Zendesk Says Leads Convert 3-4X More with Content

3 minute read

Upland Admin

You’ve probably interacted with Zendesk. Even though—at the time—you may not have realized it.

Zendesk is the world’s leading cloud-based customer service platform, and the mojo behind those stress-relieving confirmation emails you get immediately after filling out an online customer service form.

They power customer service for more than 30,000 companies worldwide from 140 countries, including household names like Disney, Xerox, and Groupon. 

Zendesk isn’t alone in the cloud-based customer support world, but they’re considered pioneers in the space. 

Back in 2007—when the rest of us were still fairly unaware of what the “cloud” meant (and secretly wondered if it was more like a piñata filled with candy)—Zendesk was already anticipating the need for web-based customer service solutions.

Now, Zendesk is not only seen as an industry leader, but also as a thought leader for all things customer service, in part because of their robust content marketing strategy.

I had the opportunity to speak with JD Peterson, Vice President of Marketing, and Monica Norton, Senior Director of Content Marketing to talk about, you guessed it, content.

As it turns out, Zendesk’s content story has some staggering statistics.

The Stats We All Want from Our Content Marketing

“We’ve been doing content since the beginning,” JD says, reflecting on the early days of Zendesk when they produced one-off blog posts and haphazard social updates. At the time, the company didn’t have a formal process, a focus, or any dedicated staff for producing content.

But that was back in 2007 and 2008, when “content” really didn’t carry the same meaning that it does now, JD says.

As the importance of content has increased, Zendesk’s been quick to up their ante, developing a hearty and effective in-house content gang.

The Zendesk Content Team! Photo courtesy of Zendesk

In addition to five full-time content team members, Zendesk has three in-house videographers, a creative team that’s responsible for graphic design, and a bevy of freelance writers. In total, that’s roughly 10 people contributing to content creation at any given time, in a company of 500 employees.

That’s a pretty solid content staff for a company their size, even by Kapost’s standards.

But for Zendesk, it’s worth it, Monica said.

70% of all the leads Zendesk’s marketing department generates come through organic, unpaid sources. Almost all of that can be pinned back to content. 

And more of those leads become sales thanks to….content. 

Zendesk analytics show that people who have interacted with a piece of Zendesk content are up to 3-4 times more likely to convert to a sale, compared to those who haven’t. And some of Zendesk’s original research and statistics have spurred international media coverage that’s ramped up global web traffic and brand awareness.

“That’s the result of a great content strategy,” says JD.

So What Does Zendesk Do to Get Such Great Results?

Monica says Zendesk fully incorporates all channels of modern B2B marketing into their content strategy: webinars, whitepapers, SlideShare presentations, blog posts, and even a Zendesk “Tip of the Week” are part of the mix. They go with the motto “quality over quantity,” only producing pieces that will really resonate with their target audience and markets. 

And finally, they take tips from their own business—customer service. They carefully listen to the needs of their audience, target markets, and customers, and provide answers to their specific questions. 

“At the end of the day, customer service is about providing answers to questions,” JD says. “And that’s really the same way we look at content marketing.”

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