Playing to Win Accenture and Salesforce Optimize Customer Experiences with Service Cloud Solutions

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An organization’s ability to acquire and retain high-value customers has long been a cornerstone of high performance. Recent Accenture research1 suggests, however, that this cornerstone of success is not as stable as it once was.

To be sure, businesses’ desire to provide a satisfying and engaging customer experience has not changed. What has changed are consumer behaviors and expectations. Not long ago, customers followed a generally predictable path of discovery, consideration and evaluation, followed by a decision to purchase (or not). Today, with ubiquitous access to content, digital commerce and social networks, consumers don’t follow a linear course. Instead, they navigate an infinite variety of non-linear, interconnecting pathways, crossing many channels along the way. In effect, they no longer choose to enter the purchasing channel; it is all around them—a new type of sales ecosystem that has transformed them into “non-stop” customers.

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With easy access to brand information and others’ opinions, consumers can continually re-evaluate their choices and more easily assess how well a brand lives up to its promise. This has had a profound effect on non-stop customers’ expectations of their providers. According to Accenture’s research, they expect to have greater control of the service process, seamless engagement through multiple—and tightly integrated—channels, and, above all, a differentiated and satisfying service experience. This confirms earlier Accenture research2, which found that:

• 72 percent of customers believe it is important or very important to access customer service using multiple channels.

• 90 percent of consumers either want specialized treatment or don’t care if special treatment is offered to some customers as long as the overall service is satisfactory.

• 82 percent of consumers said they appreciate a company that allows them to customize the products and services they receive based on their personal preferences and situations.

• 91 percent indicated they would choose either standard or self-service support options, as opposed to premium or platinum services that are billed at a surcharge.

Companies that fail to meet these sorts of demands lose customers. In fact, 66 percent of customers abandoned companies across 10 industries from which they purchased goods or services in 2013 due to poor customer service. Broken promises make up the largest cause of discontent. But the manner in which issues are handled is also critically important. Accenture’s recent Customer Tolerance Research3 confirmed that organizations can improve the customer experience by doing three simple things: resolve service issues or failures quickly with offers valued by the customer; offer first-call resolution; and minimize transfers during the issue-resolution process.

Surprisingly, many companies fail to recognize the importance of resolving issues once they occur. They do so at their own peril. Companies that “play to win” recognize that their competitors’

dissatisfied customers are a lucrative—and underpenetrated—source of new growth. In fact, Accenture estimates that this new “switching economy” is worth $5.9 trillion globally. One of the reasons this new market is so large is that most companies significantly underestimate the problem within their own customer base, as well as the role customer service plays in their defections. Tellingly, 82 percent of customers who switched acknowledged that companies could have done something to prevent them from switching.

The good news is that it’s becoming increasingly clear what companies need to do to grow and maintain their customer bases. They must:

• Deliver relevant, differentiated service experiences that engage consumers, reinforce service relevance and build loyalty.

• Allow customers to be in charge by delivering anytime, anywhere support through multiple channels, including social-networking and self-service applications.

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Accenture knows that today’s businesses must adopt new approaches to customer engagement. That’s why we’ve teamed with Salesforce®, the world leader in customer relationship management software. Together, we are helping companies connect with their customers and business partners in entirely new ways to drive revenues, loyalty and higher levels of performance.

Salesforce Service Cloud® is an important component of solutions we deliver to differentiate customer service and empower customers. The industry-leading customer service application, which is built on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, offers comprehensive capabilities that help support organizations’ to exceed their customers’ expectations.

Having Accenture manage your Service Cloud implementation offers a number of benefits:

Expertise in service transformation. We are a leading provider of solutions that help companies transform their end-to-end service capabilities. With assets such as the Accenture Customer Experience Comparative Landscape Capability Assessment Tool and our Customer Service Experience Blueprint, we help our clients not only understand how they compare to their peers in the area of service delivery, but also set a course for making service delivery a differentiating capability and a prime source of competitive advantage.

Accenture helps organizations use Salesforce Service Cloud to gain a 360-degree view of their customers. Specifically, we help clients deploy and optimize Service Cloud so they can:

• Create and track cases coming in (and automatically route and escalate what’s important).

• Enhance customer interactions by using sophisticated account/contact views, case management capabilities, and a salesforce.com CRM-powered customer portal that enables customers to track their own cases and even join in social networking conversations.

• Provide support through multiple channels—from telephone and email to Web-based self-service and popular social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

Playing to win with Salesforce Service Cloud

Benefits of an Accenture deployment Speed to market. With our proprietary delivery toolkits and accelerators, such as our Quick Start Tool for Salesforce Service Cloud, we can implement your Service Cloud solution and configure it quickly to meet your specific needs. This is true, regardless of whether you’re deploying Salesforce Service Cloud as a stand-alone solution or as part of a broader, multi-cloud sales and service transformation.

Multi-channel optimization. Accenture draws on its integrated multi-channel management expertise to provide consumers a seamless—and differentiating—service experience across all touch points. We help you build the sales and service capabilities that will meet your customers’ expectations for relevance and personalized interactions, regardless of how they choose to engage.

Process excellence. We know that a seamless end-to-end business process can increase the speed and effectiveness with which you can resolve problems and improve the customer experience. We draw from our deep process skills and proven agent experience to accelerate cycle times from start-to-close of customer service events. And we optimize the Service Cloud’s built-in knowledge management features so you can quickly identify customer solutions and, as necessary, call upon the right internal resources to manage specialized customer queries.

Tool consolidation. Accenture’s integration architectures for customer service, combined with Service Cloud, make it possible to consolidate a number of customer service and support tools into a single access point, helping agents do their jobs more effectively.

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As market leaders in their respective industries, Accenture and salesforce.com have a dynamic, client-centered partnership that is shaping the future of cloud computing. For nearly 10 years, we have worked together to help hundreds of organizations achieve the full potential of enterprise cloud computing. During that time, our partnership has continually focused on delivering business value and client success by investing strategically in innovative technology and client-centered alliance initiatives.

Accenture is a leader when it comes to Salesforce implementations. We harness proven methodologies and tools to simplify complex, global Salesforce implementations and accelerate project delivery. According to Forrester Research4, Accenture is a leader in Salesforce implementations and their "go-to-market for Salesforce is well-aligned to buyers looking at Salesforce as a strategic enabler of innovation and business transformation." This recognition is borne out by the fact that we are currently driving Salesforce's largest transformation projects.

Whether clients are looking for a stand-alone Service Cloud implementation or a multi-cloud solution, Accenture is prepared to help.

We can offer:

The right people. Accenture has the largest Salesforce practice in the world, with more than 6,000 skilled professionals globally, including more than twice as many certified Saleforce professionals as any other provider. Additionally, we deliver up to 50,000 hours of training each year.

Global reach. Accenture is the leader in delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions because we harness deep onshore and offshore delivery capabilities. Our vast Global Delivery Network offers competitive delivery approaches and an unparalleled global footprint. This means our resources are where you need them—locally, within one of seven Accenture Cloud Centers of Excellence, or in the world’s leading talent hubs.

Unmatched experience. Accenture combines deep skills in service delivery with process knowledge, industry expertise and technology skills to help you quickly and efficiently architect and implement the right Service Cloud solution—and deliver sustainable business value.

Accenture is part of the Salesforce Fullforce Masters Program, achieving six certifications for our recognized expertise in delivering large-scale, enterprise-wide salesforce.com solutions that help companies better connect with their customers.

A proven approach. With a holistic approach that is customer service- and business process-driven, Accenture can help you redefine and optimize your end-to-end service processes—from contact centers to self-service portals and all channels in between. Further, to make it possible for you to fully exploit the agility of Service Cloud solutions, we help define governance approaches that balance speed and control in your customer-facing operational environments. Finally, we know that addressing human performance is essential, which is why we support crucial organizational adoption and change management activities, including the design and development of end-user training.

World-class tools. Accenture applies reusable tools and proven methodologies to speed your implementation and mitigate delivery risks. One of our methodologies, for example, applies a proven, process-driven approach that accelerates the delivery of best-in-class, next-generation solutions. Using predefined end-to-end processes, with key metrics assigned to each, we help you effectively address your most pressing needs and drive your business forward. Other tools include the Accenture Quick Start Tool for Salesforce Service Cloud and the Accenture Reusable Technical Library for Salesforce, as well as numerous technical and functional designs, configuration workbooks, data-migration mapping accelerators and quality assurance methodologies.

Why Accenture and Salesforce?

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Accenture works closely with Salesforce to deliver Service Cloud solutions that enable our clients to achieve high performance. For example:

• We helped a global pharmaceutical company establish a new call center based on the Salesforce Service Cloud platform. This solution has helped the company reduce costs, increase efficiencies and better respond to its customers’ needs.

• We helped a large retailer reinvent its customer service capabilities by implementing the Salesforce Service Cloud to create the flexibility to keep up with the demands of its customer base and provide a stronger customer and agent experience.

• We teamed with a global specialist in energy management to design, implement and deploy a unique Salesforce CRM solution for more than 25,000 users in more than 100 countries within 20 months.

As today’s “non-stop” consumers become demanding and fickle, giving them the best experience possible has become a business fundamental. Yet, delivering consistent and relevant customer experiences at scale and across multiple channels and devices is a challenge, even for the most seasoned customer-facing business.

1. Accenture, “The Digital Customer: It’s Time to Play to Win - The Global Consumer Pulse Research,” 2013, http://www.accenture.com/Microsites/global-consumer-pulse-research/Pages/home.aspx

2. Accenture, “Building a Differentiated Service Experience Strategy: Using the Power of Expectation Setting and Customer Choice to Drive High Performance,” 2011, http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Building-Differentiated-Service-Experience-Strategy.pdf

3. Accenture, “How Data-Driven Insights Optimize the Service Experience: Key Findings from 2012 Customer Tolerance Research, 2012, http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Data-Driven-Insights%20Optimize-Service-Experience.pdf

4. L. Herbert. The Forrester Wave™: Salesforce Implementation Partners, Q2 2015, Forrester Research, Inc., June 26, 2015.

The proof is in the cloud• We worked with a high-tech organization

to transform the way its Presales Organization shared information and used internal services to improve effectiveness. By leveraging Service Cloud and Chatter to support organizational and business process changes, the client has improved the productivity of the Presales Systems Engineers and service teams, has enhanced overall collaboration and best-practice sharing across multiple organizations, and is well-positioned to scale for future growth.

Accenture and Salesforce stand ready to help. Individually, we bring world-class customer service, software implementation and cloud capabilities. Together, we provide opportunities for organizations that know “playing to win” means engaging customers in new and highly satisfying ways. Let us help you get the most from your Salesforce Service Cloud solution. Let us help you give your customers the experiences they demand and deserve.

The winning combination

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Salesforce and Service Cloud are trademarks of salesforce.com, inc. and are used here with permission.

Copyright © 2015 Accenture All rights reserved.

Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.

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About AccentureAccenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 336,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About salesforce.comSalesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

To find out more, please contact:Saideep Raj Global Managing Director Emerging Platforms and SaaS saideep.raj@accenture.com

Brian J. Kalberer Managing Director Service Cloud Practice Lead brian.j.kalberer@accenture.com