SugarCRM, a provider of a CRM platform for mid-market businesses, announced this week several new digital self-service capabilities designed to help business-to-business (B2B) sellers manage customer demands. The company’s self-service tools allow fully digital communications and interactions to take place from end to end, from an initial service request to final issue resolution.
Given the strong demand from consumers who prefer using self-service tools, it is no surprise that self-service capabilities are playing a greater role in the B2B sector. These tools are becoming highly relevant beyond the traditional after-sales service use cases, enabling digital engagement across the customer journey. Indeed, virtually 100% of buyers want to self-serve throughout all or part of their buying journey when researching B2B technology, up 13% from 2021, according to the 2022 B2B Buying Disconnect report by TrustRadius.
SugarCRM’s new self-service capabilities are designed to let customers self-serve and connect with brands anytime, anywhere, with speed and convenience via desktop or mobile devices. These tools let customers maintain their personal profiles, ask questions, submit service requests, create service tickets, and easily add attachments. Other specific self-service use cases that can be enabled include online access to the SugarCRM knowledge base and FAQs, which permit B2B customers to quickly find answers to frequently asked questions, look up technical specifications or product details, and get troubleshooting advice without the involvement of a customer service representative, according to Volker Hildebrand, SugarCRM’s Senior Vice President of Product Marketing.
“Our new self-service capabilities are about creating better customer experiences in the moments when it matters to retain customers and nurture and build relationships for improved profitability,” Hildebrand says. “Customers can submit service requests online or on their mobile devices; they can create a service ticket or case on their own and easily upload any supporting documents, images, or files.”
These self-service capabilities, added to the Sugar platform that unites marketing, sales, and service teams, ensure every customer interaction is handled and optimized for growth, Hildebrand adds.
“Sugar Serve supports the entire case management/service process from start to finish to resolve customer problems both efficiently and effectively,” Hildebrand explains. “Interaction between the customer and service reps/agents can be done completely online or across multiple channels throughout the process. Customers can also track the progress of the problem resolution or case online.”
Other key features of SugarCRM’s self-service offerings include the document center, which offers B2B customers online access to all relevant documents related to the account without contacting a support agent, including contracts and supplemental documents, purchase orders, invoices, and tax documents. Similarly, the partner portal provides additional access to product and pricing information as well as other data and business transaction records relevant for channel partners.
Hildebrand adds that while the new digital engagement capabilities are just coming out of the beta program, the most popular use cases are likely to be around ticket/case management and problem resolution, with online and mobile, email, and chat being the primary digital channels used.
Author Information
Keith Kirkpatrick is Research Director, Enterprise Software & Digital Workflows for The Futurum Group. Keith has over 25 years of experience in research, marketing, and consulting-based fields.
He has authored in-depth reports and market forecast studies covering artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, robotics, high performance computing, and quantum computing, with a specific focus on the use of these technologies within large enterprise organizations and SMBs. He has also established strong working relationships with the international technology vendor community and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
In his career as a financial and technology journalist he has written for national and trade publications, including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, The Red Herring, The Communications of the ACM, and Mobile Computing & Communications, among others.
He is a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Keith holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Magazine Journalism and Sociology from Syracuse University.
