In today’s digital landscape, technology can enable us to do more with less. By using the right software, we can augment human skills to create processes which are more productive, consistent and accurate.

When many companies are trying to operate on learner principles or overcome resource gaps, this can be a lifeline.

One of the areas this is more prominent is within customer service. Businesses must pride themselves on offering outstanding service to their customers.

However, when customer service isn’t managed well, it can result in overstretched agents dealing with volumes of queries. This results in slow response times and frustrated customers, leading to reputational damage and falling loyalty. Over time, this impacts your ability to thrive as a business.

Utilising customer service software can alleviate these challenges, allowing you to optimise your entire business. We explore how.

What is customer service software?

Customer service software is a tool that helps businesses manage and improve their interactions with customers. It’s designed to streamline support processes, increase efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction.

Using it, you can better:

• Track and manage customer queries: This includes handling customer requests, complaints and questions through various channels like email, phone, chat and social media.
• Organise and prioritise customer issues: Software can assign tasks to the right agents, set priorities and ensure timely responses for improved processes.
• Provide a knowledge base: It can offer a repository of information that customers and agents can access to answer questions, faster.
• Analyse customer data: Some tools gather insights into customer behaviour, preferences and issues, so you can improve service delivery.

By using customer service software, businesses can improve their response times, increase customer satisfaction and reduce the pressure on their agents.

5 ways customer service software optimises your business_

1. Enhance customer relationships_ 

Customer relationships are the lifeblood of a business. Fortunately, customer service software can help you to better manage these relationships and shape them positively. Software achieves this by:

• Greater personalisation: Customer service software can compile a 360-degree view of your customers, allowing you to see their past behaviours and preferences. This allows your business to provide a tailored experience which better meets their requirements and exceeds expectations.
• Improve communication: Some tools offer a centralised dashboard across your communication channels, making it easier to speak to customers where they want. Whether they reach out by email, phone, live chat or social media, you can respond promptly, allowing you to better suit customer needs.
• Resolve issues faster: Customer service software often introduces automated workflows which allows issues to be escalated and responded to faster. This means critical cases are resolved quickly to minimise any damage.
• Feedback analysis: Some tools also contain features like sentiment and feedback analysis. These enable you to proactively address problems before they occur, keeping complaints at bay. It can also help you to improve your service for long-term satisfaction.

2. Boost agent productivity_ 

Most businesses will have limited customer service resource, which means you want the agents you do have available to be able to achieve more. Customer service software can boost their productivity and free them from manual tasks.

• Centralising information: Customer service software places customer data into a centralised location, making it easier for agents to understand the context and get up to speed. This means multiple agents can handle the same case for seamless communication and faster resolution.
• Automated processes: Many tools will offer advanced automation, allowing you to easily assign tickets to agents based on skill, availability and so on. You can also automate repetitive tasks like email confirmations or order updates.
• Improve workflows: Some software can use artificial intelligence to prioritise tickets, allowing your agents to focus on the most critical cases first. On top of this, many tool provide insight into customer service performance, which can allow you to find areas for improvement.
• Encouraging self-service: Using customer service tools, you can build comprehensive knowledge bases and portals that allow customers to manage their own orders or uncover answers. This might even include self-service chatbots. These can free agent time significantly without impeding customers.

3. Improve first contact resolution_

A first-time resolution is crucial to protecting agent time and driving customer satisfaction. Customer service software can make it easier to achieve a first-time fix.

• Centralising information: Tools can centralise customer data as well as internal knowledge base article. This allows agents to quickly gather the information they need, so they can respond to customers swiftly and accurately.
• Getting queries to the right person: With automated routing and escalation, cases get passed to the most appropriate agent quickly. This allows customers to get the answer they need without delay.
• Improved data accessibility: Some software provides real-time customer data, including product updates and system statuses. This allows agent to diagnose issues faster, leading to a quicker solution.
• Uncover patterns: With increased access to data, you can also understand trends and patterns relating to customer service and respond proactively. For example, if the same questions are being asked, you can then create knowledge base articles that allow customers to immediately find answers without contact.

4. Optimise field service operations_

• Improved scheduling: Field service software can provide real-time updates on technician availability, location and job status. This enables it to generate efficient routes, sending the best agent to the job to minimise travel time while matching the right skills.
• Enhanced inventory management: Most tools can provide an up-to-date view of your stock, ensuring that you have the supplies needed to fulfil jobs. It can also allow your agents to check if they have the parts needed before they visit site, and order supplies that are running low.
• Ensure fast repairs: Some tools will also provide knowledge base articles that help them to complete jobs on the go. They can gain mobile access to customer history, helping them to prepare for potential issues and improve the likelihood of an efficient first-time fix.
• Improve customer experiences: Using a dedicated field service platform, customers can also track the arrival of the agent and get real-time updates. This can also remind them about upcoming appointments, avoiding wasted trips.

5. Measure and improve performance_

Customer service software can provide valuable tools to measure and optimise performance across your business areas.

Using it, you can track key metrics like CSAT and NPS scores to determine how satisfied your customers are.

You’ll also be able to monitor things like average handling time, response rates, first contact resolutions and agent performance to identify areas for improvement, allowing you to proactively address issues.

Using this data, you can optimise your customer service, enabling you to drive satisfaction rates and efficiencies. The feedback gathered can also shape your wider business strategy, including the products you create, how you market and sell to customers and beyond.

Choosing the right customer service software_

Customer service software can bring significant benefits – but only if you choose a high-performing solution that suits your business needs.

We’ve put together five tips to help you choose the best software for your business.

1. Define your requirements_

Start by identifying the challenges you face with your current customer service delivery. This might include areas your customers aren’t happy about, or elements that cause agents stress.

You should also set out clear objectives for what you want to achieve with software. What would your ideal solution look like? What would it enable you to achieve?

The combination of your challenges and vision should highlight what you need from your software. Remember to ask your customer service team for their input across this exercise as they’re the ones who’ll be using the software daily.

2. Assess your budget_

Next, you must consider your budget. This will need to cover the initial purchase of the software and any implementation costs, as well as long-term fees like maintenance and upgrades. Some solutions require an annual subscription, so you’ll need to allocate budget yearly.

Many solutions utilise different pricing models, including per user or per ticket. If this is the case, you might need to consider future growth plans, as this could cause the cost of your software to rise over time.

In short, you want to get the best software possible without overstretching your budget.

3. Evaluate features_

Different software solutions come equipped with different features. You need to choose those that best suit your needs and will provide the biggest impact.

Features to look out for include:

• Omnichannel support: This allows you to handle multiple communication channels (including email, phone, chat and social media) simultaneously
• Ticketing system: Look for efficient ticket management, prioritisation and assignment features
• Knowledge base: Evaluate the ability to create and manage a self-service knowledge base
• Automation: Assess automation capabilities for tasks like ticket routing, responses and reporting
• Analytics and reporting: Consider how the platform can generate insights into customer behaviour and performance metrics
• Integration: Check if the software integrates with other tools you might use, including your CRM system

4. Consider scalability_

You need to choose software that can grow with your business. As you bring more customers in, you’ll likely see greater service demands that need to be dealt with.

Review any solution to check how you can add users or whether functionality can be changed and improved as needs evolve. This will allow you to futureproof your software to drive long-term results.

5. Demo and test_

The final stage of any software implementation project should be seeing it in action. Once you’ve shortlisted some vendors you’re interested in, request demos to determine if the software is a good fit.

In some circumstances, the vendor may be able to provide a test environment for your team to assess. Some may also offer free trials or pilot programs.

This enables you to try before you buy and can make it much easier to choose the most appropriate tool for your business.

Optimise your customer service with Dynamics 365_

If you’re looking for customer service software that drives business performance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the market leader. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to enhance customer service operations.

The Customer Service module provides a platform for managing customer interactions, resolving issues and improving overall satisfaction. It gives a unified view of customers across multiple channels, enabling businesses to deliver personalised and efficient service.

Case management features streamline issue resolution, while the knowledge base empowers customers to find answers independently, reducing agent workload. Additionally, the integration of AI and automation enhances agent productivity and improves response times.

For organisations with field service operations, Dynamics 365 Field Service is an invaluable tool. It optimises scheduling, dispatch and inventory management, ensuring technicians have the right parts and information at the right time. By providing real-time updates on job status and technician location, it improves the customer experience and improves first-time fix rates.

Dynamics 365 is also highly connectable across your Microsoft and third-party solutions, enabling it to evolve with your business as you grow and workload fluctuates.

Get started with Dynamics 365_

If you looking to get started with Dynamics 365 Customer Service or Field Service, we can guide you through a smooth implementation.

We are a specialist Microsoft Dynamics 365 partner with a proven track record of tailoring Dynamics 365 for Customer Service deployments across a range of industries. We can help you design and implement a software solution that entirely addresses your needs and drives performance.

We’ll also apply a flexible methodology that consists of robust planning, evolutionary development, efficient budgeting and outstanding communication to ensure the project runs seamlessly, while getting you faster return on investment.

Find out more about Dynamics 365 Customer Service and our support here.