In customer service, a business’s promises only add value when they are guaranteed in writing. Customers want to know that quality and timely service is guaranteed, and that they have specific recourse if things don’t go as planned. Service level agreements (SLAs) designate contracts between a service provider and their clients that define the service provided, as well as the timeframe and delivery method.

As businesses develop, their need for organization and consistency grows. A larger ship takes longer to turn, and the same principle applies to large firms that require buy-in from numerous departments to properly implement change. As a result, standard practices and concepts have emerged to help business leaders better organize their operations. Enterprise architecture represents one of these concepts, and ITSM provides a comprehensive set of best practices and procedures.

IT service management involves complex practices and procedures, especially as companies grow. As a result, keeping a close eye on every aspect of the service management framework can be challenging to ensure that all core functions are being performed efficiently. In addition, manually auditing an ITSM system can take much time, and this takes from the time available actually to correct issues or inefficiencies as they arise.

An ITSM service catalog is the best way to inform users about everything an IT department can do for them and provide them quick access to whatever they need. Catalogs play a vital role in the ITSM experience, as a quality IT framework requires clear and simple presentation to ensure that users can utilize its benefits. Otherwise, much of the time and financial investment into implementing new IT services may go to waste.

A self-service portal is a customer-facing site for support requests and important information like billing history, recurring orders, troubleshooting information, or any other details a customer needs to know. By giving users quick and easy access to these tools, businesses can reduce support tickets and decrease the time it takes for tickets to be resolved.

A knowledge management system (KMS) gives internal and external users organized access to the necessary information.

Customer journey pain points refer to points in the journey, or aspects of it, that bring up obstacles or frustrations that could put customers off. They can dictate whether a purchase is made, the sale size, frequency, and likelihood of referral. While pain points are typically focused primarily during the sales cycle, for B2B firms, a comprehensive look at the entire customer journey is necessary to mitigate pain points’ negative impacts.

The B2B customer journey is vitally important; improving it can lead to better business relationships. The best way to enhance or kickstart a quality customer journey is to establish the right B2B customer journey map. After all, one can’t get desired results without using the right blueprint, and the linear sales funnel that most businesses focus on doesn’t consider the bigger picture.