Which Customer Service Software Solution Is Right for Your Business?

Your company has been growing at an unprecedented rate, and while that's great for business, it means the demands on your customer service team are beyond the capabilities of traditional email and phone management. You want to be able to track and manage the numerous inbound requests from your customers while giving your customer service team the tools they need to assist customers quickly. Among the many options available, Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Customer Service solutions provide flexibility to grow and scale your customer service department. 

There are two base offerings from Microsoft: Dynamics 365 Customer Service Professional and Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise. Dynamics 365 Customer Service Professional will provide a base system for your team to get started systemically managing your customers inquiries. If you're looking for deeper functionality and the ability to mix and match add-ons like telephony, chat, and more, then Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise will provide a broader range of options. 

Professional v. Enterprise: a Comparison 

Here's a breakdown of the features included in the Professional version: 

1. Account/contact management 
2. Activity management (tasks, appointments, etc.) 
3. Case management 
4. Customer self-service portal 
5. Knowledge base 
6. Integration capabilities for connecting with other Microsoft enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as Business Central  

In comparison, Dynamics 365 Customer Service Enterprise has a broader feature set and can work with add-on functionality. Here's a breakdown of the features within the Enterprise version: 

1. Account/contact management 
2. Activity management (tasks, appointments, etc.) 
3. Case management 
4. Customer self-service portal 
5. Knowledge base 
6. Service scheduling and dispatch 
7. Interaction with other Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement apps like Dynamics 365 Field Service and Dynamics 365 Project Operations 
8. Customer voice  
9. Unified routing 
10. Customer service insights 
11. Integration capabilities for connecting with other Microsoft enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems such as Business Central 

Add-ons available for Dynamics Customer Service Enterprise include: 

1. Chat so you can send and receive chats with your customers  
2. Digital messaging, which expands on the chat capabilities and allows you to message customers via SMS and social media channels 
3. Voice—an integrated telephony solution 
4. Power Virtual Agent, which uses a bot configured to your business scenarios and verbiage to manage customer chats 

Both Professional and Enterprise will give your team the tools to manage customer interactions, but the Enterprise version leaves you with more scalability and extensibility as your team continues to grow.  Also consider that currently there is no upgrade path from Professional to Enterprise, so if you do start off your customer service team with Professional and eventually need to move to Enterprise, it will be another implementation.

Ask These Questions to Make the Right Software Decision 

How can you ensure you are aligning your decision with your business goals?  As you explore your options, be sure to consider or ask the following questions:    

• Have you documented your requirements? 
• How long will it take to implement a customer service solution? 
• Do you have the right resource to project-manage an implementation project? 
• What are the licensing costs for this software?  
• How would you calculate the ROI? 
• How often is the software updated from one version to the next?  
• Do you need a partner, software developer, or an entire IT team to maintain this solution?  
• How will this software support your team as your needs change and evolve over the course of the next decade? 
• How easy is this going to be for your team to learn? 

Empower Your Customer Service Team Today 

When it comes to this type of investment in your organization, you deserve to have all the answers. Luckily, if you're looking to explore Microsoft solutions, our team at Western Computer has deep experience answering these types of questions and helping you understand the many benefits of a true customer service system. We’ll take the time to review your organization's requirements, so you will feel confident you are making the right decision about a solution that fits your company’s needs today and into the future. Contact us today to get started.