Let Your Customers Expect Exceptional Service with Service Cloud

What is Customer Service vs. Customer Service Support?

Although ‘customer service support’ may seem like a more complex way to say ‘customer service,’ it is actually something different, yet related. While customer service is an umbrella term that encompasses any and all customer interactions, customer service support describes services that assist customers in using a company’s products. This includes planning assistance, installation, training, trouble shooting, maintenance, upgrading, etc.

As an integral part of a business’s overall customer relationship management (CRM) strategy, customer service support is the resolution centre for the company. It incorporates such tools as a customer contact centre, help desk, and call management system, and is designed to be able to provide reliable, prompt customer assistance. This can also extend to customer service technical support, which focuses on helping users who might be encountering problems with the business’s electronic products or services.

Most commonly, customer service support is provided over the phone, but as more and more channels become available to customers, customer service support is expanding to embrace a more multi-channel support base. Through traditional call centres, coupled with live chat, apps, email support, and more, businesses can now offer effective support options wherever their customers are. However, not every support centre is so forward thinking. In fact, only 25% of businesses have a mobile customer support strategy.

Of course, providing assistance across a variety channels is only the beginning. Exceptional customer service support takes properly trained agents, armed with the right tools.

The Right Tools Make the Difference.

The average customer support specialist may deal with hundreds of incoming support request in a single day. Without the tools to manage the high-volume of tasks and responsibilities associated with customer support, your business may do irreparable damage to its brand reputation. 60% of customers have completely stopped doing business with a company as a result of poor customer service, and 95% of those who have negative experiences tell others not to work with the business in question.

Don’t risk your clients or your brand. Turn your support department into something exceptional, with these tools:

1. Knowledge base software
   When clients contact your support centre looking for answers, there’s a good chance that they’ve already been dealing with the problem for a while. Having to wait while your agents track down a solution is the last thing they want. Knowledge base software that can help your representatives access the right data at the click of a button keeps you clients happy, and improves your agent's overall productivity.

   Additionally, knowledge base software that operates out of the cloud allows multiple agents to access and update the same information in real time, meaning better collaboration, quicker resolutions, and happier customers.

2. Ticketing software
   As clients contact your customer service support centre, you need a method for keeping those support request organised. A ticketing system is designed to do just that. As new support requests come in, a specific ticket is automatically generated and tracked through the service process. This ensures that agents always know which customers need what, and which next steps need to be taken.

   Cloud-based ticketing systems likewise use a shared database, so that every authorised user can access the same ticket data, for a seamless customer experience.

    

3. Social support tools
   Social media is one of the most impactful technological advances of the past decade, and its influence on customer support is undeniable. Modern clients have flocked to social media as a way to get directly in touch with the businesses they patronise, meaning that client-conscious support departments need to have a system in place for leveraging social media channels. Social support tools can monitor a variety of social media platforms, automatically routing service requests to appropriate representatives.

   Social support tools that are integrated with a business’s CRM platform can use customer social media data to help create a detailed, 360-degree client portrait. This allows your business to provide personalised customer support, which is something that 69% of consumers say influences their loyalty.

    

   

4. Predictive intelligence
   Although customers appreciate a fast resolution to their problems, they prefer an instantaneous one. Predictive tools that are capable of analysing available customer and product data to deliver highly accurate forecasts and next steps give agents the power to solve client issues before they become problems. Predictive intelligence is at the forefront of customer support technology, giving those businesses who use it a distinct competitive advantage.

5. Self-service options
   67% of customers would prefer to use a self-service system, rather than speak with a support representative. Additionally, 91% would use an online support centre, if it were available and tailored to their needs. Give the people what they want, with self-service support options built into your website or app. FAQ pages, portals, community forums, etc. make it easy for clients to find and share their own answers, without having to get support agents involved. This empowers clients, and saves you the cost of having to expand your business to accommodate a larger volume of support requests.

The tools generally associated with an advanced CRM system are absolutely invaluable when it comes to assisting clients. As such, trusting the world’s most respected CRM provider with your support management needs may be the most important step towards superior customer support.

Salesforce Service Cloud Provides the Tools that Support Your Clients.

In the CRM industry, Salesforce is synonymous with excellence, and now you can can use that expertise to optimise your customer service support department, with Salesforce Service Cloud.

Accessible from any internet-enabled device with full functionality, Service Cloud is a complete customer-service solution. It offers social media, app, and live-chat customer support options, along with the more standard telephone, email, and other channels. While also incorporating advanced ticketing and knowledge-base tools, so that agents can find customer data, ticket information, and product support data quickly and easily.

Service Cloud also incorporates Einstein A.I., an advanced predictive intelligence tool that is designed to analyse large amounts of relevant data to accurately and automatically forecast customer needs. Even more impressive, Einstein uses machine learning to improve itself as it goes, becoming more intelligent with every support case.

Self-service options can be incorporated directly into company websites and applications, giving customers the chance to find their own solutions, and community portals allowing them to share those solutions with other clients.

Combined with the Salesforce CRM standard features, such as advanced analytics, robust reporting options, uncomplicated user interface, and seamless system integration, Service Cloud is the customer service support solution keeps customers satisfied.

Let your clients expect the exceptional.

Whether you’re providing something as complex as customer service technical support, of just answering some basic questions, Salesforce Service Cloud makes it easy, and ensures that your customers get the support they need, to enjoy the services you offer.

Remember: your clients don’t want acceptable support; they want exceptional support. Give it to them, with Salesforce Service Cloud.