Salesforce Research: COVID-19 Accelerated Investment in Technology and Reskilling in Service-Driven Organizations

The global pandemic is rewriting the rules of customer service. It has also disrupted the way we are going to move forward. The global leader in CRM, Salesforce has released India insights from the fourth edition of its State of Service Report. The report surveyed over 7,000 global decision-makers, agents, mobile workers, and dispatchers across 33 countries, including 300 in India and illustrates the changes in the customer service journey alongside the strategies embraced by the business as they move forward past COVID-19.

The proliferation of digital services is emerging as new challenges for customer services teams as customer expectations have shifted due to the pandemic. 87% of service decision-makers in India say they have invested in new services technology in response to the pandemic. Providing field service has also remained a key differentiator for brands during the pandemic. Consumers continue to state that they prefer personal services to alternatives. 94% percent of Indian service decision-makers say that field service is a vital part of their overall business plan, and 90% say that field service contributes to substantial company revenues.

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The rise in soft skills such as communication, adaptability, and empathy has also been highlighted in the report. While the reliance on digital technology did help agents in being flexible, in communications, and measuring success to improve customer experience, the automation aspect of the change has ballooned the required skills associated with the role. In India, 93% of service decision-maker respondents are saying that significant investments are also being made in agent training, and 87% of service agent respondents are able to see a clear career path for career growth at their job.

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Deepak Pargoankar, VP, Solution Engineering at Salesforce commented on the findings of the report, “The pandemic has challenged service teams by creating radically new standards of engagement between businesses and their customers. Sharply shifting business models have created new working environments, including distributed workforces, and a host of new and evolving customer needs. Decision-makers are now increasingly adopting technology to mitigate its implications on customer service and how their teams are able to function efficiently despite the challenges. This is an opportune time for businesses to embrace digital transformation”.

You can read the whole report here.