What is Case Management Software?

Customer service has gone digital. While many customers still prefer to resolve customer service issues either over the phone or in person, an increasing number are looking for a company who will meet them across every avenue, including online. In fact, an estimated 67 percent of consumers now use social media networks like Twitter and Facebook to seek resolution for issues.

In the early days of social media, this was a tough challenge for many brands. This was the first time that companies were being called out — both positively and negatively — on public platforms for all to see. And in addition to general comments and reviews, more and more customers were reaching out on these public networks to get answers to questions and resolution for issues.

In response to this, many companies started directing customer service efforts to online channels. As the statistic above shows, we have now come to a time when the majority of consumers are now actively seeking customer service on social media. This means that there are a lot of potential customer service interactions in any given day, and it can be difficult for customer service representatives to keep on top of each social network and respond in a timely, but also satisfactory, manner.

This is where case management software comes in.

Electronic case management software refers to applications that help businesses and nonprofits with managing their customer interactions across social media and other digital channels such as email and contact forms. Using case management software, businesses can automatically collect and organise customer interactions into one easy place, allowing for convenient access and a comprehensive view of each customer.

Most of these kinds of customer support platforms are cloud based, allowing for instant, out-of-the-box use. This means that agents can log into their accounts, and immediately view their cases at a glance, sorted by priority, and manage everything from one place. They can also categorise cases and send them to the best department or person to resolve them. This makes the agent’s job easier, and ensures that each customer gets a quicker resolution to their issue.

This kind of quick resolution is essential, and could give a real boost to any business. In fact, 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. The same study reveals that 88% of customers say good customer service makes them more likely to purchase again.

The best customer support software goes beyond simple case management. This is obviously an essential aspect of choosing a cloud platform, but it should be viewed as a minimum requirement, rather than the main feature. Here are some of the things that you should look for when choosing a cloud-based customer service platform.

As mentioned, case management software is very important, and the best case management software has the following capabilities:

• Automatically track and categorise customer interactions, from every channel.
• Ability to add filters for identifying high priority cases.
• Features for adding notes to cases for easy communication within teams, and assigning to other teams or experts where necessary.
• Customer fields for your business to create unique labels, such as purchases or customer ID.

The solution should have the ability to interface with external systems, using flexible APIs that will allow users to create real-time, bidirectional communication between the platform and relevant applications and networks.

When asked, 91 percent of customers said that they would use an online knowledge base, if it were available and tailored to their needs. Clearly there is a large demand from customers for companies that provide self service portals for customers, enabling them to answer questions without extra help from a company representative.

The solution should provide comprehensive reporting and analysis. Unlike traditional one-dimensional reports, predictive intelligence analytics empower you to turn your insight into action faster. You should be able to connect and query multiple data sources with a robust analytics engine, which gives you new ways to visualise your data and KPIs. This all means that you are able to anticipate needs and make adjustments accordingly.

The ideal platform needs to ensure that outdated technology is never a problem. Regularly upgraded servers, new features and functionality should all be taken care of by the host, benefitting their customers. Furthermore, the system should be adaptable enough to allow for future growth and add-ons, as well as enabling businesses to estimate and predict future costs.

A customer service platform should also aid productivity through automation, categorisation, and the ability to bulk update and close multiple cases at once.

Support for a wide range of devices is essential, both for employees and customers. This allows for 24-hour mobile management of customer support, and more convenient self service options for on-the-go customers.

Many case management systems are designed to cater to specific industries, such as law, health, and government. However, there are five that are widely used throughout Australia.

1. Salesforce: Salesforce is increasingly popular in Australia, particularly with industries that value flexibility and scalability.
2. Infoxchange Client & Case Management: This secure system is designed for community services and is adept at storing client records.
3. Iinsight: This cloud-based software helps to manage client information, billing, and scheduling. It’s popular with the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
4. Clio: The leading case management solution for law firms with expense tracking, billing, accounting, and task management features.
5. SmarterSoft: Australian owned and managed, and can be tailored to specific needs.

Case management systems often include one or more case management tools to support different aspects for case management.

Case management tools are valuable for helping to streamline processes and improve resolution times. They can assist with managing certain aspects of a case (task assignment, reporting, or document management, for example)

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) contains a series of conventional best practices in the field of IT management, related to change management, configuration management, incident management, problem management, and release management.

Since many larger organisations adhere to ITIL guidelines, it’s helpful to use them as a benchmark for choosing a software solution that will scale with your business. ITIL best practices may not always make sense for smaller companies, as they often lack the economies-of-scale that allow larger enterprises to operate efficiently, but they can still be a useful resource for startups that have visions of becoming the next Snapchat or Uber.

Salesforce can be configured to implement ITIL-compliant solutions.