Deliver Connected Experiences To Match Customer Expectations

Traditionally, interactions between brands and their customers were clearly segregated by functions. Marketing and advertising teams would put out mass tv, radio, and display campaigns. Sales teams dealt with inbound and outbound leads, and customer service teams handled post-sales queries and issues. But as technology advanced, more interactive communication channels came up – telephones, emails, SMSs, online chatbots, and now, social media – blurring the lines between department-led customer interactions.

So, today’s customers see brands as singular entities rather than different departments playing specific roles. They can ask customer service agents to recommend the right add-ons to their purchases or complain to sales reps about the quality of their products and services.

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How the pandemic has accelerated the need for these connected customer interactions

The pandemic has induced a sharp spike in customers exploring online platforms and mobile apps to make purchases or book services. Digital payments received a major boost as well. From browsing to comparing, and from ordering to paying and reviewing – customers are exploring a mix of social, digital, and online channels.

If businesses are to stay relevant to their customers, they have to meet this need for seamless omnichannel experiences by delivering connecting customer interactions. Most businesses have found their success mantra in amping up their customer service efforts and aligning sales and service strategies. According to the Fourth Edition of the Salesforce State of Service Report, 88% of service teams today share common goals and metrics with their sales counterparts, creating more connected experiences.

Read these customer success stories to find out how these Trailblazers exceeded customer expectations during the COVID-19 crisis, with a renewed focus on seamless omnichannel experiences and connected customer journeys.

Why businesses struggle to create connected customer interactions

Often, businesses add interaction channels only as an afterthought to keep up with customer demands. They may add a chatbot service to quickly provide answers to online customers or get on social media to foster stronger relationships. But there is no customer engagement strategy to connect these channels and make them work in unison. This leads to fragmented customer journeys and broken interactions.

For instance, when customers have to repeat their issue every time they contact a brand through different channels, it adds to their dissatisfaction.

The challenge to create connected customer interactions arises from:

1. Siloed systems preventing data unification
   Many businesses still depend on local spreadsheets and disconnected systems to maintain their sales records, customer details, customer issues, and other crucial information. Since these systems do not communicate with one another, the data within them stay siloed, never allowing a complete picture of customers and processes to be formed.

2. Lack of cross-functional collaboration causing fragmented interactions
   There is also little to no collaboration between different teams. This leads to misaligned team efforts and strategies. For instance, in the absence of cross-functional collaboration, your social media marketing team may continue to push products to a customer on Instagram. But they may have already purchased, or even worse, be seeking redressal for them. All in all, when your marketing, sales, and service teams don’t have a single view of interaction and transaction histories, it is difficult for them to unify the customer journey.

3. Underestimating service’s role in boosting sales and customer retention
   With changing times, sales and service roles have evolved and come to intermingle.

   According to the 4th Edition State of the Connected Customer Report, 91% of customers say they are more likely to make another purchase after a good service experience. Service teams have become the face of their companies, driving customer interactions at the forefront. Businesses that don’t realise how service teams can make greater contributions to revenue generation miss out on massive growth opportunities.

Technology as the key to delivering connected customer experiences

Technology has driven the evolution of customer interaction, and it also offers the solutions to streamline and connect customer journeys. A potent mix of tools and solutions would include:

• A unified CRM platform that consolidates customer data from across online and offline channels to give all teams – sales, service, and marketing – a 360-degree view of customer profile, history, interests, and interactions.
• Customised reports and dashboards that enable service leaders and agents, sales reps, and marketing teams to view customer data that is most pertinent to their activities and make data-driven decisions.
• Tools that enable real-time, cross-functional collaboration so sales teams can successfully drive service-related conversations, service teams can grab cross-selling or up-selling opportunities, and marketing teams can hyperpersonalise communication – creating holistic customer experiences.
• A self-service portal that allows customers to self-serve routine queries with zero waiting time.
• Support via customers’ favourite messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. This support could be extended using bots or agents.
• Live video support or live agent chat options for personalised, real-time help. These could be embedded into your website and apps.
• Mobile apps for your mobile workers so they have complete visibility into van stock and inventory and job schedules while they’re on the go. This improves the first-time fix rate and enhances the customer experience.

What the future of connected customer interactions looks like

Service is the new sales. As the relationship between brands and their customers evolves, every employee will have to break away from the confines of their job descriptions and become brand ambassadors. At any touchpoint, customers should never feel like they are interacting with different people. And for that, businesses need to realise that tech-enabled, connected customer service is the key to success.

Salesforce Service Cloud is an intelligent, one-stop solution that can transform the way your service teams contribute to your business, equating service with round-the-clock connected interactions. The Lightning Service Console puts all the customer information at an agent’s fingertips, so not a second is lost in offering customers exceptional experiences. Through the console itself, agents can, among other things:

• Monitor and respond to customer posts on social media channels
• Manage phone calls and log notes
• Access the full context of all cases and a record of every customer interaction
• Track customer assets, orders, support history, and more

Service Cloud’s in-built AI engine, Einstein, ensures that the most contextual and personalised recommendations and support are delivered to every customer. Einstein also enables automatic triage and routing, so customers get the experience and attention they require without any delay.

Click here to watch Service Cloud in action.