ModSquad Takes Manhattan at Zendesk’s Relate Live

ModSquad team members from across the United States and Europe converged to exhibit at last week’s Relate Live event in New York City. Held by Zendesk, the conference is a gathering of more than 1,000 customer service professionals. We were pleased to be a sponsor of the whirlwind event, which saw Zendesk partners and customers come together to meet, join workshops and training sessions, and attend talks by such featured speakers as Shark Tank’s Daymond John, The Kindness Diaries’ Leon Logothetis, and author Jon Ronson.

Zendesk Founder and CEO Mikkel Svane kicked off the event with a look at the new era of customer relationships. “Customer service is simple,” he said. “It’s about investing in relationships. It’s about doing what’s right for the customer. That’s the end of the story.” One method to do right by the customer is working to provide them with the best experience possible. Most people find it easier to contact a support line during off hours than during business hours, when they’re at work, reasoned Svane. Similarly, if customers are using newer methods of communication, like Facebook’s Messenger app, it’s worth making the effort to be available to them where they already are. It’s a concept that’s been exemplified here at ModSquad — rather than using inherited behaviors, like forcing customers to get in touch with a dated, offshore call center during business hours, we adapt to our customers and follow their lead on the communications channels they prefer. “Rethinking these processes is really healthy for the customer,” noted Svane.

Trust was a recurring theme throughout the weekend. In these turbulent times filled with headlines about fake news and violations of trust, our cynicism and skepticism can carry over into other areas, such as customers’ interactions with businesses. And while technology can take us far in overcoming the trust gap, it’s humans who get you the rest of the way. By building great relationships and simplifying experiences for customers, vendors can make significant progress toward regaining the customer’s trust.

Even the conference’s rundown of recent trends and predictions for 2018 involved matters of trust. Alongside new technologies, which promise to make the customer support journey more cutting-edge than ever before, was the basic human element of trust. We’re no longer working for the people, attendees were told; we’re working with the people. It’s our job to empower customers with the information they need to make choices that reflect their values. We’ll be blogging more about this vital topic in the weeks ahead.

Another highlight was meeting the whip-smart and ambitious representatives of start-up companies showcasing their products and services at Relate Live. Like many of them, we at ModSquad work closely with Zendesk and its users to build out robust support-desk systems, streamline user processes, and maximize each Zendesk instance. We’ll get more in-depth into the offerings and trends we saw at the show in an upcoming post.

To make the most of our time in New York, ModSquad hosted a festive gathering of clients that we dubbed “ModSquad Takes Manhattan.” It was a true delight getting to chat with so many smart, fun-loving, and genuinely interesting folks. We all had such a great time that we blew past our end time by nearly four hours. Our NY-area clients certainly proved how the Big Apple got its reputation as the city that never sleeps!

Thanks to everyone who came to visit us at Relate Live and during our evening celebration. We’ll be back again soon — trust us!