Considering omnichannel for Dynamics 365 for Customer Service? Six questions to ask before making the leap

Do you know what the significance of nine seconds is for Delta Airlines?

If you are like me, my response was something tongue and cheek, like the time it takes for a flight attendant to show up when you hit the call button. But all jokes aside, there is a serious customer service angle to this question. Delta Airlines figured out after some extensive study that they have only  nine seconds to convert a prospective customer who has decided which flights to purchase. If this prospect doesn't get what they are looking for within those nine seconds and bolts to a competitor's site, the probability of this customer coming back drops to less than 30 percent. The point here is that digital users are impatient – we need instant results and assistance.

Per the 2017 Global Customer Service report, 72 percent of customers expect agents to already know who they are, what they've purchased, and have insight into their previous engagements. When we as users don't get our questions answered, we will leave. We would rather text or chat than sit through long IVR (interactive voice response) holds or get transferred from agent to agent. That's the reality of today's customer engagement.

How does this apply to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement?

Well, if your company uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 (or is considering using it) for customer service or sales, the questions that typically come up are: "What is your digital engagement strategy?" and "What are all the considerations you need to account for when developing such a strategy?" In other words, how can you prevent the "nine second bolt" as it applies to your end customer's digital journey on your external-facing website or mobile app? Six key considerations can help when implementing an omnichannel strategy ...