If you're using one of the big "standard-issue" service management platforms. You might be forced into some very costly Customer Service practices.

For B2B companies, in particular, it is critical to be able to segment the allocation of your firm’s time and attention to your most valuable customers. The issues might include being able to address each customer with individual rules and to accommodate dynamic re-prioritization.

B2B customer journeys often grow complex because they must accommodate the special needs of small percentages of the client base.

Better connectivity and flexibility to the rescue

From a technology and process perspective, segmenting Customer Journeys into standard and specialty tracks can minimize complexity for a majority of clients,

resulting in easier journeys for clients and significantly lower costs. Additionally, customers can realize economies of scale as multiple large complex relationships are facilitated in similar ways to many smaller relationships. Being able to dynamically shift workloads and route customer service traffic without changing the ”sources of truth” or access rules is another way that a flexible Service Optimization Solution can support the kind of transformative processes required.

From a technological standpoint, a solution that can seamlessly integrate across the whole enterprise is essential. In particular, finding solutions that can accomplish this with a minimum of coding and work-arounds will not only save you money, but will help ensure the timely success of your initiative.

Ask your CS/CX platform vendor these essential questions

• How much will you be able to accomplish in-house?

Don’t leave yourself at the mercy of consultants. The more capabilities that exist “out of the box” the better. Look for solutions that allow your team to configure processes, rather than solutions that require extensive custom coding. Solutions that empower your administrators to make decisions and changes save costs and delays of third-party reliance.

• How quickly can you adapt the solution to evolving customer or business needs?

Here too, solutions that require custom coding every time you make a change to your system may be cumbersome. What happens as your customer base evolves...or as systems outside of Customer Service change? Look for solutions that allow for simple interface adjustments vs. prolonged customizations.

• Does your solution allow you to work independent of other teams’ solutions, supporting the necessary autonomy to evolve?

Look for relevant integration capabilities that are easy to understand and develop so that you’ll have maximum flexibility in creating a more rounded solution. (Be careful! Many current technology solutions fall short here. )

Read to learn more?  Why not schedule a free demo and see how Vivantio can elevate your service? 

In the old view, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system was used to house data about customers that could be tapped by sales and service organizations to support their efforts. Other systems—with varying degrees of connectivity and access—might house other customer data relating to things like credit terms, orders in-production, contracts, etc.

While some technologically advanced enterprises have tied more of these data sources directly to their customer-facing teams, there is still opportunity for radical improvements in transparency and access—with the aim of improved customer service and satisfaction.

The value of a Unified Service Management Platform

The concept of a single view into the enterprise has existed for some time, but remains something of a stretch goal for most B2B companies who face challenges such as growth through M&A (thereby inheriting disparate IT solutions), large or multi-national companies whose sprawling operations remain siloed, multi-brand/product companies, etc.

Fortunately, for forward-thinking service organizations, there are technology platforms that can—today—provide needed connectivity and visibility into a Service organization (and many of its adjacent systems) in a comprehensive manner.

Visibility and access—without an ERP overhaul

Vivantio's FLEXBridge integration platform offers users a single, shared back-end architecture and consistent user interface across all integrations— while providing centralized reporting and management. FLEXBridge opens up the Vivantio platform to meet future integration possibilities with other vendors—and customer solutions, whether cloud-based on on-premises.

This type of solution can help your team

• better address all use cases
• track and report on the KPIs essential to improved service
• tailor service provision at the individual customer level

This isn't just for consumer-driven businesses

Today, these consultants suggest that “even traditional business-to-business players in sectors such as chemicals and steel [need to make] bold moves to build dynamic shared digital ecosystems around customer needs.”

Several ways to leverage an "über API" to optimize your customer service

There are several ways a Vivantio/FLEXBridge solution can quickly integrate your solutions—both cloud-based and on-premises tools. Here are three examples:

To learn more or request a live demo, click here.