Salesforce Expands Service Cloud Digital Engagement Capabilities, Equipping Contact Centers with the Data They Need to Drive Growth

Service Cloud innovations harness conversational data to create more comprehensive views of customers so agents can deliver top-tier service and unlock new revenue opportunities

Salesforce today announced Service Cloud Digital Engagement enhancements that will help contact centers unify unstructured, conversational data from disparate digital channels, departments, and devices – all within one platform. Built on the Einstein 1 Platform, these additions make it possible for service leaders to gain a more comprehensive view of customers to better deliver value in every conversation.

Why it matters: Nearly 80% of customers expect consistent interactions with companies, yet 55% say it generally feels like they’re communicating with separate departments, not one company. The average customer engages with brands across eight channels, including chat and messaging, which can lead to inconsistent communications, complex resolution journeys, frustration, and increased churn.

Go deeper: Service Cloud Digital Engagement works to deliver seamless, personalized conversational experiences across channels at scale. Because it connects to Salesforce Data Cloud, which unifies and harmonizes structured and unstructured enterprise and customer data, companies will be able to forge even more meaningful conversations. Enhancements include: 

• Unified Conversations for WhatsApp, which already enables marketers to send targeted promotional messages, will also empower service agents to access a customer’s unified profile and complete conversation history. Where customers would previously need to switch channels when talking to different departments, service agents and marketers will be able instead to work off the same, shared customer profile and provide the customer with a seamless experience in a single messaging thread. For example, after a hospitality brand sends a tailored offer about a flash sale on weekend getaways through WhatsApp, an agent could instantly respond to the customer’s questions all within the same channel.
  
• Omni-Channel on Mobile will give employees the flexibility to work on-the-go and respond to customers on any digital channel from the Salesforce mobile app while ensuring that all conversations are securely logged on the Einstein 1 Platform. For example, retail sales associates could respond to high-value clients from their phone, answering questions using the context of their previous purchase history to help increase repeat transactions and boost customer loyalty.
  
• Bring Your Own Channel will give businesses the ability to integrate digital channels — such as KakaoTalk, Discord, Instagram, and TikTok — into Service Cloud through APIs and connectors. Data from these external channels will be unified and harmonized in Data Cloud, a core part of the Einstein 1 Platform, to provide a complete view of all customer interactions from any source. Global companies can also provide support for LINE – the most popular messaging app in Japan – to reach consumers in new markets.

With Service Cloud built on the Einstein 1 Platform, companies can bring in sales, service, and marketing data on one platform to deliver more relevant customer experiences and drive business growth.

Kishan Chetan, EVP & GM of Service Cloud

The Salesforce perspective: “As customers interact with companies across more touch points and channels, they are looking for more personalization and a higher-touch experience,” said Kishan Chetan, EVP & GM of Service Cloud. “With Service Cloud built on the Einstein 1 Platform, companies can bring in sales, service, and marketing data on one platform to deliver more relevant customer experiences and drive business growth.” 

Reaction to the news: “Being able to see all the communication — chat transcripts, emails, phone calls — on the member’s profile page has totally transformed the agent and member experiences,” said Olivia Boles, Director of Operations Projects at PenFed.

Availability

• Unified Conversations for WhatsApp is generally available now.
• Omni-Channel on Mobile will be available in beta in summer 2024 and generally available for all Digital Engagement channels later in 2024.
• Bring Your Own Channel will be generally available in summer 2024.
• LINE support will be generally available later in 2024.

Learn more:

• Learn more about Digital Engagement
• Explore how customers like Heathrow Airport, PenFed, and Gucci use Digital Engagement
• See how Unified Conversations for WhatsApp brings service and marketing conversations together in a single WhatsApp number
• Discover the latest trends and insights in the Sixth Edition of the State of Service 
• Read the commissioned Forrester Consulting TEI study to see how Service Cloud customers saw a 125% ROI

Any unreleased services or features referenced here are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available.