Customer relations company Salesforce has added what it calls new ‘conversation channels’ to its Salesforce Essentials offering for SMEs.

According to the company, adding the new elements to the platform aims to address the perennial problem for SMEs in handling customer relations: limited resources. 

Salesforce says that as consumers have become accustomed to the instantaneous communication of social media platforms, they expect  similarly rapid communication with the brands they engage with. 

But small businesses can't always provide that level of support, and 58% of SMEs say that meeting customer expectations is a challenge for growth over the next two years.

Hence the additional channels. Top of the list is expanded support within platforms like Facebook and Twitter — for example, businesses can have real-time conversations with their customers over Facebook Messenger. 

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For example, when a customer sends a company a question via Messenger, the message can be routed to a designated employee who can have a live conversation over Messenger, directly from Salesforce Essentials. With Instagram and YouTube, the employee is notified when the customer makes a comment on a post or one of its videos, and can respond from Salesforce.

In addition, businesses can add a Salesforce chat widget to their website, with the chat routed to an employee who can maintain multiple conversations from Salesforce. This provides the employee with a complete view of the customer’s profile so they can step right into the conversation and view features like previous interactions, case history, open sales opportunities, or other information within Salesforce.

The new lineup also includes what Salesforce calls “an out-of-the-box call centre solution, built right into Salesforce Essentials”. When an employee makes or receives the call, the customer’s profile and account information shows on a pop-up screen in Salesforce, giving them the full context and customer history.

Firms that purchase the Essentials package get training and ‘walk-throughs’ from the company, plus the attention of Salesforce coaches during trials and for the first three months of use.

Senior vice president Marie Rosecrans said: “We all expect real-time instantaneous communication today—whether it’s with our family, friends or favourite brands. Now Salesforce Essentials is giving small businesses the tools needed to manage customer communications across all those channels in one centralised spot.”

The company is offering a 30-day free trial of Salesforce Essentials, and there is lots more information about the updated platform here.

Photo: Salesforce staff at the annual Dublin Pride parade. (Pic: Conor McCabe)