Salesforce takes the number one spot for cloud customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. Salesforce Service Cloud is one of its three main components. It helps companies manage their service relationships with customers by streamlining essential customer support functions such as tracking and resolving cases and issues.
A Salesforce Service Cloud consultant is that factor that brings the needs and requirements of your customers as a business to reality. The Service Cloud aids customer retention and longevity. As with any other Salesforce component, implementing Service Cloud requires expertise in configuring the software to match specific business requirements around the case and issue management. Salesforce Service Cloud enables businesses to:
- Reduce costs by reducing manual tasks such as entering data into your CRM system or calling an employee over the phone with questions about a case or issue.
- You have smooth workflow automation, which makes for efficiency in your team.
- Salesforce Service Cloud enables you as a business to create a self-help service centre for your customers, making attending to their needs effortless.
- The Service Cloud is equipped with customer service tools like case management, agent workspace, Omni-Channel Routing, and many more.
- Improve customer satisfaction through faster ticket resolution times and fewer wrong calls. This can happen when trying to resolve a problem versus having it escalated to an expert in your organisation who knows their way around everything related to that specific problem/case type/project etc.
- The Salesforce Service Cloud is equipped with tools for customer management and built-in assets.
- Enables your team to gain speed when it comes to service analytics.
- This cloud creates a seamless and connected flow of customer inquiry into a ticket-generating system.
What Does A Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Do?
The Salesforce Service Cloud consultant handles the collecting and implementing of customer needs and requirements. They proffer Service Cloud solutions and use them to solve customer problems. Service Cloud consultants possess the needed knowledge and skills in the contact centre domain. They know how to manage the various tools that come with customer relationship management. This, in turn, makes the process of integrating customer needs smooth.
Salesforce Service Cloud consultants undergo training and undergo testing to equip them with the various knowledge and skills they would need to handle the uniqueness of the Service Cloud. To be a Salesforce Service cloud consultant, you need knowledge of web services, Apex, Visualforce, digital engagement, data mapping and integration, and firsthand knowledge of Salesforce management and administration.
From understanding project lines in Salesforce to possessing problem-solving skills, cloud computing and cloud management, database concepts, analytic skills, and project implementation in Salesforce, you need to have the above skills in the bag as a Service Cloud consultant. The Salesforce Service Cloud consultant role comes with several responsibilities:
- Develops new solutions for customers using the Salesforce Service Cloud platform.
- Provides ongoing technical leadership on projects that span multiple teams across an organisation or industry vertical (such as healthcare).
- Works directly with clients to identify pain points in their business processes, then creates innovative solutions that address those needs while helping them achieve operational efficiencies through automation or other means, all while ensuring compliance with regulations like PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).
As with all other areas of Salesforce consulting expertise, a Salesforce Service Cloud consultant needs to have a deep understanding of how the product works and how it can be leveraged to solve business problems in a customer-centric way. The following are some of the typical areas that a Service Cloud consultant would work on with their clients:
- Designing and implementing solutions for their clients using Salesforce Service Cloud.
- Maintaining these solutions through periodic updates or fixes as needed by the client’s team members.
What Does a Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant Do?
1. Fosters Customer Satisfaction
The Salesforce Service Cloud consultant handles and attends to customer needs (this cannot be overemphasised). Hence they boost and foster customer satisfaction. The tools and excellent features of the Salesforce Service Cloud enable these consultants to achieve the best and bring to life the specifics of your customers.
As a business, when you have happy customers, you can make more profit, retain existing customers, and garner more customers. The Salesforce Service Cloud consultant is that bridge that connects your customers to the point where they can gain confidence in your business and your services. Consultants give expert advice and solutions, creating a more productive space.
2. Implementation or Re-Implementation Of Tools For Service Case Management
One of the things that a Salesforce Service consultant does is implement or re-implementing new tools for managing their service case management process. A case management process is how a business handles customer service cases. It involves moving customers through a series of stages, starting with the initial contact and ending with a resolution. It can include things such as:
- Assessing each case to determine its priority level (1-10).
- Prioritising cases based on their severity and urgency.
- Creating an action plan for each case, including its next steps and deadlines for completion.
A Salesforce Service Cloud consultant can help implement or re-implement these processes by using advanced technology like; ChatterFeeds™ integration, and Salesforce1 Platform components such as;
- ChatterSearch™
- Flow Builder™
- Lightning Experience™
These development tools help to streamline your organisation’s operations by;
- Automating tasks related to managing customer issues across channels like email support or phone calls.
- Automating internal processes, such as prioritising issues based on time spent resolving them.
- Tracking progress throughout the lifecycle.
- Collect data across platforms (SAP) systems, so you know precisely where every step has been taken in resolving each issue and when another person needs assistance.
3. Migration
A Salesforce Service cloud consultant aids the migrating from an existing set of customer service tools to Salesforce Service Cloud. If you are moving from another system, it can be helpful to know what each option does so that you can choose the best one for your needs. You may need to import customers from an existing CRM into Salesforce Service Cloud and then export them out again when they leave.
Or perhaps there is data stored in Salesforce that needs to be migrated to the new service cloud. This process involves exporting all this information and importing it into another system like Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Oracle Sales Cloud (formerly Oracle Business Intelligence).
There are also options for migrating data between two different versions of Salesforce: one version being on-premises while another is hosted by one of their partners. The Salesforce Service cloud consultant makes these migration processes seamless and effortless.
4. Optimisation
The Salesforce Service Cloud consultant handles the optimisation of existing processes within the Salesforce platform. A smooth blend of your business tools, product, and services is imperative as a business, and you can achieve this with Salesforce. A Salesforce Service Cloud Consultant can help optimise your existing processes using the features of Salesforce. You can do more and get more with Salesforce Service Cloud.
For example, they might be able to upgrade or integrate related products within the Salesforce ecosystem, e.g. Knowledge Base or third-party applications that integrate with Salesforce, e.g. Help Scout, Kustomer, Zendesk, Zoho Desk, etc.
5. Upgrading And Integration
As a Salesforce Service Cloud consultant, you will also be responsible for upgrading or integrating related products within the Salesforce ecosystem, e.g. Knowledge Base, or third-party applications that integrate with Salesforce, e.g. Zendesk. It can include:
- Upgrade of existing functionality and add-on modules to support new functionality.
- Migration data from other systems and databases into Salesforce by importing it into Apex classes and processes.
Conclusion
The Salesforce Service Cloud is a powerful tool for any organisation that needs to manage customer service relationships. Whether it’s an employee onboarding process or an automated case management system, Salesforce can help you streamline your processes and make them more efficient.
The Salesforce Service Cloud consultant is the backbone for deploying solutions, providing design solutions, attending to customer needs, and using Salesforce’s exceptional solutions. The incredible thing is that Service Cloud consultants are certified and equipped with the experience and expertise to handle, integrate and implement Salesforce cloud solutions with customer requirements.