From Zendesk to Zen: how one manufacturer revolutionised customer support with HubSpot

Case Studies

From Zendesk to Zen: how one manufacturer revolutionised customer support with HubSpot

Narrate this article

2:12

Industry

Manufacturing

HubSpot Licensing

Service Hub Enterprise

About the business

Our client is a national leader in air conditioning manufacturing and distribution, powering comfort in homes across Australia.

Project Timeline

~ 3 months

As one of Australia’s most trusted air conditioning brands, this client needed a service experience as high-quality and reliable as their products. But with siloed systems and a looming Zendesk expiration, their support processes were creating more friction than flow. They needed a scalable, future-proof solution to unify customer service—and fast.

The problem

The business was facing a ticking clock: their Zendesk licence was expiring, and their support systems were fragmented. Each team had its own way of managing tickets, from warranty claims and homeowner support to internal ERP issues and sales enquiries.

Problem 1:

Support teams operated in silos with limited cross-visibility, which slowed down resolution times and created duplicated effort. Different workflows, no single source of truth, and a lack of transparency across tickets made it difficult to meet SLAs or identify bottlenecks.

Problem 2:

The lack of smart automation meant agents were manually chasing follow-ups, triaging tickets, and handling repetitive enquiries. Without a proper Knowledge Base or chatbot, even basic support requests were dragging down efficiency.

The solution

Instead of a simple Zendesk-to-HubSpot migration, we delivered a strategic rebuild of the client’s support operations using HubSpot Service Hub Enterprise. We designed four purpose-built ticket pipelines—Installer Warranty, Homeowner Support, ERP/Internal, and Sales Support—each enhanced with automation for routing, SLA management, and CSAT collection. A smart chatbot integrated with the HubSpot Knowledge Base enabled self-service and intelligent ticket triage, reducing volume and improving response times. To future-proof the solution, we implemented a “train the trainer” model and provided real-time dashboards, empowering the internal team to fully own, manage, and scale their support function with confidence.

The Strategic Plan

The Implementation

Centralisation for Clarity

Automation for Speed

Empowerment for Growth

Centralisation for Clarity

Move all support categories into HubSpot under a unified framework.
Build processes that align with real-world issues like warranties, ERP troubleshooting, and homeowner queries.

Centralisation for Clarity

Move all support categories into HubSpot under a unified framework.
Build processes that align with real-world issues like warranties, ERP troubleshooting, and homeowner queries.

Automation for Speed

Replace manual follow-ups with smart workflows that escalate or route tickets automatically.
Introduce SLA tracking and CSAT triggers to ensure service quality never slips.

Empowerment for Growth

Equip internal champions to own the system with training, cheat sheets, and accessible dashboards.
Set the stage for self-service with a chatbot and Knowledge Base, reducing repetitive enquiries and freeing agents for complex issues.

The Implementation

With Zendesk’s expiration looming, the implementation needed to be fast but strategic. We began with a collaborative discovery phase, auditing every Zendesk ticket type and workflow to understand which processes to carry forward—and which to leave behind.

Next, we built four purpose-built ticket pipelines inside HubSpot Service Hub, reflecting the actual functions of each support team. Each pipeline included automated status changes, internal alerts, and CSAT triggers, ensuring nothing fell through the cracks.

We added a chatbot that could not only answer common questions but also guide customers to the right support channel, using location and issue-type logic. This significantly reduced agent workload and improved time to resolution.

Throughout the rollout, we took a phased approach—starting with internal teams before expanding to installers and homeowners. This gave each group time to adjust and test processes. Training resources, including recorded walkthroughs and cheat sheets, helped internal stakeholders become system champions.

Finally, we enabled live reporting and dashboards for each team, surfacing real-time insights around SLAs, resolution times, and volume trends—giving leadership total visibility and control.

The impact and results

The transformation was immediate—and set up for the long term.

Short-Term Wins:

Drastically reduced back-and-forth through automation and smart routing.
Chatbot + Knowledge Base deflected simple queries, cutting down ticket volume.
Shared dashboards aligned teams, improved visibility, and boosted accountability.

Long-Term Gains:

Support is now centralised, scalable, and far easier to manage across functions.
The business owns its system, reducing reliance on external support.
With automation and data insights, the client is equipped to expand service capacity as the business grows.

The biggest impact? Support is no longer a bottleneck—it’s a business advantage, delivering faster resolutions, happier customers, and a future-ready service function.