Core Components of Customer Service
We will now look at the types of core records used for service management.
Types of Records
Customer Records
In Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service, customer service requests are generally managed in connection with an existing contact or account. These contacts and accounts are also used in other areas of the business, such as sales or marketing.
- A contact represents a person, like in Microsoft Outlook.
- An account represents a company, organization, or group of people.
Although these are typical uses, different Customer Service deployments may use these record types differently. But they are generally both referred to as customers. For example, when entering the customer in a case, you can select either an account or a contact.
Cases
Cases are the fundamental record type in service management. They represent a single incident related to a requested service. Organizations may use different terms: incidents, tickets, service requests, etc.
In other words, a case is any customer interaction that requires a resolution or response. Multiple cases can be associated with the same customer record. In Customer Service, representatives can view open and resolved cases from the customer record.
Activities
Interactions between a business and its customers that are considered important enough to be tracked in Customer Service are called activities. They can be associated with different types of records.
- Closed activities are marked as completed.
- Open activities are not yet completed or are pending at a later date/time.
Entitlements
Entitlements allow you to specify the level of service a customer is entitled to.
Example: A customer may be entitled to 10 support cases that they can use at their discretion.
Entitlement Channels
Entitlement channels allow you to define the type of service the customer is entitled to. By default, there are six channels:
- Phone
- Web
- IoT
Knowledge Base Articles
The knowledge base in Customer Service is a repository of informative articles that help representatives resolve cases. In some organizations, it also helps employees ask follow-up questions.
These articles generally concern:
- The company
- Products (questions/answers)
- Any useful information to better manage customer requests or issues
Resolution Activities
Once all activities in a case are resolved, the case can be closed. A Resolution-type activity is then created. It appears in the closed activities of the case and indicates:
- The resolution of the case
- The time spent on the case
Queues
A queue is used to organize and store activities and cases awaiting processing.
Example: A support team with the address support@contoso.com receives an email. A team member processes the case and helps the customer.
Queues in Dynamics 365 Customer Service work the same way.
Products
Products from the CRM catalog can be linked to a customer service case. This allows a more detailed view of cases, resolutions, and customer feedback by product.
⚠️ Warning
This association does not affect pricing or billing. It is optional and may not be suitable for all organizations.
Goals
In addition to reports and analytics, organizations can use goal management to track progress against key performance indicators (KPIs).
Examples of KPIs: resolved cases, ongoing cases.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
SLAs allow tracking and defining actions to be taken when a case is opened.
You can track:
- When an engineer takes charge of the case
- The time needed to resolve it
- Sending alert emails based on warning or failure timeframes
