Zendesk, a leading customer service software solution, recently announced a series of exciting updates. Facebook has selected Zendesk as a core CX partner for providing enhanced support to customers across messaging channels. What’s more, Zendesk and Facebook will be working together on new product capabilities and features, like a Messenger API for Instagram.
The strategic partnership is one of the first of its kind in the communication industry. It expands the current partnership with Messenger, and will empower companies to engage with clients, share more information, and respond to questions across all Facebook services for messaging, including Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
As customers make the shift towards messaging as a primary method of communication, over 24,000 Zendesk customers have already demonstrated demand for Facebook messaging channels. Insights from ESG and Zendesk says that companies with the best customer experiences invest in offering various channels to customers. CX-focused organisations are more likely to embrace messaging apps (89%) and social media (87%).
Meeting Customers Where They Are
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Adrian McDermott[/caption]
According to Matt Idema, the COO of WhatsApp, businesses need to be prepared to meet customers where they are in this current landscape. More than 175 million people already message business accounts on WhatsApp to ask crucial questions and gain information. The partnership with Zendesk helps more mid-sized businesses to embrace the messaging environment.
President of Products for Zendesk, Adrian McDermott, said that there’s a growing shift in the way that customers interact with companies. A 50% surge is evident in messaging channels this year. The new messaging capabilities of Zendesk, alongside customisation options and automated workflows, help customers to deliver better conversational experiences across channels for end users.
Partnerships with Facebook and WhatsApp provide Zendesk customers with simple APIs to connect with customers on the channels they use. This ensures that businesses can create seamless conversations on the web and mobile. Companies can add out-of-the-box messaging features to mobile and website apps, so customers have a rich and more engaging experience.
Message conversations will also flow to the Unified Agent workspace, so support teams can respond to and manage customers over any channel in the same single-pane-of-glass environment. This will reduce the risk of customers having to repeat themselves.

