Salesforce Omni-Channel is a feature that allows organizations to route and manage various types of work items, such as cases, leads, chats, and social media posts, across multiple communication channels. It helps organizations deliver a seamless and personalized customer experience by ensuring that work items are routed to the right agent at the right time based on factors like agent availability, skills, and workload.
There are three ways in which we can do Omni-Channel Routing
- Queue-Based Routing
- Skill-Based Routing
- External Routing
1. Queue-Based Routing:
In an Omni-Channel setup, agents are assigned to queues, each representing a specific skill. Work items are directed to these queues, and subsequently, pushed to agents who are part of the respective queue, ensuring efficient distribution of tasks based on agent expertise.
Best Use Case of Queue-Based Routing:
Ideal for smaller enterprises catering to a narrow range of products or services.
2. Skill-Based Routing:
Skills-based routing assesses the skills needed to handle a task and aligns them with the skills possessed by the assigned agent.
Best Use Case for Skill-Based Routing:
Ideal for larger enterprises with a multitude of agents supporting diverse product portfolios, including those necessitating intricate skill sets, and catering to customers across numerous countries or languages.
3. External Routing :
A third-party routing solution of your preference directs work items through Omni-Channel to agents via the Salesforce Service Console. Developers utilize APIs to seamlessly integrate the partner routing application with Salesforce.
Best use case of External Routing :
Ideal for organizations seeking to direct work to the Salesforce Service Console while maintaining their current routing implementation.
Benefits Of Omni-Channel Routing:
1. Enhanced Customer Experience: Customers experience quicker and more uniform responses.
2. Increased Efficiency: Tasks are equitably allocated among agents to prevent any individual from becoming overwhelmed.
3. Improved Resolution Rates: Assigning work based on agent expertise leads to more effective problem-solving.
4. Detailed Analytics: Obtain a deeper understanding of customer service operations and agent performance to further enhance the optimization process.
5. Increased Sales and Revenue: By providing a seamless and convenient shopping experience, omnichannel strategies can lead to increased sales and revenue. Customers who engage with multiple channels are often more likely to make purchases and spend more than those who only use a single channel.
6. Competitive Advantage: In the current competitive landscape, providing an omnichannel experience distinguishes businesses from their rivals. Customers anticipate seamless experiences across various channels, and companies that need to meet these expectations avoid losing customers to competitors who deliver.
Steps to Implement Salesforce Omni-Channel Routing
Step 1: Define Your Channels
Begin by listing the various channels customers use to seek support, which may encompass phone calls, emails, social media platforms, live chat, and additional mediums. Salesforce Omni-Channel accommodates a diverse array of channels, guaranteeing a cohesive strategy across all customer touchpoints.
Step 2: Set Up Routing Configurations
Establish the configuration for directing cases to different agents, which entails creating routing rules according to variables such as agent proficiency, availability, and the complexity or urgency of the case.
Step 3: Customize Work Items
Customize how different types of work are handled. For instance, different priorities can be assigned to emails, chats, and social media messages, influencing how they are routed to agents.
Step 4: Train Your Team
Make sure all agents receive comprehensive training on the new system, understand the prioritization and routing of work items, along efficiently manage diverse types of inquiries.
Step 5: Monitor and Optimize
After implementation, consistently monitor the system’s performance and gather feedback from both customers and agents. Utilize this input to refine and optimize routing rules and configurations to better cater to your customer base’s needs.