How to improve Customer Service work thanks to Salesforce Service Cloud?

Salesforce Service Cloud – it’s not magic, it’s IT

If anything in the previous paragraph is true, it’s just the description of working reality: many customers, a queue of requests that seem to have no end. In customer service, this is everyday life. And yes, it’s true: requests are never over (until a company shuts down, but it’s not a case we have in mind here).

What you might end up with is a queue of requests that keep getting postponed, consultants constantly whining about the lack of time (“I can’t take it anymore”), and customers complaining, unhappy that it all takes so long.

No miracle is needed, but a proven tool that helps the entire customer service deal with the typical problems they face. A universal tool that: improves the department’s work from an office, facilities its transfer to off-site working (online mode) at any time, or the organization of work in a hybrid model. Such a tool can be Salesforce Service Cloud, designed to support customer service departments.

So, let’s imagine a Customer Service that indeed works like a charm. Almost ? Maybe it’s not perfect but near perfect. What should have happened so that customer service in your company would change as if by magic? Miracles and magic sound tempting, but – as I’ve already written, they aren’t necessary. Because tools such as Service Cloud are not magical, it’s not magic; it’s just IT.

360-degree-view of a customer

One of your customers is now calling Customer Service. “Again, now I have to repeat everything from the start! I wonder how long I will be waiting for a response this time?” Well, the customer hasn’t said anything yet, but probably thought about it. And what about a consultant? Yes, they are as well really enthusiastic about this conversation. “Who is calling? What now?”

But no! This is not what happens anymore. In our new customer service, supported by Salesforce Service Cloud, a consultant, with a smile on their face, answers the call and welcomes a customer by their name. No matter if the consultant works in the office or remotely – he sees on the computer’s screen who calls and what the issue is. The system has identified the customer based on their phone number and displays their to-date history of contact and data such as purchase, complaints, and even who handled their requests until now.

The consultant refers to the most recent request and asks the customer, “How may I help you this time?”

And the customer? Well, finally, they are pleased…

Knowledge base

Again, a customer is calling. Another customer, the previous one, is already handled. The new one introduces themself and starts explaining the issue they are calling with. “Wait a minute. I have just had such a request, where is it? Where did I put it?” The consultant first searches files on the computer in panic and then starts tossing pages of their worn-out notes. Finally, in desperation, they say out loud into open space, “Guys, anyone can help? I don’t know what to do with this request!”

Meanwhile, no one panics anymore in the renewed Customer Service, and no one works with archaic tools such as notes (unless they like to handwrite something down from time to time). Here, Salesforce Service Cloud is used. While listening to the customer, the consultant searches through the knowledge base and, after typing keywords, they find a description of the reported issue and its solution. Even when working at home, the consultant feels confident because they know that there is no need to ask for anyone’s help to deal with a request appropriately. What’s more: we can imagine that the customer hasn’t had called at all since they found the solution by themself. To improve the customer service, a company decided to share with customers the defined part of the knowledge base, for example, with instructions on how to handle some typical issues.

Queueing incoming traffic

And again, a customer is calling. That’s the last time, at least to the needs of this article. The customer hasn’t reach customer service yet, and they already feel discouraged. They don’t know when it’s their turn in line and what is the waiting time. “They’ll put me through between departments and ask questions all over again, though they gathered all the information from me! I’m sick of this company!”

Let’s try from the start, this time with Salesforce Service Cloud. The company took the opportunity to integrate the tool with a PBX (Private Branch Exchange, i.e., business phone system). The result…? The customer calls and, after a while, they hear a nice voice on the phone, welcoming them in customer service. Also, the voice guides the customer through the choice options in an understandable way and encourages them to wait. There are some other people in line before our customer; anyway, the customer enjoys their coffee or tea and patiently awaits to reach customer service – and all that because a nice voice updates the customer that the queue shortens, and so is the waiting time.

What is happening in customer service in the meantime? The peace reigns. Maybe on this particular day, everyone works remotely? Even so, handling customers progresses as planned. Each consultant sees on their screens what is currently happening. And most important, the requests queue is not ruled by accident – it is the system based on scheduled logic assigning customers to the relevant consultant.

Multi-channel service

This time, there are several customers. No worries, it is not an organized group or some trick. Let’s imagine several company customers. One is a traditionalist, so this means that for them, the case is done when it’s dealt on the phone (preferably, on the landline phone). Another customer chooses contact by email, as for evidence purposes, all that matters is written down. And still another one prefers to express service, through a chat or Messenger – talking on the phone seems to be a relic of the past. In such a case, the winner is the traditionalist, since the only way to contact the company is by phone.

Of course, it’s a joke. Thanks to the Service Cloud implementation, our new Customer Service work in the omnichannel model, which means, among many others, that we share with our customers’ various communication channels. Customers decide on their own; nothing is imposed upon them. But what if our traditional customer becomes an enthusiast of smartphones and social media and the email lover yearns the conversation on the phone? They both can switch to a new way of communication. And, still, their to-date history of customer service is preserved.

Measuring work effectiveness and customer satisfaction

Now, let’s get back to the beginning of this article. You are the head of the Customer Service department, and you would give a lot to have everything running like clockwork. But you have this feeling it is exactly the opposite – the situation is out of control, and the office descended into chaos. You’re good at organizing, you work with an experienced team, and you trust your people. But anyway, the work is not that efficient as it used to be, and customers complain about the service. Something is not right. What and where? How to check it? And when, since there is no time for work? “I should quit this job… Yeah, sounds about right!”

Wait… it’s only a bad dream. In the morning, you wake up refreshed and, willingly, you open your computer. Today, you work off-site, just like some of your teammates; some people work on-site, they are at the office. For over one year, the entire Customer Service department uses a hybrid working model, and it works. You look on the screen and see clearly what is going on. You have a picture of the current operations, and you know who takes care of what. At any time, you can familiarize yourself with the team’s current performance and each consultant’s work and reach data for a selected period, even forecasts for the upcoming months. And those customer satisfaction survey results! The level of satisfaction is measured without any additional work contribution and available offhand (thanks to the so-called dashboards), and the results keep getting better!

This wouldn’t be possible if not for the system you work with. The implementation of Salesforce Service Cloud is not a piece of cake but, rarely, changes are painless. Stay tuned to find out how to get through such modifications and what’s to be gained thanks to them. We will get back to you on that.