Taking Customer Service Seriously

By using a software solution that is focused around the customer service interaction, you can make your service representatives more productive and provide more value to your customers.

If you currently manage service events through systems designed for sales, purchasing, or accounting, you may want to evaluate if your service needs and volume have outgrown your current way of doing things. A new service system may be worth investigating. Remember to start with a Feasibility Assessment first!

The Square Peg in the Round Hole

Does your current customer service process involve customer service reps looking up clients in your ERP or Accounting system and handling service requests or tracking by adding lots and lots of notes or comments? You probably have a system that simply isn’t designed for customer service and is focused more around sales, distribution, or accounting.

Do your sales reps or other employees get information about customer service events by reading lots of notes or comments attached to a customer record? You probably have a system that simply isn’t designed for customer service and is focused more around sales, distribution, or accounting.

Is the way you get statistics or data related to the number of service events your reps handle through tallying lots of notes or comments attached to a customer record? You probably have a system that simply isn’t designed for customer service and is focused more around sales, distribution, or accounting.

There are several focus areas that should be available in the system you use for customer service. Does your system have the proper focus?

Focus on the Customer

Systems designed to increase the effectiveness of customer service focus on the living, breathing customer at the other end of the phone. Not the account number or name, not the billing and shipping address, but the person who is ordering, using, or receiving your product. Contact records attached to each account let customer service reps track interactions with the people at your accounts as individuals and they can quickly look up history and details about the contacts they are talking to and know exactly what their interest is related to your product or service.

Focus on Communication and Cases

Systems designed to help you resolve customer requests allow you to track each request or issue separately. Each request or incident is managed as a case and can have different reps and customer contacts involved, separate histories, and trackable outcomes. All communication (email, phone calls, visits, and documents) can be tracked to the individual case so a complete picture of the solution provided is stored and managed for later reference.

Focus on Terms, Warranties, and Contracts

Systems designed to provide service allow reps to quickly assess the coverage, contracts, warrantees, and service levels that a client is entitled to and track the services applied to each service offering. Current status, renewal dates and up-sell opportunities should be available for discussion each time a customer who is provided service is in communication with a customer service rep.

Focus on Repeatable and Quick Resolutions

Systems designed to lower service cost allow for the creation of knowledge bases of past solutions that can be accessed while service reps are in communication with customers. Knowledge should be provided in a way that allows reps to resolve issues on the first call or provide detail on how the solution will be achieved on the first call. You should be able to identify common problem sets and common solution sets that can be reused and monitored. This can feed to your quality and service product processes.

Focus on Accurate Scheduling

If you are involved with field service, installs, or replacement work, your system should provide you with scheduling capabilities that allow you to schedule teams, and equipment. You should expect the system to account for travel time, time on site, and other dependencies such as pieces of equipment needed for a repair. If you think you are losing revenue or your service times are suffering because you are scheduling people and equipment conservatively, you may want to look at what systems can now provide. Missed appointments, double booked appointments, or delayed appointments can easily be reduced with the correct system.

Focus on Analytics

The last thing your system should allow you to do is to quickly analyze and report on your service activities. This will allow you to improve service and measure the results of changes you make to your service delivery. These analytics should also help you look for opportunities to reduce cost or increase revenue generated by your service area.

Customer Retention in Tough Economic Times

It is more important than ever to retain your current customers. In addition to price as a factor in customer retention, service may play a role in keeping your customers with you. A proper system can facilitate top level service that you can use as a competitive advantage and as a selling point with new customers. Good service is valuable to your customers and you should market your service process to them. If your software facilitates a service focus, you will be able to demonstrate to them that you can deliver what your promise by sharing their service records and your overall service analytics with them.

About the Author: As the Meritide Solution Manager and CTO, Neil Otto provides strategy and guidance to the Meritide organization and its clients. His area of expertise and experience relates to applying software and technology to address and solve business issues and create new business opportunities. He has worked within Meritide's Web Enablement, Open Source, and Microsoft Stack practices and provides senior business and technology architecture consulting for their clients. Click here to see their profile on the Dynamics Community.