{"id":6204,"date":"2021-04-21T04:55:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T11:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=6204"},"modified":"2021-04-21T04:55:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T11:55:47","slug":"customer-service-will-power-the-grand-reopening-of-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/in\/news\/stories\/customer-service-will-power-the-grand-reopening-of-society\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Reopening: A Catalyst for the Permanent Digital Transformation of Customer Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With wide-scale vaccinations within sight, business leaders must now seize the moment of reopening with both customers and employees. After hunkering down for over a year, people are craving in-person experiences. 96% of consumers plan to shop inside a brick-and-mortar store by the end of this year. Three-quarters plan to stay in a hotel or vacation rental. Sectors such as airlines, hospitality, entertainment, and transportation will come roaring back to life as billions of people around the world begin to travel again, visit museums and baseball games, and go to dentist appointments they\u2019ve held off on for a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The state of service has changed, and many of the changes will be permanent.”<\/span> <\/p>Clara Shih, CEO, Salesforce Service Cloud<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For Service Cloud customers like Sonos, Marriott Hotels, and The Container Store, this pent-up demand creates an opportunity not only to resume pre-pandemic life, but to reset and reinvent what the post-pandemic era will be. Though in-person experiences are in high demand, digital conveniences and behaviors customers grew accustomed to during lockdown are here to stay. The majority plan to continue using curbside pickup or delivery, contactless payments, and online booking\u2013 even in-person experiences will have digital elements. The state of service has changed, and many of the changes will be permanent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are three permanent shifts which leaders of all organizations should consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the shift to all-digital <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A year ago, the world went into lockdown. Business leaders scrambled to pivot their organizations to work-from-home. Across sectors, contact centers were flooded with calls about flight and hotel reservation cancellations, shipping delays, mortgage payment relief, unemployment benefits, questions about Covid symptoms. A lot of the questions and issues people had traditionally gotten answered in brick-and-mortar stores, such as product availability or product returns, were suddenly all diverted to the call center. Call center agents, suddenly working from their kitchen table, simply could not keep up with the surge in call volume. Customers had to wait on hold for hours to speak to a service agent. Something had to give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Overnight, the world shifted profoundly – and irreversibly – toward digital engagement, self-service, and automation. The impact on the world of customer service and support has been enormous.”<\/p>Clara Shih, CEO, Salesforce Service Cloud<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Overnight, the world shifted profoundly – and irreversibly – toward digital engagement, self-service, and automation. The impact on the world of customer service and support has been enormous. At Salesforce, we\u2019ve seen a 706% spike in Einstein Bot sessions over the past 12 months and a similar surge in customer mobile and web chat, messaging, and email. In parallel, we\u2019ve seen the rise of the \u2018Appointment Economy<\/a>,\u2019 empowering customers with the speed, ease, and convenience of scheduling in-person interactions from delivery and curbside pickup to in-store shopping while ensuring proper social distancing. Instead of what were previously ad-hoc interactions, people now choose to schedule appointments ahead of time for everyday events and activities like going to the zoo or a retail shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exciting thing is that digital capabilities are no longer limited to large enterprises. Service Cloud<\/a> is built 100% on Salesforce Platform, the original no-code platform, which means companies don’t need to have a huge team of data scientists and engineers in order to digitally transform with messaging, chat, and bots. With just a few clicks, even the smallest business can have its own customer service bot with our new Pre-Built Einstein Bots<\/a>. 
Little wonder that 81% of decision makers at organizations large and small interviewed for our State of Service report<\/a> say they\u2019re accelerating digital initiatives, and 78% of them say they\u2019ve invested in new technology as a result of the pandemic. A major driving force behind the adoption of digital channels has been the need for call deflection, to address the surge in call volume and customers demanding instant answers and fast resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n

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