Customer expectations are getting higher as they seek great service from businesses. Eventually, there are more customers, channels, and questions that companies have to answer. At the same time, there is an increased need for flexible jobs as many people have been left behind by traditional employment options, which has surged during the pandemic.
$7M investment
New York-based Chatdesk aims to resolve these issues. It helps companies supercharge their customer support with the click of a button by using machine learning. In a recent development, the company announced that it has grabbed $7 million funding in a round led by Cultivation Capital. Also, Harlem Capital, Serena Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Stormbreaker and Fika Ventures participated in the round.
Chatdesk intends to use the proceeds of this round to grow the team, help more brands and create even more jobs.
“I am very impressed with the team at Chatdesk and their innovative approach to solving the challenges of delivering top-tier customer service in today’s ever-changing market,” said Paul Weber of Cultivation Capital.
“Paul’s experience successfully scaling Interactive Intelligence from zero to $430M in revenue and through an IPO and acquisition by Genesys, will be invaluable as Chatdesk continues on this growth trajectory,” said Aneto Okonkwo, Co-Founder & CEO of Chatdesk. “We are incredibly grateful and fortunate to welcome key angel investors like Manik Gupta (Former Chief Product Officer of Uber and now Corporate Vice President at Microsoft), Gary Swart (Former CEO of UpWork / oDesk) as well as Brian Long and Andrew Jones (Co-Founders of Attentive). Joining this team with our already stellar group of existing investors including Partech, Susa Ventures, Slow Ventures, Lunch Partners and Hustle Fund makes us really excited for the year ahead.”
Uses AI to create jobs
Founded in 2018 by Andrew Olaleye and Aneto Okonkwo with combined experience in tech and customer service, Chatdesk intends to bridge the gap between customers and companies. It works create empowering job opportunities while leveraging machine learning to enable brands to deliver best-in-class support. Also, Chatdesk increases revenue and customer satisfaction for brands with AI while providing steady and flexible jobs for the increasingly remote workforce.
While most people believe that Artificial Intelligence will replace jobs that are done by people, Chatdesk puts it to proper use and is one of the few companies that uses AI to create jobs.
Hundreds of leading brands including Thinx, Shea Moisture, Factor Meals, Moo.com and Mented Cosmetics use Chatdesk to scale their customer support efficiently and drive sales.
“Chatdesk has been a great partner for us. They’ve proven to help increase our revenue from social media by driving conversions with best in class customer service.” said Chandra Cooks, Head of Marketing at Mented Cosmetics.
How does it work?
Chatdesk connects with existing customer service systems such as Zendesk, Gorgias, Intercom, Ada, Gladly, Kustomer, and more. Also, it connects with the brand’s social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. By connecting social channels, email, SMS and chat, the company not only clears ticket backlogs but also turns social comments and DMs into over 15% more conversions.
Doing so, the company finds passionate Superfans of a brand interested in becoming Chatdesk Experts and takes care of the hiring, training, and staff scheduling processes. With this, the company instantly scales the customer support team.
As it uses machine learning, it analyses previous support messages to create an ever-evolving knowledge base related to the brand. Chatdesk’s technology seamlessly enables Superfans to respond to customer questions with the brand’s voice and policies. Brands that use this service have touted to have reduced their customer support costs by up to 80% and increased their conversions on Facebook and Instagram Ads by over 15%. Moreover, brands have witnessed a 90% in customer satisfaction.
Growth amidst pandemic
Amidst the pandemic, Chatdesk witnessed a revenue growth of 300% year-over-year, which was driven by a sharp increase in the volume of customer service tickets for e-commerce brands.
Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has increased both the need for customer support and demand for remote work. Eventually, Chatdesk has accumulated a waitlist of over 5,000 people that are excited to become customer support Superfans for the brands on the platform.
