Ring, ring… Ring, ring
Automated voice answers, Press 1 for…
Me: Can I speak to a customer service representative?
Following the prompts, I enter numbers followed by the # key
Then, I’m connected with a customer service representative (CSR).
CSR: Can you provide your name?
I provide my name and spelling
CSR: How may I help you?
I explain the issue in detail until finally…
CSR: I need to transfer your call to another department.
Me: Okay, Thank you.
New CSR: May I have your name?
Me: UGH, Give name and spelling again
New CSR: How may I help you?
I’m thinking to myself, “Here we go again!”
By this point, I’m frustrated from repeating information to resolve an issue. That’s because I know there’s a better way. I wish the CSR had Salesforce Service Cloud.
Has this ever happened to you — disconnected customer experience/support, and repeating the issue you are experiencing? Or, you place a follow-up call and no one knows what you are talking about as there is no record about your previous call(s)?
Key Salesforce Service Cloud Features
What if you had the ability to increase customer satisfaction, increase customer retention, and provide faster case resolution? Does your current system address changes COVID-19 has created for your service department’s physical working environment?
Now more than ever, companies need a service operations system that can be flexible, easy to use and accessed from anywhere at any time. That system is Salesforce Service Cloud.
Salesforce Service Cloud unifies service department data and systems into a user-friendly interface they can access from the office or while working remotely. This is especially important to enterprise-level businesses operating in multiple business units and geographic regions.
So, what are the cool things Salesforce Service Cloud can do? And, how can it help you achieve your goals for customer satisfaction?
In my experiences as a Salesforce analyst, I have found six key Salesforce Service Cloud features that really resonate with CRM Science clients:
1. Service Cloud Self-Service Portals and Communities
Everyone always puts self-service features further down on the list, but I feel that this should be at the top. Customers more than ever want an answer quickly, efficiently, and on their own terms.
Building self-service portals and communities that look and feel like your brand frees CSRs and service agents to handle more complex issues while empowering clients and connecting with them on a personal level.
Self-service portals and communities allow you to:
Embed knowledge articles
Provide access to integrated data
Create a community of customer experts who can deflect cases from your CSRs and service agents
And much more
If customers are unable to resolve their issues through self-help, you can enable chat or the ability to submit a case online. Your support agents have a 360-degree view of customer portal activity.
2. Salesforce Service Cloud Agent Workspace
Creating a unified view of customer experiences in real time, Salesforce Service Cloud Agent Workspace is an omni-channel console for customer support representatives. The console serves as a one-stop shop for all things CSRs need to:
Understand customers on a personal level
Resolve cases efficiently and correctly with the necessary tools
Within the Agent Workspace, Salesforce users and administrators can access:
Automation
AI-powered next-step recommendations
Connected data
Comprehensive view of case details and interactions
What is important to your agents as it relates to a customer? Do you need separate layouts based on your customer classifications? Creating agent workspaces to handle these scenarios can easily be handled through the drag-and-drop user interface (UI) and prebuilt and/or custom components.
3. Omni-Channel Routing
Time is of the essence when managing customer support cases. Now you can push cases directly into the Agent Workspace, and with Omni-Channel Routing, assign cases to the right agent based on skills and availability. Omni-Channel Routing allows you to set automation rules that deliver cases to the best agent available for each situation.
Your team has the best insight into which agents are best equipped to handle different situations, and you can set rules that combine criteria, like caseload numbers and areas of expertise, to automatically assign cases to CSRs.
In addition, your management team has insight into the service center activity and can monitor and provide assistance to agents as needed.
4. Lightning Flow for Salesforce Service Cloud
Remember my frustrating phone call that started this blog? Using Lightning Flow for Service Cloud prevents the “bumpy” CSR handoffs.
The Actions and Recommendations component is powerful because it shows:
Active screen flows
Field service mobile flows
Autolaunched flows
Quick actions
Recommendations
The component pulls that result from application of a Next Best Action strategy. It’s like a checklist with way more power.
5. Service Cloud Telephony Integration
You can’t go wrong with the increased productivity CSRs gain through Telephony Integration with Salesforce Service Cloud. This applies to any organization — whether using Open CTI, which integrates third-party CTI systems with Salesforce, or Lightning Dialer, which provisions numbers for outbound and inbound calling capability.
Lightning Dialer is an add-on feature that’s available for an additional cost, and there are considerations to make when determining whether to switch or consider alternatives. If you have an existing telephony system, Open CTI would be your go-to solution, and it is browser and platform agnostic.
6. Console Productivity Enhancements
Quick Text and Macros are two of my favorite productivity enhancers.
Quick text allows your users to insert predefined messages in emails, chats, activity, and more. It not only helps to streamline messaging but also standardizes the messaging.
Macros are great for repetitive tasks performed by your agents.
Is there a sequence of tasks CRM users perform when closing a case? For example, CRM users choose a template, send an email, or update case information every time a case closes. With a click of a button, CRM users can complete these actions in one step.
Conclusion and Resources
Setting up your Service Desk requires planning, research, and a great team. Once you have your plan in place, Salesforce Service Setup will help you through Recommended Setup and Guided Set-up Flows.
Trailhead Modules
Contact CRM Science Salesforce Consultants
The CRM Science Salesforce consulting team knows Salesforce Service Cloud inside and out. The team can help you and your team identify requirements, build a roadmap, and, ultimately, implement Salesforce Service Cloud. Contact us to learn more about Service Cloud and how it can take your service capabilities to the next level.
