Zendesk + Secure Share: Encrypt Customer Data, Close Tickets Early

Digital transformation in industries like eCommerce, healthcare, fintech, and others has propelled consumers into new experiences and product delivery processes. Though businesses are on the path to improving and streamlining customer experience, many aren’t there yet.

In the meantime, customer service agents act as a buffer—they serve on the front lines finding solutions to everyday problems, and do it with empathy, speed, precision, and security.

2020 hurled forth the paradigm shift; according to Forrester, 53% of support teams saw an increase in support queries from the start of the pandemic to April 2022. But it didn’t stop in 2021, particularly for support agents using Zendesk, ticket volume has increased across all channels, pointedly webform/email (+10%) and chat (+17%) according to the Zendesk’s CX Trends 2022 Report.

In the midst of the chaotic growth of customer service demand, agents using Zendesk have been treading water. Zendesk customer support users have to strike a delicate balance between doing the job fast and doing it securely. For many, this means making a judgment call on how sensitive information is received and shared with customers. 

Sacrificing Security for Speed: A Zendesk User’s Winless Dilemma

In Zendesk, many support workflows require customers to digitally offer their own sensitive data–information like screenshots containing personally identifiable information, account details, log files, etc. 

One way to obtain this information is to request the customer send their sensitive data through email or chat, completely unprotected. Other methods include looping the customer into highly secure yet convoluted file-sharing practices that aren’t built with the user’s experience in mind. 

Both strategies ultimately force customer service representatives to exit Zendesk, and separate sensitive files from the tickets they belong to. This disorganization and lack of security result in elongated workflows and fewer ticket closures within a given amount of time–both metrics that some customer service agents are assessed on. 

Many representatives find creative workarounds that lend to fast-paced ticket closure, a noble cause, but forego vital data security practices that can put both the business and consumer at risk. 

What About The Customer?

Whether support teams choose to sacrifice speed or security to collect sensitive data, what does either option say to the consumer? 

One side of the coin says, “We don’t care about your time.” The other says, “We don’t care about protecting your personal information.” It doesn’t matter if you call heads or tails. The customer always loses. 

Brushes with support teams are pivotal for the consumer; it’s where they make a value judgment. According to Zendesk’s CX trends report, 61% of global consumers surveyed say they would switch to a company’s competitor after just one bad customer service experience. 

Particularly when it comes to secure data practices, a September 2022 McKinsey report showed that a majority of consumers sought out companies with a reputation for protecting data–also indicating that organizations best positioned to build digital trust are more likely to see annual growth rates of at least 10 percent on their top and bottom lines. 

Trust is key. When a customer contacts your support team, you have the opportunity to either build trust through a positive and secure experience, or exasperate their existing issue with your brand, service, or product. There is a litany of factors wrapped into what makes a “good” and “bad” customer experience–both fast and secure information sharing can tip the scale in the right direction. Enter: Secure Share. 

Secure Share: Speedy, Encrypted File Sharing Inside of Zendesk

Secure Share is Virtru’s encrypted file sharing platform that can integrate seamlessly into Zendesk. With one click, customer support agents can generate a unique link to send to customers, where they can easily encrypt and submit the private information needed to resolve their issues. 

No account creation is needed for customers. No complex steps. And no unreasonable file size limits. Even Zendesk agrees that Secure Share helps agents resolve customer issues faster and deliver amazing customer service.  

Integrating Secure Share with Zendesk makes the process of gathering sensitive information from customers faster without compromising security, so you can close support tickets quickly while delivering a positive customer experience.

1. Send Information Requests In Zendesk

Secure Share for Zendesk is a seamless way for customer service and support teams to streamline the collection and sharing of sensitive information-without ever leaving the application. For Zendesk users, Secure Share can be integrated into the Zendesk interface, making it possible to generate a unique file request or sharing link. After generating a unique Secure Share link, representatives can send it to customers using Zendesk to securely request confidential information.

All customers need to do is click on the unique link, upload their files, adjust security settings if needed, and hit send. Customer service representatives simply click on the link again from inside Zendesk to access the needed files. 

2. Secure Share Makes it Easy to Send and Receive Data Securely

Common file-sharing tools might have security on their side, and some might have ease of use. Secure Share for Zendesk has both. 

For customers, Secure Share includes guided directions for both file senders and file requestors, and only takes a few clicks to have sensitive data encrypted and shared with recipients. There's no need for customers to create an account to share files using Secure Share; they can simply click on the unique link, upload their file, and allow it to be encrypted in transit. 

3. Secure Share Links Remain Within Zendesk Ticket

Customers hate repeating their issues or having to resend their personal information. They want to avoid repetitive inconvenience, and feel reassured that you’re keeping track. Zendesk says so itself; after conducting a global survey of consumers, Zendesk found that 71% of their survey pool say they expect a company to share information so they don’t have to repeat themselves.

Unlike sharing information through external file-sharing services or email, files shared using Secure Share for Zendesk can remain linked to the tickets they are related to. Customer service representatives can store their unique Secure Share link within the ticket itself. Should the ticket be reopened or linked to other tickets, administrators or other representatives can access it for reference or audit. 

4. Data Owners Maintain Complete Control of Their Data

Using Secure Share, the data owner (file uploader) maintains complete control of the data even after it is shared. This is true for the customer and the Zendesk user on the other end. Using Attribute-Based Access Controls, data owners can define policies for who has access to the keys protecting the data, for how long, and whether they can add other users. These policies enable granular controls such as revocation, expiration, and disabled forwarding.

For your customer service agents, you can feel confident that sensitive data will remain safe under your thumb, and only be made available to authorized personnel. For the customer, they can feel confident in sharing their data with you, because you’ve empowered them with control over it. 

5. Build Trust

Talk is cheap–but actions are the real thing. Weaving security into the fabric of your customer’s experience will make it apparent that your organization values their privacy and the security of their data. Secure Share for Zendesk provides a reassuring way for your customers to share their important information with you, without completely renouncing ownership of it.

Virtru Is Your "Easy Button" When Sending and Receiving Sensitive Data in Zendesk

Virtru’s Secure Share integration for Zendesk is a simple, time-saving solution for gathering important information from your customers, securely. Beyond Secure Share, Virtru also offers Gateway protection and Data Loss Prevention settings to ensure a safety net of encryption on all Zendesk communications. 

Want to learn more about Virtru’s user-friendly encryption integration in Zendesk? Book a demo with our team today, and check out Virtru Secure Share in the Zendesk Marketplace.