Salesforce.com Introduces Next Generation Salesforce Desk.com Support Center, Empowering Fast-Growing Companies to Transform Customer Service with Video

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the world's #1 CRM platform, today introduced the next generation Salesforce Desk.com Support Center, empowering fast-growing companies to transform customer service with video. With the new Video Support Center, any fast-growing company can now deliver video to customers for self-service support from Desk.com. Fast-growing companies including Asana, GetFeedback.com and Susty Party are leveraging Desk.com, the all-in-one customer support app to increase customer satisfaction.

Comments on the News:

• "If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is priceless," said Leyla Seka, GM and SVP, Salesforce Desk.com. "Today customers expect video when it comes to customer service. Now any fast-growing company can use video to provide awesome customer service with Desk.com."  
• "Video is one of the most effective means of providing self-service support," said Kraig Swensrud, founder, GetFeedback.com. "The addition of video as a new Desk.com customer service channel—alongside mobile, social and web—will provide an even better experience for our customers who are looking for fast, clear answers to their support questions."
• "Video is a powerful tool for brands to connect with customers and we're seeing that at all levels at Vimeo, from highly produced branded films to product demo videos," said Michael Weissman, general manager of Creator Platform, Vimeo. "As a Desk.com customer and video hosting platform, we've been integrating videos into support articles and understand first hand its value. We're excited to be part of the new Video Support Center and empower other businesses with Vimeo's affordable professional grade tools to create beautiful, well-crafted video for product overviews, how-to guides, troubleshooting and more."

Transforming Customer Service with Video

The always-connected customer wants fast access to answers, and they will no longer sift through text-heavy documentation or use poor web search tools to find them. Today's fast-growing companies want to provide self-service video to customers to empower them to find answers and resolve issues on their own. The self-service video opportunity is a game changer for companies since there will more than 1.5 billion Internet video users by 2016, according to a report from Cisco[1].

With the Desk.com Video Support Center, fast-growing companies can add video content from any of the leading video platforms to their online customer service strategy to empower customers to find instant, visual access to help. When self-service support is done right, it can not only lower costs and improve productivity but lead to more satisfied customers.

The new Desk.com Video Support Center includes:

• Rich Video Content in a Click: With new rich, embedded video support, companies can now deliver more value to customers and agents, all in a click to transform customer service assets beyond simple text support articles.
• Custom Help Center Design Templates: New responsive templates allow agents to quickly and easily create video help centers in a few clicks that reflect the company's unique brand and can be accessed from any device, at any time.
• Advanced Knowledge Reports: Customer service managers now have new reports and metrics, including video performance, within Business Insights to ensure support teams are deploying the best content for case resolution paired with the most relevant self-service assets available to customers.

In addition, Desk.com customers with a subscription to Vimeo PRO can now embed its HD video player anywhere without disruptive advertising to get in the way of self-service support. Customers will be able to completely customize the player to meet their business needs and use its advanced statistics to understand which videos are most successful according to parameters such as video engagement and country.

Customer Service is the Competitive Advantage

More than 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first five years, according to the Small Business Administration[2]. To avoid being among this statistic, companies must differentiate themselves by delivering exceptional customer service to outpace the competition and drive growth. In fact, this is the #1 priority for emerging businesses, according to a recent Desk.com customer survey.

Fast-growing companies including Asana, GetFeedback.com and Susty Party are leveraging Desk.com, the all-in-one customer support app to increase customer satisfaction. Desk.com empowers companies to instantly deliver amazing customer support across all channels—email, web, phone, mobile and social. Customers on average experience a 42 percent faster response to customers, 38 percent increase in agent productivity, 27 percent decrease in support costs and 36 percent increase in customer satisfaction, according to a Desk.com commissioned customer survey. The full report, "Desk.com Customer Survey: Results & Analysis," is available here.  

Pricing and Availability

• Salesforce Desk.com is generally available today with pricing starting at $30 per month, per agent. Desk.com Video Support Center is included with the Desk.com subscription.

About Salesforce Desk.com

Salesforce Desk.com, a division of salesforce.com, is the all-in-one customer support app for fast-growing companies.

About salesforce.com

Salesforce.com is the world's largest provider of customer relationship management (CRM) software. For more information about salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase salesforce.com applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce.com has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

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"Safe harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements related to, among other things, our plans for features and services in development. The achievement or success of the matters covered by such forward-looking statements involves risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, the company's results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements we make. Further information on factors that could affect the company's results is included in the reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the company's most recent Form 10-K. These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Information section of the company's website at www.salesforce.com/investor. Salesforce.com, inc. assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

[1] http://newsroom.cisco.com/release/888280/Cisco-s-VNI-Forecast-Projects-the-Internet-Will-Be-Four-_1

[2] http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/sbfaq.pdf

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SOURCE salesforce.com