When you have to call a customer back, how often does that call-back slip through the cracks?

Do you have a way of knowing when you are about to violate an SLA?

Do you have multi-step processes that have a tendency to stop in the middle or be done out of order?

What happens when a mission critical incident comes from one of your biggest customers?

These are just four scenarios where automation can help you keep your processes in check. These days we need all the help we can get to remember when, how, or why to do something pertaining to our business. Like everyone else, we are incredibly busy. We use our smartphones and online calendars to keep us oriented with our offices. The same type of "calendaring" function can be used to help with customer support processes.

Customer support software with this capability can eliminate some sleepless nights, missed SLAs, handhold important processes, and otherwise really streamline your support function. The less often a human has to remember to do something in the future or in a certain order, the more the chance for error goes down.

Examples:

SLA Deadline:A customer has an SLA that guarantees a response within 24 hours. 18 hours later the SLA is still open. But a notification is sent automatically by the system to the responsible parties letting them know that a deadline is looming.

Autoescalation: A customer has reported an incident that is mission critical. The system automatically escalates the incident to a higher tier of service and notifies the agent involved.

Followup Call: Your agents sometimes need to follow up with a customer in order to close an incident. The system sends a notification for them to call the customer after a specified length of time.

Task automation: You have a process that must be done in order and involved four departments and six steps. A task is created and the first step and agent(s) are notified to begin. Once they finish the step, the system notifies the next person to perform the required next step. And so on. The third step cannot be initiated until the second step is complete. The incident cannot be closed until all tasks are complete.

This is a great tool for compliance. With the government and other regulating bodies increasing the pressure, customers expecting their complaints to be handled appropropriately, and the always present push for higher productivity, this is a tool that could turn your support operation around.