[Applies to: Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0]
Supporting Customer Service with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online includes a set of features that work together to help you track and record your customer service activities.
Recording Entitlements Through Contracts
A contract and its specific contract lines record the details of the customer service to be provided to an account, including the number of calls allowed or the total number of minutes that can be spent with them.
To increase consistency and efficiency when you create contracts, you can create a contract template that can be shared. You can associate cases with a specific contract or contract line in a contract. Allotment types in contracts keep track of either the number of cases opened against a contract or the total number of minutes spent working with cases for a contract. More information: Creating Contracts
Top of pageTracking Customer Service Through Cases
When a customer contacts your organization by telephone, letter, or e-mail, a Customer Service Representative (CSR) opens a case and enters information about the customer and the customer's issue. The CSR can review the contract lines in the customer's contract to determine the appropriate entitlement. If the person who opens the case is not the one to resolve it, the case can be either assigned to a queue or to another CSR. That CSR researches the problem, logs the activity and the time spent on the case, and then resolves and closes it. More information: Creating Contract Templates
By logging activities and time spent on a case, a manager can track performance and productivity. Open and resolved cases can be searched, and resolved cases can be reopened so that additional activities and time can be logged against them, if necessary. More information: Using Queues to Manage Your Activities and Cases
Queuing and Routing Services
You can create queues to sort incoming cases according to subject-matter expertise, product teams, or other business designations to ensure that a CSR with the right experience gets each case. You can also assign cases directly to specific CSRs. More information: Creating Queues for Incoming Cases
Sharing Information in the Knowledge Base
CSRs can share information, including common issues and the approved fixes, product sheets, and updates, in the form of searchable articles stored in the knowledge base. CSRs can search for articles by title, keyword, full-text search, or article number. After a CSR finds the right article, the CSR can e-mail the article directly to the customer and store it with the case for review later. More information: Publishing Articles in the Knowledge Base
Scheduling Services
With scheduling, you can provide a service to your customers and ensure that the right combination of personnel, facilities, and equipment are available to perform the service. You can also track a customer's preferences for time of day, service, and personnel. More information: Defining Rules and Resources for Services
Managing Performance and Productivity Through Reports
Reports are an efficient way to stay informed of customer service performance in your organization. The information tracked during case handling can be turned into reports that measure statistics, such as call length, number of cases handled, number of cases resolved, and types of resolutions. With this information, you can create more precise schedules, forecast resource needs, and manage performance improvements. More information: Default Service Reports
