Top 10: Customer interaction software

2020. Ushur raises $25M for its no-code platform to build customer communication flows



A startup called Ushur has secured $25 million in a Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to $36 million. Ushur has developed a platform that enables businesses to create AI-powered customer communication flows without the need for coding expertise. The startup primarily focuses on the insurance sector, which involves significant customer interactions and data collection during conversations. Ushur's clientele in the insurance industry includes prominent companies such as Aetna, Irish Life, Tower Insurance, and Unum. These organizations leverage Ushur's platform to build chatbots, referred to as Virtual Customer Assistants, automated email response flows known as SmartMail, and tools that enhance the efficiency of customer service agents in providing prompt assistance. Ushur's innovative solutions cater to the specific needs of the insurance sector and empower businesses to optimize their customer communication processes using AI technology.


2020. Tone raises $4M to help e-commerce brands text with their customers



While many companies are embracing chatbots and automation to handle customer communication, Tone takes a different approach by recognizing the enduring value of human interaction, augmented by AI. Tone has assembled a dedicated team of human agents who engage in texting conversations, supported by software tools that assist them in retrieving relevant information. Each agent is assigned to specific brands, ensuring that customers consistently communicate with the same person whenever they have inquiries about a particular business. Tone seamlessly integrates with popular e-commerce systems such as Shopify and Magento. Currently, Tone collaborates with over 1,000 brands, including ThirdLove, Peak Design, and Usual Wines, who have reported remarkable results such as a 26% increase in revenue and a 15% boost in order size.

2020. Podium rolls out payments for its customer-focused local business SaaS service



Podium, a SaaS company based in Utah that specializes in enhancing small business customer interactions, has expanded its product suite by introducing payments technology. This strategic move not only contributes to the company's rapidly growing annual recurring revenue (ARR), but also provides an additional revenue stream. With the integration of payment capabilities into Podium's technology, its customers (the businesses utilizing the software) can now seamlessly collect payments from their own customers. This empowers Podium's customers to efficiently charge for their products and services within the comprehensive framework of the software company's offerings.


2018. Wix launched new suite of products for support, sales and marketing



Wix has introduced a comprehensive suite of management and marketing tools known as Ascend. With Ascend, you can effortlessly handle all your customer interactions in one centralized location. It empowers you to efficiently capture leads, nurture relationships, process payments, and more. Wix is also in the process of developing a workflow editor that will enable automatic responses across your website and other channels based on customer behavior. Ascend by Wix is available as a separate subscription, with pricing options ranging from $9 to $45 per month. While other website builders like Squarespace and Weebly (now owned by Square) have also incorporated marketing tools, Ascend sets itself apart with its ambitious expansion, offering a comprehensive range of 20 products covering chat, memberships, email marketing, and search engine optimization. Some of these products may already exist within Wix but are now consolidated under the Ascend umbrella.


2018. HubSpot added customer service tools to its marketing platform



HubSpot is venturing beyond sales and marketing by officially introducing its Service Hub, a comprehensive solution for managing customer service. This expansion includes an all-in-one inbox for organizing all customer communications, a bot-builder to automate certain customer interactions, features for developing a company knowledge base (which can be utilized by the bot-builder), survey creation tools, and a dashboard for monitoring the performance of your service team. Service Hub is seamlessly integrated with HubSpot's existing products, enabling businesses to track customer interactions across sales, marketing, and support.


2016. Salesforce adds messaging to Service Cloud



Salesforce has unveiled LiveMessage, a powerful tool integrated into Service Cloud that empowers customer service representatives to efficiently handle messaging traffic alongside other customer interactions. LiveMessage currently offers support for SMS/MMS and Facebook Messenger, with plans to expand its capabilities to include additional messaging applications in the coming year. This new functionality is the result of Salesforce's acquisition of HeyWire in September, leveraging the technology acquired from the acquisition. Regardless of the messaging tool used, all message traffic is consolidated within Service Cloud, providing a tabbed view similar to phone or web chats, enabling seamless management of customer interactions.


2016. Office 365 gets its own built-in lightweight CRM


Microsoft has introduced a new tool, called Outlook Customer Manager, designed specifically for business owners utilizing Office 365 and Outlook. This lightweight CRM solution caters to companies seeking to track customer interactions and history, yet may not be ready for a more robust platform like Dynamics 365. With Outlook Customer Manager, businesses can conveniently monitor ongoing tasks and deals directly within Outlook. The tool includes pop-up reminders to assist users in effectively managing their customer relationships. Once activated, Outlook Customer Manager automatically organizes customer-related information, encompassing emails, meetings, calls, notes, files, tasks, deals, and deadlines. This data, derived from email, calendar, and call log data sources, is presented in a timeline format alongside the inbox. Users have the ability to associate specific tasks with contacts, companies, or deals, enabling them to engage with customers promptly. Additionally, the tool can present lists of deals categorized by stage, close dates, priority, and amount, facilitating efficient deal management.


2016. Zoho unveiled Zoho Desk - context-aware help desk software


Zoho Desk is not just a rebranding of Zoho Support; it is an entirely new customer support software that offers a comprehensive view of customer issues within the context of their previous activities and interactions. Having relevant contextual information about customers allows agents to provide better responses. Zoho Desk seamlessly integrates customer information from Zoho CRM into support tickets, enabling agents to have all the necessary details at their fingertips. The system also assists agents in automatically prioritizing support tickets based on customer interactions. Additionally, the software provides ticket filtering options based on criteria such as due time, status, or customer type. When additional assistance is needed, the Team Feed feature comes to the rescue, allowing users to seek help from their colleagues. Moreover, the @mentions feature allows for easy collaboration by involving another colleague in the conversation or assigning the ticket to the appropriate person.


2014. Zendesk adds business intelligence tool



Cloud-based customer service application Zendesk has introduced a new feature named Zendesk Insights. This feature aims to offer companies a deeper understanding of their customer interactions by leveraging data derived from their utilization of the Zendesk service. With this tool, users gain access to pre-built dashboards that provide industry-specific insights. For instance, if the average customer satisfaction score within your industry is 85 while yours stands at 80, it indicates the need for improvement in that aspect. According to Sam Boonin, the VP of Products at Zendesk, this feature sets them apart from competitors who only provide operational reporting. In contrast, Zendesk Insights offers both operational and behavioral data, granting Zendesk a competitive edge in the market.