Transform Your Customer Service Design, Delivery and Operations—Using Accenture’s Service Cloud Quick Start Tool

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In today’s world of fast-changing customer dynamics, companies that fail to enhance their customer service risk losing customers to rivals. But such service transformation efforts could be hampered by high costs and unclear processes for managing them.

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To keep up with today’s technology-empowered and increasingly fickle customers, companies must deliver the highest quality customer services. Service transformation initiatives—many of which draw on social media, analytics, mobility and cloud solutions—can help. But to develop such initiatives, businesses need to quickly identify and address customers’ requirements.

Trends and ChallengesBusinesses everywhere are struggling with customer defections. Accenture’s eighth annual global survey of customer attitudes and behavior reveals that a whopping 62 percent of customers have switched companies in the past year in at least one of the industries covered by the survey. Their reason for jumping ship: poor customer service.

Our survey also shows that nothing upsets customers more than when a company delivers something different from what it promised. Indeed, broken promises can drive 78 percent of a company’s customers to consider defecting (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Frustrated Customers

Having to contact customer service multiple times for the same reason

Being sold other products or services when I contact customer service

Running into business policies that get in the way of my goals

Dealing with customer service agents who cannot answer my questions

Having to repeat the same information to multiple customer service agents

Being on-hold for a long time when contacting customer service

Having a company deliver something different than they promise up front

Dealing with customer service agents who are unfriendly or impolite

Not frustrating at all Extremely frustrating

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

18% 25% 49% 62%

If encountered, very likely to consider switching (score 4 & 5)

71%

70%

64%

65%

77%

73%

78%

5%

2%

12% 19% 65%3%

2%12% 17% 65%3%

2%

13% 22% 61%3%

2%

14% 23% 58%4%

2%

13% 24% 57%4%

2%

16% 25% 53%4%

2%

12% 19% 63%4%3%

3%

1 2 3 4 5

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Customer service value chain

•••

Multi-channel StrategyService Portfolio StrategyBranded Customer Experience Strategy

•

••

Service Operations DesignService Experience DesignService Operations Design

• Manage Customer Interaction• Field Service Work Order

Management• Service Maintenance &

Performance• Call Center Case

Management• Complaint Management

• Service Workforce Management

• Knowledge Management• Workflow Management• Contract & Entitlement

Management

Service Strategy Service Design Service Delivery Customer Service Operations

But our survey generated an equally critical finding: 85 percent of the customers who responded said the customers could have done something to keep them on board after delivering poor service. Two out of three customers who did leave indicated that if the company had resolved their issue on the first contact, they would most likely have stayed. And about half said that if the company had shown appreciation for their business, they would have stayed (see Figure 2).

The message is clear: Today’s customer demands a differentiated product and service experience, from initial contact through post-purchase consumption. Yet many companies continue to pursue a one-size-fits-all service strategy. This approach not only disappoints customers; it also erodes companies’ profitability because it increases customer acquisition costs. With switching on the increase and service shortfalls to blame, companies urgently need a new approach to customer service, especially in the area of service design, delivery and operations (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: The Customer Service Value Chain

Figure 2: Preventing Customer Defection

Resolved my issue(s) in the first contact

Offered me preferential treatment (such as Platinum/Gold service levels)

Recognized and rewarded me for doing more business with them

Yes

No2012 Global

Respondents who agreee that their providers could have done something differently to prevent them from switching due to poor customer service

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

22%

30%

67%

54%

36% 44%

11%

15%

21%

15%

85%Would not have impactedswitching decision (1, 2, 3)

(4, 5, 6, 7)

Would have impactedswitching decision (8, 9, 10)

5

6

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Achieving success through the Service Cloud Quick Start Tool Recognizing the challenges, while appreciating the importance of speed and simplicity, we have developed the Accenture Service Cloud Quick Start Tool.

Accenture’s Service Cloud Quick Start tool can help companies surmount these issues with pace, certainty, strategic agility and a focus on desired outcomes. Informed by Accenture’s experience with complex Salesforce.com implementations and our knowledge in serving global clients across a range of industries, the Service Cloud Quick Start tool helps enable organizations to effectively manage their service transformation initiatives so the projects can start paying big dividends immediately.

The Accenture Service Cloud Quick Start Tool contains the following:

•Service and Support value metrics and KPI’s for business outcome led design.

•Pre-defined leading practice processes and user stories.

•Business requirements and rules for technology enablement.

•Pre-defined variables and design considerations to modify capabilities.

•Pre-configured prototypes to jump start solution design and development.

•Pre-configured reports and dashboards for common service and support operations.

•Project planning, training and communication templates and job aides.

The Service Cloud Quick Start tool operates on the robust Salesforce.com platform. It leverages service transformation leading practices to provide foundational processes and pre-built solutions covering all aspects of the customer service value chain.

Most important, the Service Cloud Quick Start tool helps enable companies to swiftly align their service operations with their customer retention strategies by:

•Shorteningvalidationtimelinesforprocesses and requirements.

•Mitigatingriskthroughprovenbusiness processes and Salesforce.com modules.

•Helpingdecisionmakerstoprioritizeservice enhancements based on strategic objectives.

•Trackingmetricsfocusedonbusiness value, rapid user adoption and business insight.

The Accenture Service Cloud Quick Start tool can help jumpstart your Service Cloud solution and help enable unprecedented speed to market, reducing cost and time to value by up to 40 percent.

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Find out more:

Ami Palan Managing Director, Sales & Customer Services ami.palan@accenture.com

Laura Johnson Manager, Sales & Customer Services laura.johnson@accenture.com

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 261,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.