Complete Guide to Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud holds the solution to deliver quality customer service and address a customer’s requirements. Be it gathering data or enabling service agents to provide better services, implementation of Salesforce Service Cloud is what your business needs. When customers feel satisfied, valued, and supported, they will likely return to and bring in new clients.

Implementing Service Cloud without expert advice might put you in a situation where restoring will take time, capital, and resources. That’s why they say, “Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done, and why. Then do it”. You will discover who to trust to implement Service Cloud in your business model.

Stay on the blog to know what Salesforce Service Cloud Implementation is, why your business needs it, and other essential information to consider before adopting it.

What is Salesforce Service Cloud?

Salesforce Service Cloud is a superior product within the Salesforce product family designed to create a platform for the service team and streamline customer service and support processes.

Automation is a crucial feature that saves time, simplifies workflows and allows agents to utilize AI-backed recommendations and predictions.

By implementing Service Cloud, agents are equipped with powerful tools to respond efficiently to customer questions and inquiries.

Integration of all communication channels, such as phone, chat, email, or social media, gives agents a complete view of customer information. This enables them to quickly access a customer’s purchase and communication history, ensuring they can provide the required assistance.

Why Should You Choose Service Cloud?

Now you have an idea of what Salesforce Service Cloud is. Your next question will be: Why should I go for Salesforce Service Cloud?

Easy. Because there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t. Let us share some of them.

1. Comprehensive and Versatile

Service Cloud is a comprehensive customer service platform that renders various customer interaction channels such as phone, email, social media platforms, mobile, and chat options. Also, teams can take advantage of a holistic view of customer history, enabling them to deliver consistent and personalized service in all channels.

2. Scalable

The scope of scalability becomes very high via Service Cloud as businesses of every size can adapt it to meet their business requirements. Furthermore, with a change in the business size, you can add or remove features, integrations, or functions.

3. Customizable

To create a personalized experience for your teams, Service Cloud allows you to customize workflows, rules, and processes, and automate customer service operations.

4. Smart Analytics

Service Cloud includes advanced analytics and AI capabilities to help you gain insights into customer needs and preferences, predict customer behavior, and automate routine tasks.

5. Secure

Service Cloud is built on Salesforce’s secure cloud platform, providing robust security features to protect your customer data and ensure regulatory compliance.

6. Integrations

Service Cloud can be easily integrated with other Salesforce products, third-party tools, and systems, allowing you to create a seamless and connected customer experience.

Overall, Service Cloud can help you provide exceptional customer service, enhance customer satisfaction, and what else?

Top Features of Salesforce Service Cloud

When asked about the qualities that make a product perfect for different businesses, various requirements come to mind. However, Salesforce has combined the best ingredients to create Service Cloud, which caters to all your business needs.

Here are some key features that make Salesforce Service Cloud the ideal choice:

1. Case Management

Salesforce Service Cloud offers record-keeping for raised cases, enabling the efficient tracking of each case simultaneously. In addition, it provides customers with a platform to put their queries forward and contains essential information about the customer, accelerating the case resolution time at the agent’s disposal.

2. Live Agent Chat & Messaging

The Live Agent feature in Service Cloud deploys 24/7 online agents that promptly provide solutions when a query is received. In addition, live messaging is also available, offering a cost-friendly solution that eliminates the need for a call with the customer, providing solutions solely through messages.

3. Lightning Service Console

The Lightning Service Console is a feature within Salesforce Service Cloud that provides agents with a comprehensive view of the customer, with access to all case-related data displayed on a single screen, thereby increasing agent productivity.

4. Omnichannel Routing

This feature ensures specific tasks are assigned only to expert agents. As the name suggests, Omnichannel routing directs conversations from various communication channels, such as social media, emails, calls, or text messages, to a single platform.

5. Milestones and Entitlements

Entitlements in Service Cloud refers to the feature that guides, manages, and tracks all the requests coming for customer services. It also ensures that all the requests are handled on time.

Milestones are usually time-bound goals defined for each service request depending on the entitlement assigned to it. Managers use Milestones to measure if entitlements are being met due to meeting the service level targets.

6. Knowledge Hub

The Knowledge Hub is an added benefit for Sales and Customer Service employees, providing access to virtual libraries containing informative articles, FAQs, and other resources to assist agents in resolving complex issues. Moreover, Customer Service representatives can share these resources with customers, enabling them to resolve their concerns without direct involvement.

7. Einstein Bots

On the other hand, Einstein Bots are AI-powered bots designed to perform routine tasks and automatically respond to simple queries, freeing up agents’ time and effort to focus on other tasks. These bots are usually integrated with the organization’s CRM and can retrieve complete customer-related data and compile information about a specific customer when a concern is raised for resolution.

8. Mobile Accessibility

Service Cloud provides a mobile application that enables managers and agents to manage cases from anywhere worldwide. In addition, field service allows them to monitor real-time task accomplishment and assess performance based on different metrics.

9. Field Service Lightning

This feature combines case management and task delegation, allowing teams to identify available resources and finish the job quickly. In addition, it offers offline availability, flexibility in work structure configuration, and better customer service.

10. Cloud-Based VoIP

Service Cloud also features Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. Service Cloud Voice is an Amazon Connect-enabled service that provides ready-to-use VoIP infrastructure. This helps customer service supervisors provide agents with more detailed information and insights to improve services over calls.

Industries That Use Salesforce Service Cloud

According to research data, Salesforce Service Cloud, with a market share of 9.48% and a customer base of over 18,000, was ranked #3 in Contact Center Solutions.
Some notable clients of Salesforce Service Cloud include Amazon.com, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Mariott International, Microsoft, SunPower Corporation, U.S. Bank, Walmart, and Athena Health.

Salesforce Service Cloud offers various features that can benefit businesses in different industries:

• Automated processes for sales professionals and agents,
• Active customer engagement,
• Peer-to-peer marketing relationships across multiple channels, and
• Refined workflows in customer support.

If you want to improve your business operations, take a look at the following statistics to see how Salesforce Service Cloud is contributing to your industry:

It is anticipated that the adoption of Salesforce Service Cloud will generate significant revenue for businesses over time, leading to cloud-based CRM software becoming a fundamental aspect of 80% of companies pursuing consistent growth and profitability.

While there has been considerable discussion about why Salesforce Service Cloud outshines alternatives, understanding the process of its execution is equally important.

Salesforce Service Cloud Implementation Process

Service managers and agents can revolutionize their workflows and processes by providing contextual and personalized support to customers.

If you’re considering implementing Salesforce Service Cloud, it’s essential to understand the steps involved in the process.

Fortunately, the Service Setup Assistance feature can help agents develop innovative solutions quickly. Here’s how to get started with Salesforce Service Cloud:

Step 1 – Login to your Salesforce Org and search for Setup in the Quick Find Box.

Step 2 – Browse Service Setup Assistant and click on it once you locate it.

Step 3 – Turn on the Toggle Button, and you will see the change in the status to “in Progress”. To get the latest status, click on Check Status.

Step 4 – You can now use your main support email address or obtain an address to create a new one. Later this email should get added to your email’s forwarding services.

Step 5 – Once your email address has been registered, every mail sent will prompt a new case in Salesforce.

Step 6 – For the next step, click on Add Users and enter the email addresses of all the concerned agents or managers. Now you can assign each user a profile, queues, feature license, etc. Click on complete.

Step 7 – Tada!! A finely configured Lightning Service Console app will be listed in your Salesforce org’s App Launcher. Remember, once you turn on the Assistant, you won’t be able to turn it off. Your other application will not be affected if you turn on the Assistant, nor will it overwrite your current configuration set.

While these simple steps can help anyone get started with Service Cloud, seeking guidance from a team of Salesforce Service Cloud professionals for further customization of features to align with your business processes is recommended.

Benefits of Service Cloud Implementation

Service Cloud is built to address the needs of your current, former, and potential clients who require support for your products or services.

Its main goal is to fulfill various business requirements and provide customers with the best service and interaction experience. But wait, there’s more to it.

These Service Cloud benefits aid Customer Success Managers and their teams in improving customer satisfaction:

1. Secure and Seamless Communication

Customers can securely connect with service representatives through their preferred channel. Agents can also provide personalized support and assistance from a shared view of customers’ information on their dashboards.

2. Integration with Social Media Platforms

Service Cloud connects with all major social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, to enable effective interaction with customers.

3. Efficient Case Tracking

Agents can easily manage and track each case with well-organized dashboards, ensuring errors decrease without compromising service quality.

4. Increased Productivity

Einstein Bots, Knowledge Bases, and omnichannel routing improve how agents work, providing room for growth and upskilling.

Here are 10 Ways To Utilize Salesforce Service Cloud To Its Fullest and discover more benefits than mentioned above.

Best Practices for Service Cloud Implementation

Implementing Salesforce Service Cloud can be overwhelming and complex for users. However, following best practices can help streamline the process and ensure its success. It is also recommended to work with a Salesforce Implementation Partner to mitigate the risk of failure.

Here are some of the best practices to consider before implementing Service Cloud:

Understand and Curate the Process Accordingly

Understanding the ongoing processes of the organization is a fundamental requirement for every project, and the Project Manager must gain a deep understanding of these processes. Each process serves a different purpose, and knowing their importance and how they interconnect with the customer service team is essential. It is also essential to identify any processes that require updating and consider revamping them to avoid unnecessary expenditure of time and money.

Get the Support of Stakeholders

Furthermore, as with any organizational change, implementing Service Cloud may encounter internal conflicts. For promoting the benefits of Service Cloud implementation to both individuals and the organization, these issues need to be dealt with. Convincing stakeholders of the advantages can turn the situation in favor of implementation.

Keep Remuneration on Delivery of the Best Customer Experience

Implementing this approach can yield two significant benefits for the organization. First, it aligns everyone’s goals and ensures a common understanding of the processes. Second, it motivates service representatives to provide excellent customer service by linking remuneration to customer scores. Therefore, it’s necessary to establish clear metrics that regularly monitor customer service quality.

Implement Automation Sensibly

Once the processes are defined, the next step is to automate them using the Service Cloud’s automation capabilities. First, however, ensure that automation aligns with customer needs. Automation frees up agents’ time, allowing them to focus on customers with critical issues and become more efficient.

Source Power of Service Console

The Service Console is a powerful tool for facilitating effortless customer interaction. It provides a comprehensive view of customer information, customizable layout options, knowledge base, customer history, and list views in one place. Case Feed and Chatter also leverage the potential to resolve customer issues efficiently.

Salesforce Service Cloud Pricing

Salesforce provides different pricing options to enable organizations to choose a plan that meets their requirements based on the number of users and functionalities needed to leverage the benefits of Service Cloud.

Following are the service cloud pricing as per different editions:

• Essentials: $25 per user per month (Can get up to 10 users)
• Professional: $75 per user per month
• Enterprise: $150 per user per month
• Unlimited: $300 per user per month.

The enterprise license is widely used among the different licenses available for Service Cloud. This package provides access to various digital engagement tools, field service lightning, and the advanced capabilities of Service Cloud Einstein.

Service Cloud Use Cases

Below are some real-life examples of how Service Cloud has been customized to meet the specific needs of different businesses. Take a closer look at each organization’s pain points and how our experts have tailored Service Cloud to their requirements:

Case 1: Case and Data Management during Increased Demand

A rapidly growing on-demand home service business hires experts who provide various services like carpenters, plumbers, electricians, cleaners, beauticians, masseuses, etc. They utilize a matchmaking algorithm to connect customers with the nearest expert according to availability.

Problems Faced:

• Inability to Manage Incoming Queries: The customer support agents had difficulty keeping track of each incoming inquiry and answering them efficiently due to their large volume, resulting in a loss of leads and increasing customer dissatisfaction.
• Delayed Customer Services: The business needed a tool to speed up response time while maintaining quality, accuracy, and precision.
• Difficulty in Managing Customer Data: Service managers did not want to lose their precious customer data, inquiry information, agent data, reports, and evaluations. Therefore, they had a high-priority requirement for data backup.
• Struggling with Customer Data Management: Due to the enormous amount of data in the system, agents struggled with segregation, often leading to delayed customer service.

Solution Offered:

Service Cloud offers a range of functionalities to address the challenges faced by rapidly growing on-demand home service businesses. These functionalities include:

• Effective Management of Customer Inquiries: Service Cloud implements web-to-case and email-to-case to automatically convert customer inquiries into test cases and assign them to the best agent to resolve them. In addition, pre-written email templates expedite the email-sending process.
• Increasing Knowledge via Knowledge Base: Service Cloud’s Knowledge Base offers resourceful articles, FAQs, and blogs to help agents find the right solution quickly once a problem has been shared, improving their ability to answer customer issues.
• Secure Data Migration: Service Cloud offers a data migration tool to transfer or migrate existing data to Salesforce safely.
• Quick Access to Customer Data: With Lightning Service Console, Agents could access complete customer-related information in a snap on one screen, including ongoing and past conversations. As a result, it stimulates the faster resolution of cases.

That’s how Service Cloud lit a fire in the decelerated processes of On-demand home delivery service providers and accredited their team an opportunity to win their customers’ trust, loyalty, and satisfaction.

Case 2: Streamlining Assignment of Jobs to Field Service Agents

Consider another example where a company provides car wash services through walk-in and doorstep services. The company has multiple car washers or field agents located across the country. Customers can schedule appointments and avail themselves of the services.

Problems Faced:

• Complex Payment Process: Previously, customers had to use third-party platforms to make payments while scheduling an appointment on their website. This created complexities that could be resolved by implementing an internal payment gateway.
• Manual Assignment of Tasks: Field agents were manually assigned jobs, which caused issues with resource allocation and the possibility of double assignments.
• Improper Allocation of Tasks to Agents: As service requests increased, issues with properly allocating tasks to agents with the relevant expertise led to mistakes.

Solutions Offered:

An experienced Salesforce Partner knows what is the right solution for these problems and hence provided the same:

• Internal Payment Gateway: To simplify the payment process, Service Cloud integrated a custom payment gateway using Stripe’s API, which ensured timely and secure cash inflow and eliminated the need for third-party payment platforms.
• Management of Workflows via FSL (Field Service Lightning): Field Service Lightning (FSL) is an effective on-site service and workflow management tool. FSL enables teams to efficiently assign tasks to agents and keep track of their progress. This feature ensures that all service requests are promptly attended to, providing customers with the best possible experience.
• Smart Allocation with Dispatcher Console: The Dispatcher Console and Gantt Chart help service teams delegate tasks by considering filters such as skillsets, scheduling policies, availability, and distance of Car Washers. When a request is raised, it automatically matches it with the appropriate agent, thus eliminating task mismanagement.

By implementing Service Cloud features, the car wash company saw improvements in its communication management flow.

Who Should You Entrust With the Salesforce Service Cloud Implementation?

It’s time to make a decision. When changing the course of business operations, prioritize refining data security and unimpeded processes.

After this extensive discussion, the question of who to trust with a successful implementation of Salesforce Service Cloud arises. You have three options to consider, and the one you choose should be able to provide services that meet your needs:

1. In-house Implementation
2. Hiring a Remote Salesforce Developer
3. Onboarding an Implementation Partner

In our recommendation, the first step can be risky if you are not equipped with Salesforce experts. People with less or no experience with Salesforce Service Cloud implementation might not be able to get you what you are expecting. This will result in reckless spending of time, money, and effort.

The second option is to hire Remote Salesforce Developers, which can also be a good option. But this option will only be viable when your business scale is small or mid-sized.

Almost 47% of companies prefer going for the third option – outsourcing Salesforce implementation services from an expert Salesforce Service Provider. The reason is the implementation will be done seamlessly, and if there comes any error, they will take care of it. Moreover, they will bring the whole bunch of Salesforce administrators, Developers, Business Analysts, Quality Assurance Engineers, Consultants, and Architecture.

What Else Can You Ask For?

Our Experts love to handle your queries and streamline the perfect solution for your service-related problems.

The Closing Words

Salesforce Service Cloud is a powerful tool that can revitalize the growth of businesses mentioned earlier and various other businesses by eliminating redundant tasks and recurring issues while improving customer service efficiency and brand value.

Attempting to implement Salesforce Service Cloud in-house is not recommended as it can be overloaded with keeping data safe, processes aligned, and maintaining service quality simultaneously.

A better approach would be to hire a remote Salesforce Developer or a Salesforce Implementation Partner who can ensure that your Service Cloud meets your needs.

This step can only benefit your team and business, so book a call with our experts today to try it.