you should invest in customer experience, just look at the direct correlation between great experience and service and lifetime of the relationship with the customer,” Svane added. 

Naomi Simson, who established and transformed RedBalloon from just a tiny online business selling experiences more than 15 years ago to a multimillion-dollar tech giant, and now ranked in the Top 50 Employers by Business Review Weekly – discussed the importance of creating not only a great customer experience; but how your employees must also love and experience your brand. A brand cannot be successful without its people—to create, shape, and deliver on what the brand stands for.

“Those people who have highly engaged teams, people who love what they’re doing everyday, they will also have highly loyal customers,” Simson says.

Passionate about improving the customer experience, TechSoup New Zealand is transitioning to a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, trialing Zendesk’s cloud-based customer support platform offering. The implementation of the new CRM software will enable TechSoup New Zealand to better automate workflows, collect more accurate information, and build stronger customer relationships – forming part of a larger organisational strategy in developing more innovative practices and to be more agile in the rapidly-evolving digital landscape.

“…better relationships should be a driving force in business–whether it’s building a customer-centric culture, creating a unique customer care approach, or using data to drive a better customer experience,” Brett Adam, VP engineering and managing director, Zendesk Australia and New Zealand.

TechSoup New Zealand endeavors to join a community of leaders in customer service, experience, and engagement to truly Relate.

Remember; relationships are complicated.

Has your organisation implemented a new CRM solution, or do you have a customer relationship story? We’d love to hear it! Contact Us

About Zendesk

Zendesk provides a customer service platform designed to bring organisations and their customers closer together. With more than 75,000 paid customer accounts, Zendesk’s products are used by organisations in 150 countries and territories to provide support in more than 40 languages. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, Zendesk has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.