Zingtree: Simplify Customer Service with Action Plans

The Evolving Landscape of Customer Service and Zingtree's Response

Over the last two years, the quality of customer service has become a pivotal factor in a company’s success, particularly as more commerce transitioned online and consumer expectations rose.

Zingtree's Interactive Solution and Recent Funding

Zingtree offers innovative contact center software designed to guide agents toward optimal solutions, ensuring even the most demanding customers receive exceptional support.

To further enhance its product offerings, the company successfully secured $15 million in Series A funding. This round was spearheaded by Conductive Ventures, with participation from Storm Ventures, Madrona, and several angel investors, including Hilarie Koplow-McAdams.

Existing investors, such as Rally Ventures, Parade Ventures, and Vitalize Ventures, also contributed to the round, bringing the company’s total funding to $18.5 million.

The Foundation and Core Functionality of Zingtree

Founded in 2014, Zingtree was created to transform business information into actionable insights for teams. This allows agents to make swift, informed decisions during intricate service interactions.

The platform utilizes no-code decision trees, enabling users to construct comprehensive agent scripts, empower customers to resolve issues independently, and efficiently manage internal processes. As CEO Juan Jaysingh explained to TechCrunch, this results in improved average handling times, higher resolution rates, and increased customer satisfaction.

“A key differentiator is our platform’s accessibility,” Jaysingh stated. “Business users can build and maintain agent scripts without requiring IT or engineering support. Furthermore, our seamless CRM integrations and intuitive interface minimize training requirements for agents.”

Investment Trends in the Customer Service Sector

Zingtree is not alone in attracting venture capital within the customer service arena. Recent months have seen similar investments in companies like Thankful, Sanas, Zendesk, Level AI, and Goodcall.

Factors Driving the Need for Improved Customer Care

Several factors have significantly impacted business and customer care practices in the past two years. These include employee shortages stemming from COVID-19 and the widespread phenomenon known as “The Great Resignation.”

With contact center agents increasingly working remotely, access to in-person subject matter experts, managers, and experienced colleagues has become limited.

Jaysingh emphasized that the pandemic has heightened the importance of robust customer service capabilities. Companies are now challenged with managing customers who are quick to become frustrated and may readily switch brands if they don’t receive prompt, high-quality assistance.

“Failure to address this can negatively impact revenue,” he added. “Moreover, a remote-first culture is now viewed as a competitive advantage in attracting top global talent.”

Zingtree’s Growth and Future Plans

Zingtree experienced substantial growth, with enterprise annual recurring revenue tripling in 2021, following a doubling in 2020. The company is nearing profitability but has chosen to prioritize growth with this latest funding.

Having been bootstrapped for six years, Zingtree secured its first institutional seed funding in 2020 to facilitate business expansion.

Currently, Zingtree serves over 600 customers across 50 countries, facilitating more than 15 million informed decisions each month. Its client base includes prominent brands such as SharkNinja, Groupon, Getty Images, Ricoh, Fossil, and Experian.

While a specific valuation wasn’t disclosed, Jaysingh indicated that the new funding round represents nearly a five-fold increase compared to the previous round a year prior.

The company intends to invest significantly in team expansion, aiming to double its headcount across all departments. Currently employing 46 individuals, up from 10 at the end of 2020, Zingtree plans to reach 70 employees by the end of the first quarter.

Funds will also be allocated to product development, incorporating enhancements like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced data insight solutions. Furthermore, the company will focus on building integrations and partnerships with leading contact center technologies, including current partner Talkdesk.

Board Additions and Investor Perspectives

As part of the investment, Carey Lai, founder and managing director of Conductive Ventures, and Vikram Verma, former CEO of 8×8, will join Zingtree’s board of directors.

Lai highlighted Zingtree’s no-code solution as a key differentiator, praising its ease of use alongside its sophisticated features. He also expressed his admiration for the company’s early success in attracting high-profile customers and its experienced leadership team.

“Successful companies emerge when market opportunities align with the experience, dedication, and vision of their leadership,” he stated. “Zingtree is empowering enterprises to deliver exceptional customer support. For seven years, businesses have relied on Zingtree to help their employees make better, faster decisions while adhering to standard operating procedures. This is a transformative solution for contact centers and support teams handling complex products, stringent compliance requirements, and the need for scalability.”