Service for Apps  – the Future of In-App Mobile Support

Today Salesforce unveiled several mobile CRM related releases that will significantly improve its CRM usage for its clients on the go.

Companies can now build multi-channel customer service – including live video chat with a customer service agent – into their mobile apps to deliver instant, contextual and connected support. This new Service for Apps is powered by the Service Cloud. As part of this, the CRM vendor also announced its groundbreaking Salesforce SOS, which is similar to the Amazon Kindle Mayday button.  We have heard about this before and now here it is: the first Service for Apps solution, generally available for any company to embed in any mobile app.

Every announcement from Salesforce comes with several success stories and this one is no different: Capital One, Intuit and Eurostar are already harnessing the power of the Salesforce Service Cloud, the world’s #1 customer service app, to deliver the next generation of customer service.

Let me detail what that means for you:

· “The mobile app revolution has created a new requirement for instant, always on service,” said Mike Milburn, SVP and GM of Service Cloud, Salesforce. “With Service Cloud’s groundbreaking innovations, companies will be able to deliver in-app mobile customer support, allowing them to deliver a whole new level of service to customers.”

Today’s mobile-centric world is becoming more and more fueled by the apps that live on smartphones and other connected devices. In fact, 88 % of consumers’ time spent on mobile is in apps—that’s more time spent accessing the Internet on mobile apps than on desktops, or even watching television.

Yet, most companies fail to make mobile a part of the service experience. According to Gartner Research, 20-40% of customer interactions are happening on mobile devices and <5% of customer service is “One and Done” on a mobile device. Today, companies need to connect with customers to provide the best possible service experiences or risk consumers switching to a competing product or service.

1) Introducing Service for Apps

—the Future of In-App Support for the Mobile App Revolution

With the introduction of Service for Apps, Salesforce is accelerating the industry shift to mobile, in-app customer support. With Chat for Apps, Tap-to-Call for Apps, Knowledge for Apps, Cases for Apps and Salesforce SOS for Apps, now any company can instantly embed service right inside their mobile apps to deliver instant, personalized support and the fastest path to case resolution.

Service for Apps includes:

• · Chat for Apps: A customer in distress can instantly message an agent without leaving the app. The agent is also able to easily identify the customer for proper context to resolve a problem quickly. For example, a mobile gamer can chat with a support agent for real-time, personalized advice on a gaming technique, while the agent has the proper context to know which game or level the customer is inquiring about.
• · Tap-to-Call for Apps: With a single tap, customers can access live phone support from any mobile app for quick problem resolution. If a distressed traveler needs to inquire about a missed connection, a simple tap-to-call within an airline’s mobile app connects them to an agent for real-time support without the need to provide personal information, flight numbers and other details. The support session seamlessly traverses from mobile app to phone call, removing the burden for the customer to get the agent up to speed.
• · Knowledge for Apps: Customers can easily access knowledge articles and FAQs without leaving the app, and the best crowdsourced answers can easily be converted into knowledge articles. With Knowledge for Apps embedded into a mobile app, a consumer working on a DIY kitchen faucet repair project at home can refer to frequently asked questions about similar projects provided directly within their hardware store’s app.
• · Cases for Apps: Within a mobile app, customers can quickly create and monitor cases, use the camera and location to provide additional details and receive a notification when the case is resolved. At the same time, agents can view and manage cases from anywhere or easily escalate cases to subject matter experts for the fastest path to case resolution. For example, a citizen can use a city’s 311 app to easily send a picture and the location of a broken sign or street pothole, which automatically generates a repair case so the city can resolve the issue.
• · Salesforce SOS for Apps: Similar to the Amazon Mayday button, Salesforce SOS provides live, personalized and interactive video support, on-screen guided assistance and screen-sharing with an agent. With the Salesforce SOS API, any company can embed service for anytime, anywhere access to instant customer service within any mobile app. With one touch of the SOS button, a field service technician can use the live video feature to summon an expert back at the office for side-by-side guided assistance with an onsite repair.

Desk.com for Apps

Salesforce is also announcing Desk.com for Apps, a new SDK powered by Desk.com, the all-in-one customer support app that helps smaller businesses (SMBs) deliver fast, exceptional customer service. With Desk.com for Apps, SMBs can embed support into their mobile apps. With the ability to include Knowledge and Cases into native iOS and Android apps, smaller businesses can deliver instant access to in-app support for mobile customers.

Comments on the News

· “In the competitive financial services market, every customer service interaction is an opportunity to earn a client’s business,” said Dan Loomis, vice president of digital product management, National Small Business, Capital One. “With Salesforce Service Cloud supporting Capital One’s small business digital products, we have the potential to provide priceless access to instant service for customers as they make critical decisions about their financial futures.”

· “We have transported over 150 million passengers and it is our goal to deliver the best possible customer service experience with each and every journey,” said Antoine de Kerviler, CIO, Eurostar. “With Salesforce Service Cloud, Eurostar equips our agents with the most intelligent tools to orchestrate a seamless and consistent customer service experience across all channels. From the best trains to the best service, our goal is to achieve a consistently excellent consumer experience on any channel.”

Intelligent Routing Engine  – to Exceed Connected Customers’ Expectations

Service for Apps builds on a series of Service Cloud innovations including the Intelligent Routing Engine. With it, cases are automatically routed to agents who specialize in handling cases of a particular type or complexity across every channel, whether it is phone, messaging, social, email or another method of communication. Cases are also routed to agents who have prior experience with that case or customer, so that a customer who calls one week and tweets the next is routed to the same agent. Intelligent Routing Engine automatically understands each agent’s capacity to take on new cases and automatically manages workloads across service teams.

Industry-Defining Companies Deliver Instant Customer Service with Service Cloud

Some companies that have deployed Service Cloud have seen an average of 48% faster case resolution, 45% decrease in support costs, an average of 47% increase in agent productivity and an average of 45% increase in customer satisfaction, according to a recent third-party research report sponsored by Salesforce.   Those are of course significant results that make Service Cloud incredibly attractive to companies which want to revolutionize customer service while cutting cost.

Pricing and Availability

· Service Cloud is now generally available and pricing starts at $135 per user per month.

· Salesforce SOS is the first Service for Apps solution to be generally available and is $150 per user per month with an Enterprise Edition licenses of Service Cloud.

· Chat for Apps, Tap-to-Call for Apps, Knowledge for Apps and Cases for Apps are planned for private beta in the latter half of 2015 and pricing will be announced at the time of general availability. Salesforce customers interested in joining the Service for Apps private beta program should contact their account executive. 

· Desk.com for Apps is currently in private beta and pricing will be announced at the time of general availability.