Based in San Francisco, CA, Grows Up is an online marketplace that showcases and sells unique, high-quality baby and children goods. The company carefully selects its boutiques from smaller production line manufacturers to give parents the best variety of original clothing, toys, books, and goods for their children and themselves. The Grows Up team is passionate about helping small businesses, providing quality baby and kids’ products, and celebrating families and fun.

Seeking a One-to-One Support Solution

Grows Up launched its business in 2010 seeking to become known for providing outstanding customer support.

“We offer products from a wide range of small boutiques, each with its own unique story,” says Stephanie Robesky, CEO and Founder, Grows Up. “When customers visit our site, they get a warm, personal feeling. From day one, we wanted to back that up with caring, attentive service.”

Grows Up initially considered integrating a community-based customer service tool into its website before deciding to look for a more comprehensive solution.

“As much as we liked the idea of building an online community, we felt it was important for us to have one-to-one communication with our customers,” explains Robesky. “That way, they can feel comfortable contacting us about anything ranging from general product information to specific questions about their orders.”

Customizing for a Seamless Customer Experience

Zendesk’s interface is already familiar to many of our target customers because its trouble ticket software is so widely used among e-commerce companies,” recalls Robesky.

Chatting face-to-face with one of Zendesk’s founders also helped tilt the scales for Robesky.

“I put one of the founders on the spot with a lot of tough questions, and he had all the right answers,” Robesky laughs. “As a startup, we were hesitant to commit fully to a web-based customer service software solution before we knew our official company launch date. Zendesk extended our trial period and offered the flexible pricing model we were looking for.”

Although Grows Up appreciated being able to offer its customers a familiar support interface, the company customized Zendesk’s look and feel to match the Grows Up brand.

“When our customers visit our support site, they don’t feel like they’ve suddenly been sent off to another land,” says Robesky. “Zendesk is easily customized to look exactly like our main site, which helps us provide a seamless customer experience—crucial for a small startup that caters to moms and families.”

Implementing Simple Single Sign-On and API Integration for Shoppers

“Not only is Zendesk a powerful solution, but its flexible API lets us plug in a whole host of other applications,” says Robesky. “That eliminates the need for customers to create multiple logins, which is just one more hassle that can damage the customer experience.”

As a small startup, Grows Up needed to receive the greatest value from its support solution. Robesky believes Zendesk provides a good balance of power and affordability.

“We’re still small, so we don’t need every bell and whistle,” says Robesky. “Zendesk delivers what’s really important at a more reasonable price than competing solutions.”

Standing Out While Growing Up

As Grows Up builds out its business, the company’s business plans are relying on great word-of-mouth marketing. With Zendesk, they are able to stand out—offering their customers special and personalized service.

“If you have one bad experience buying something online, you’re never going to go back to that site,” Robesky explains. “As our company ‘grows up,’ Zendesk will help us prevent those bad experiences from ever happening. With Zendesk, we’ve made it easy for our customers to talk to us, which has always been the most important aspect of our business.”