Microsoft Partners: Share Your Bright Ideas for Customer Service Innovation

For everyone who was customer service when customer service wasn’t cool, we have arrived. Customer service and customer-centricity is definitely cool now. In the new 2015 State of Multichannel Customer Service Report, 98% of U.S. consumers say customer service is important in their choice of and/or loyalty to brands.

With the growing importance of customer service and a customer-focused culture, Parature, from Microsoft is pleased to announce its first-ever Microsoft Partner Customer Service Innovation Awards Contest as a call to action for all Microsoft partners who have capabilities in delivering self and assisted customer service solutions to extend the Microsoft Dynamics CRM service platform in new and creative ways.  The Customer Service Innovation Award is designed to develop original and inventive use cases which take advantage of cloud first, mobile first, and internet of things scenarios.

An exciting example of this is the Apple Watch app recently debuted by Microsoft Partner Webfortis at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference which will enable customer service representatives to not only view accounts from their wristwatch, but also make updates, open new service tickets and access select knowledgebase articles. (Read more about the app here.) 

The Microsoft partner customer service innovation awards contest runs during the same time as Microsoft’s second annual “//oneweek” scheduled July 27 – 31, 2015.  The “//oneweek” event inspires Microsoft employees around the world to “growth hack” solutions as a way to spark innovation and contribute to Microsoft’s mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

“Partnering with the Microsoft ecosystem has helped Microsoft emerge as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for the CRM Customer Engagement Center, and sponsoring platforms that enable our partners to shine by showcasing new and beneficial outcomes to our customers is a great investment. Extending “//oneweek” to our partner ecosystem was a natural and logical step,” said Bill Patterson, General Manager of Service Engagement for Microsoft.

Interested partners can learn more and register to participate by visiting www.parature.com/serviceinnovation. The winner of the Customer Service Innovation Contest will be featured at the US Dynamics Kickoff event scheduled for August 19, 2015 and announced online at www.parature.com.