Salesforce, a global leader in CRM, introduced the next generation of Service Cloud — technology to support changing customer service expectations and provide connected, personalized service from anywhere on one digital engagement platform.
Over the last year, service agents have worked from their kitchens and living rooms, but relied on legacy technology — disparate, on-premise solutions and spreadsheets – that wasn’t designed to manage globally distributed workforces. At the same time, agents were reeling from a monumental surge in the volume of customer requests across all digital channels and new, in-demand experiences like appointment setting and curbside pickup.
Today, parts of the world are beginning to reopen. Reopenings will introduce a slew of new questions around updated policies, protocols and safety measures. This adds a new level of challenge for agents, who will be on the frontlines, and who are contending with increased workloads and more demanding customers. In fact, 82 percent of consumers expect to continue contacting customer service at pandemic-level rates, yet just 36 percent of service professionals feel prepared to handle a surge in
For companies to thrive, they need to make every customer engagement more valuable and empower their service employees to help, whether they are working from home, are in the field, or working in a hybrid model. Salesforce’s’ announcement includes key updates to Service Cloud Voice, Workforce Engagement, Visual Remote Assistant and more, all applicable across industries from retail to manufacturing.
With many contact center leaders planning to maintain remote or hybrid work, old ways of working are obsolete. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed an opportunity to deliver great service from anywhere.
Service Cloud Voice brings together phone, digital channels and CRM data in one central view for service agents, and offers the agent real-time call transcription and AI-powered guidance on recommended next steps. For the first time, customers can connect their existing phone systems into Service Cloud Voice with Service Cloud Voice for Partner Telephony, creating a unified agent and digital channel experience to deliver faster, smarter and more personalized service.
Service Cloud Workforce Engagement is a workforce planning product that uses artificial intelligence to help service leaders predict how many requests will come into the contact center, and on which channels — including phone, email, web chat, text and social. Service leaders can plan staffing needs, matching agents to work based on their skills, availability and shift preference
Field service is undergoing a massive transformation as in-person safety and new precautions become essential for how businesses reopen and effectively stay open. Office buildings, sports stadiums and malls will need to ramp up to address throngs of people excited to be back together in the community. Sectors including food service, manufacturing, sanitation and utilities in particular are increasing their use of Salesforce Field Service to prepare for the surge in infrastructure and servicing.
As companies continue to limit in-person interactions and prioritize employee health and safety, delivering trusted and effective visual support will remain important. Mobile technicians can reduce time on site by using Visual Remote Assistant, which allows technicians and agents to see what the customer sees through video support, so they can resolve complex issues from anywhere.
Service Cloud Workforce Engagement and Service Cloud Voice for Partner Telephony are expected to be generally available in June. Pricing information will be made available at general availability.
Visual Remote Assistant is generally available today.