How can Microsoft’s Always On service benefit your business?

The ‘Always On’ service is exactly what it sounds like. It helps your entire business stay connected, including your employees to customers, employees to each other (even across departments and locations) and systems integrations. In this blog post, we’ll be discussing exactly how such a service like Microsoft's can benefit your business. 

1. Consistently excellent, personalised support 
2. Ability to connect frontline workers with other experts 
3. Automated, personalised customer service with chatbots 
4. Smarter field service operations  

1. Consistently excellent, personalised support

Customer expectations might be constantly changing but there are two things they always appreciate - fast responses and a first-time fix. An always on service, like Microsoft's Always On, can help you provide that by allowing you to benefit from intelligent chatbots, integrated systems and seamless data access.  

Here’s a real-life example to put that into perspective… 

Let’s say you’re a smartwatch manufacturer. A customer contacts your customer service team for help regarding their smartwatch which isn’t working as it should. However, their warranty expired recently and they’re wondering if they can receive support post-warranty. 

Before the customer even speaks to a human, a chatbot/virtual agent collects the key information from them which will help your customer service team (saving them time) and filters the queries that require human intervention from the ones that don’t.  

Thanks to a CRM system integration, the chatbot knows which watch model the customer owns and when the warranty expired. The customer will appreciate not having to search for the information by themselves. All they need to do is confirm that the information is correct and tell the bot what the issue is with the watch.  

Using IoT sensors, the bot can perform a full diagnostic report on the watch to identify possible reasons for the device problem. The bot will then use built-in AI to intelligently match the customer’s case with an appropriate, live customer service representative, one who has the skillset to handle this issue. 

The live rep has all the information they need to solve the case, saving them time and ensuring a higher chance of a first-time fix for the customer. If they need to transfer the case to another rep or ask their manager for approval for something (in this case, it could be approval to extend the smartwatch warranty), that rep or manager will also have full visibility into the customer’s profile so they’re fully equipped to make the right decision. 

This is the sort of service and experience you can provide your customers with Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) Customer Service. Using historical context, the system can help your customer-facing teams provide personalised interactions and treat every customer like a VIP. 

Watch Microsoft’s walkthrough below: 

2. Ability to connect frontline workers with other experts

Even your best, most experienced workers may need assistance from other members of their team. But what if the people whose help they require are out of the office that day? What if the worker who requires help is out in the field while the person they need is in the office?  

With Microsoft’s Always On service, it doesn’t matter where your workers are located. Using D365 Remote Assist, your employees can easily connect with other experts in their field and work together, as if side-by-side, to solve problems in real-time. 

How is this possible?  

• With Remote Assist, your employees can share their real-time view with their colleagues. It can be hands-free too, thanks to HoloLens or Remote Assist mobile 
• Integrations with D365 Field Service or Power Platform can capture asset information and bring critical data into view for both employees to see 
• A combination of real-time videos and sharing essential documents and media (e.g. photos and screenshots) makes it easier for both employees to put together a more complete idea of the issue and its resolution 

Microsoft have a brilliant video that demonstrates D365 Remote Assist in action: 

3. Automated, personalised customer service with chatbots

As we mentioned earlier, customers want their questions answered quickly. Even if you can’t resolve their issue instantly or the first time round (though that’s preferable), quick acknowledgement goes a long way.  

An ‘always-on’ service ensures there’s always someone there to help your customers, no matter the time of day or availability of your team. A virtual agent, for instance, can talk to your customers and collect vital information about the case before intelligently matching the case to the appropriate service rep (like the example covered in our first point).  

This not only allows your customers to be instantly acknowledged but also saves your customer service reps time in collecting that information. By the time the case comes to them, they’re already in a better position to solve it. 

Additionally, the bots can group similar cases together which helps customer service managers identify recurring themes before they place pressure on your team. You can use this insight to create automated conversations for these topics, led by your virtual agent, which simultaneously frees up your live team’s time and gets your customer the answer/resolution they require.  

The bot is also smart enough to take user feedback and continuously improve its service. So, your customers are always receiving the best experience possible. Microsoft have a fantastic walkthrough of D365 Virtual Agent which you can watch below: 

4. Smarter field service operations

If your business involves field service operations, Microsoft’s Always On service can help improve your overall quality of service and process efficiency. Using D365 Field Service, you can use the scheduling board as the central hub for all things related to tracking and scheduling.  

This creates a connected field service where you can access real-time data and use it to make smarter decisions like matching the field service technician to a specific task based on their skillset, location, availability, job urgency and the customer’s preferred time.  

This scheduling process can be performed in three ways to suit resource scheduling managers’ needs in the moment: manual, assisted or optimised. Optimised is a great option if you’re short on time - just allow the system’s built-in intelligence to find the best possible match between the technician and the job. 

Watch D365 Field Service in action below: 

Discover how customer expectations have changed and how you can keep up...

Customer expectations are always changing and while they'll appreciate an always-on service, there are some other needs they want you to meet.

Our visual graphic outlines some of the key expectations from modern-day customers, backed with statistics, and the role of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in helping you meet them.

Download it below.