Quickly Connect Zendesk with Salesforce Integration in Minutes

Today we are going to talk about integrating Salesforce with Zendesk using Declarative Webhooks. 

Why Integrate Zendesk and Salesforce?

Streamlining customer service customer service is a crucial element of running any successful business. Providing prompt, knowledgeable, and effective support can be the difference between retaining customers and losing them. That’s why it’s important to have robust customer service software that allows agents to efficiently manage customer issues.

Compared to Salesforce Service Cloud, Zendesk has a lower cost of ownership and focuses on customer service. On the other hand, Zendesk has functionality for chat bots, routing rules and automation, custom objects and even triggers that you can use (does it sound familiar?) similar to Salesforce. There could be a lot of reasons why both systems need to be integrated, so let’s look at the benefits of using both systems effectively:

• Your teams will be more productive when they don’t have to jump between different platforms to get things done. Making sales and service seamless means more time focusing on customers.

• Updates and new information are automatically synced between the systems. Everyone has access to up-to-date, accurate data without manual work. 

• Giving both sales and customer service a 360 degree view of the customer allows them to deliver more personalized, satisfying experiences. Happy customers = success!

• Automated notifications and alerts between platforms keeps communication smooth and helps teams collaborate easily. It’s all about teamwork.

• With data integrated, you get better and analytics. Making smart, data-driven decisions is a breeze.

The Business Case for Integrating Zendesk and Salesforce

Let’s look at a sample business case scenario for integrating Zendesk and Salesforce.

A customer purchases a product online. The order information from the ecommerce platform flows into Salesforce. The customer then contacts support by email when they have an issue with the shipment. This automatically creates a case in Salesforce assigned to the service team.

Via Declarative Webhooks, the new case also generates a ticket in Zendesk linked to the customer’s email and order details from Salesforce.

A service agent claims the Zendesk ticket, communicates with the customer to resolve the issue, and notes the solution in the ticket.

When the Zendesk ticket is updated or closed, this status update is synchronized to the case in Salesforce. Any ticket ratings or feedback also flow to Salesforce.

The service case history is now appended with the complete interaction history from Zendesk, creating a unified record of the issue resolution.

This saves the agent time, provides better service experiences, and gives connected data across platforms – achieving the benefits of an integrated CRM and help desk system. This scenario can let you keep your existing business logic, benefiting from lower cost of Zendesk while using its full features.

Zendesk Salesforce App Limitations

Zendesk also offers a Salesforce app you can install for free depending on your Zendesk license but it has limitations that you should consider. Mainly these are:

• One-way sync only. The app only allows data sync from Salesforce to Zendesk, not vice versa. Changes in Zendesk do not sync back to Salesforce.
  
• Limited to contacts and accounts. Only contact and account records can be synced over to Salesforce. Other Zendesk objects like tickets, groups, etc. do not sync.
  
• No custom object/field syncing. The app does not synchronize custom objects/fields created in Zendesk with Salesforce. Only the default fields are synced.
  
• No logging. With many agents doing work on tickets, it would be very difficult to track down a sync problem without logging.
  
• No real-time sync. The integration relies on scheduled syncs, not real-time. The sync interval can be configured but is typically every 10-15 minutes.
  
• No advanced customization. There is little ability to customize which fields sync or how they map between Zendesk and Salesforce.
  
• Additional costs. The Zendesk Salesforce app requires paid Zendesk accounts on a Professional or higher plan.
  
• Setup and configuration required. Proper setup and configuration is required for the integration to work smoothly.

Declarative Webhooks offers an alternative, two way integration that you can customize and have the same functionality of an API and Code for a fraction of the cost. If you’re looking for a full integration solution that can work seamlessly between two systems, you should consider Declarative Webhooks.

Simple Steps to Integrate Zendesk and Salesforce with Webhooks

Gather Zendesk API Requirements and Authentication Settings

First sign up to a trial account from Zendesk, you can use full features of the platform during the trial duration. Save your Base URL which we will use later in your activation mail or when you are logged in. Example: https://myself1234.zendesk.com

After logging in, head over to Admin Center and search for API. Enable password access for Zendesk API. You can also enable bearer tokens or OAuth connections.

Looking over the API, we are going to authenticate with a basic authentication and make a callout with mapped fields from Salesforce to Zendesk.

Configure the Salesforce HTTP Callout to Zendesk

Add your Base URL to your remote sites at Salesforce setup page and create a Callout Template in Declarative Webhooks app.

Here’s how it should look like:

Callout URL: Base URL/api/v2/tickets

Callout Method: POST
Auth Type: Basic
Username: Zendesk account email

Password: Zendesk password

Main Object: Case

Next let’s set up our headers:

In the next screen, we’re going to map the Case fields we want to submit to Zendesk. Here’s a sample JSON you can import before you map the fields.

Map the Zendesk API Response Back to Salesforce

In the next step we are going to map the response body. Here’s a sample you can use using the Create from sample JSON request button.

In the last step we are going to map the Zendesk Id of our case that is created on the other side to our Salesforce case record that started the callout.

Activate your template if you haven’t already, save your changes and go to Setup > Flows.

Implement Salesforce HTTP Callout to Zendesk with a Record-Triggered Flow

We are going to create a record triggered flow so that whenever a case is created in Salesforce, it will use the Declarative Webhooks template to create the ticket on Zendesk.

We need to provide the id or in this case the developer name of the Callout Template we just created. After this you can save flow and activate it.

Now whenever you create a case in Salesforce, this will create a ticket in Zendesk in real time! 

Here’s mine: 

Oh no, looks like someone’s Salesforce org is on fire. We will help them and solve the case/ticket and reflect back the status updates and satisfaction rate to Salesforce in the next post!

Conclusion

The integration of Salesforce and Zendesk offers a plethora of benefits ranging from enhanced productivity to improved customer satisfaction. The business case scenario illustrated above serves as a practical example of how integrating these platforms can streamline operations and positively impact a business’s bottom line. We are going to continue with more examples and in-depth scenarios in the future. 

I hope this guide will help you as you explore the powerful potential of Salesforce’s Declarative Webhooks. Stay tuned for more posts about innovative Salesforce solutions!