Suspect the utility of Dynamics 365 portals for your business? Well, you couldn’t be more wrong!

Lisa was your star customer service executive last quarter. However, this quarter, the story hasn’t been impressive. Poor feedback from unhappy customers due to ineffective solutions sums up her performance.

Boris, your premium customer, has visibly cut down his engagement with you and the plummeting wallet share confirms this beyond doubt.

33% of American customers switch brands after just a single instance of poor customer support

The two cases point at the same primary area - customer support. Being the CS Head, you are well aware that nothing less than the best service is good enough for your business. Post analysis, you come up with a figurative narrative to explain Lisa’s dismal performance and Boris’s disengagement.

Last month, faced with a payment conflict, Boris contacted your customer helpline. He had paid for a high-ticket purchase but Lisa’s system reflected otherwise. The fruitless conversation that ensued ended with an enraged Boris venting out his frustration on Lisa and threatening legal actions.

It was an above-average problem in the complexity scale and poor Lisa hadn’t handled anything similar in the past. How was she supposed to address it? Does she route it to her senior, disregarding Boris’s time? Does she create a ticket without any immediate effective relief and ask him to wait indefinitely? Does she bury herself in the pile of similar previous cases?

None of the above! Remember, Boris is well-informed of the market offerings and smart enough to switch to your competitor. From expecting a high CLV to being on the verge of losing a premium customer – it didn’t take long.

Exploring the possibilities

Problems arise – Nothing is flawless.

Customer calls – How about deploying a first line of attack before Lisa confronts Boris?

• Tank of troubleshooting tips: An online actionable knowledge reservoir with all potential problems and their solutions organized as docs, videos, and discussion forum data. Its data is pulled from customer forums, social platforms, and in-house contributions. High chances that Boris would find the answer right here.

Only 12% of Americans say they cannot find the information they need in self-service portals.

• Customer self-service capabilities: Let Boris raise a ticket, specify the crucial details, and receive the ticket ID to track its proceedings. Lisa need not enter the scene.

90% of consumers expect an online portal for customer service.

Lisa couldn’t offer a solution – What if none of these helps and Boris chooses to call the helpline? Your reputation rests on Lisa’s shoulders; if she stands up to his expectations - kudos. If not - the brutalities of negative word of mouth aren’t unknown.

Bear in mind – While on the call, Lisa must be aware that Boris is a busy chap – she must keep it short and deliver, regardless of the complexity.

Enter Dynamics 365 portals – The upward spiral to customer-centricity that:

Eliminates the need to contact customer service executives

For Boris

Product Knowledge

Product videos, FAQs, audios, and everything that adds to Boris’s product knowledge and enable him to find a quick fix himself.

Self-Service Capabilities

Dynamics 365 customer portals allow Boris to raise a ticket and monitor its progress effortlessly. Now he doesn’t bother Lisa seeking case updates; mobile accessibility of the portals gets them to him.

Equip him with a unified view of his orders, invoices, and payments. As he filters the invoices by their date, payment status, month, and the date of creation, he would have far lesser reasons to trouble Lisa. The option to store his bank account and credit card details in the portals make future payments easy. The entire customer journey from order placement to delivery is available for him to view.

For Lisa

Higher productivity from effective knowledge management

Dynamics 365 employee portal eliminates the need for Lisa to bug her colleagues or log in to other systems to search for solutions. The AI-based portals now route her to the precise data in the knowledge repository as she enters the problem subject. With just one click, she sends out the relevant information to Boris.

Access to customer data

Grant her controlled access to CRM customer data to so that next time Boris calls, she is aware of the case history, possibilities, customer nature, associated problems, and product pitching opportunities.

Ever wondered why Dynamics 365 portals are called so?

Because they come as out-of-the-box features of Dynamics 365 CRM (not requiring any additional license) and can pull data from the CRM wherever required. They inherit Dynamics 365 CRM attributes like ubiquitous and cross-platform accessibility, multilingual support, and easy configuration.

Using Dynamics 365 CRM but not the portals is just depriving yourself of the wonderful features and conveniences lying latent in the software.

Lisa and Boris are fine, what’s there for me?

Aren’t fewer calls and faster troubleshooting saving you fortunes? Alright, savings and high revenues are distinct areas of interest. How about cost-free product pitching and increased revenues through cross-selling and upselling to Boris and his ilk? It’s effective because rather than reaching out to Boris with your message, he is visiting the platform where you pull the strings.

Finally, you want results

High efficiency – Low call volumes allow Lisa to dedicate more time to customer grievances. Her focus is sharper and she derives higher job satisfaction. Reckon any better way of employee motivation?

Fortunes saved – Fewer calls and no additional license imply lesser manpower and thus lower costs. Cross-selling and up-selling account for higher wallet share.

The upper hand – Channel the saved money to your marketing activities for better visibility and market share.

Happy customers – Can you contest that a happy Boris is the lifeline of your business? Your business starts and ends with him. Dynamics 365 portals are a leap towards optimum customer service so that Boris is not left wanting for more.