A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook
Mind-blowing customer
experience starts here
Delivering a seamless journey across engagement channels
Featured:
Customer Service Management, Financial Services Operations, Telecommunications Service Management,
Field Service Management, Connected Operations, IT Operations Management, App Engine
A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
Whatever your business is facing,
let’s workflow it!
Organizations have invested more than US $3 trillion in digital
transformation over the last three years. Too much of that expense
went into point solutions that failed to solve the needs of the modern
enterprise—like creating better self-service solutions for customers. All
that capital has only led to a 26% return on investment for organizations.
Companies need to drive growth, increase productivity, and strengthen
business resilience—and niche software is just a bandage during this
new normal.1
Now is the time to take your digital transformation in a new, more
effective direction. At ServiceNow, we make the world of work, work better
for people anytime, anywhere, in any environment. That means creating
seamless experiences with cross-enterprise digital workflows to connect
people, functions, and systems. Let’s dive in and explore how digital
workflows can create experiences that wow customers and keep them
coming back for more.
Workflow (n):
Digital workflows simplify any business and keep it
on course. Automate multi-step processes that occur
between any combination of people and systems, like
requests, approvals, decisions, and actions, to help
companies achieve better business outcomes.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
Get ready to create truly transformative customer experiences
In an always-on, connected world, your customers expect products and services to work. When an issue arises, they expect an immediate fix. In
an ideal world, customers would never experience any problems, but disruptions happen—it’s how you manage them that means the difference
between losing or keeping a lifelong customer.
No amount of marketing or branding will hide a poor customer experience. So, to deliver excellent experiences that will thrill your customers,
there are key barriers that need to be overcome. Barriers such as siloed operations, reactive service, and limited service channels.
Read on to learn how you can overcome these barriers and deliver seamless experiences that will create loyal customers for life.
94% of customers who
Only 15% of customers rated a company as
who rated a company “very good” are likely to
15% as “very poor" will forgive 94% purchase more products
a bad experience or services from that
company in the future
Source: Qualtrics XM Institute, Insight Report: ROI of Customer Experience, 2020
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
How to use this handbook:
Every organization is different, and yours is no exception.
Tailor these insights and ideas for planning and executing
your own successful customer experience digital
transformation efforts.
Part 1
1 The top three barriers to happier customers
and the workflows that can address them
Part 2
2 See how your peers are making their customers
happier
Part 3
3 The ServiceNow workflow solutions that
offer seamless customer experiences across
all interactions
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
PART 1
The top three barriers to happier customers and the workflows that
can address each
We’ve talked to our customers, and no matter the industry, there are typical issues confronting customer service teams every day that can lead
to sub-par customer experiences. Thankfully, there are solutions that can overcome these issues and yield real payoffs to the business.
PROBLEM 1 ANSWER OUTCOME
Poor or non-existent customer Over 80% of customer requests
self-service Empower your customers to find transitioned to self-service3
the answers they need fast with
Customers lack a single starting point personalized self-service backed by
for finding answers, with solutions automation. Deliver answers any time • Increase use of self-service with
scattered across multiple locations— with a portal that serves as a gateway automated solutions to common
which is only a moderate improvement to a chatbot, a catalog of automated requests on any website
over simply offering an FAQ. Lacking any solutions, knowledge articles, and an • Help customers complete requests
personalization, customers must weed online community–and even embed and get answers with an AI-powered
through unrelated information in their those self-service options into any chatbot
search for answers. web property. • Connect customers with peers and
experts in an online community
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
PROBLEM 2 ANSWER OUTCOME
Siloed operations that slow 70% reduction in inquiry resolution
resolution time Provide an agent experience with times4
complete visibility that anticipates
Legacy and disconnected customer customer needs, unites work teams, and
service systems impede agents’ empowers them to resolve issues faster. • Issues are permanently resolved
efficiency, leading to slow resolution by breaking down silos and
time—and customers who are left automating processes across teams
guessing “What now?” • First contact resolution is increased
by automatically routing issues to the
most qualified employee
• Solve an issue once by managing
similar cases as a single case
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
PROBLEM 3 ANSWER OUTCOME
Broken operational and customer 11% increase in customer satisfaction5
service processes Gain real-time visibility into the health
of customers’ products and services to
Customers will inevitably encounter proactively detect issues or even prevent • Prevent downtime by monitoring the
problems, be they unclear instructions, issues entirely. Improve the service health of customers’ products and
billing errors, or product quality issues. experience for customers and agents services to identify potential issues
When this occurs, it’s critical to offer by building custom solutions. You can • The impact of critical issues is minimized
a seamless experience across all also send preemptive alerts to affected by notifying customers who are most likely
interaction points and address the customers, so they don’t need to contact to be affected
issue promptly. customer service. • Reduce work volume by analyzing current
and past performance across teams
to identify opportunities for process
improvement and automation
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
PART 2
It’s time to workflow customer service
Need proof that it pays to invest in creating a seamless customer experience across all interactions? Keep reading to learn how companies like
yours are benefitting from:
• The ability to cater self-service channels to match customers’ needs
• Simplifying agents’ work so they can assist customers more quickly
• Monitoring indicators and using prediction to circumvent
customer problems
• Easier editing and publishing of information to ensure solutions
are available to customers and agents
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
Help customers help themselves with self-service
Customers today expect mobile, personalized self-service when they experience a problem.
Companies not providing it see higher customer service costs (with agents bogged down
addressing common issues) and lower customer satisfaction, impacting retention and
revenue growth.
ServiceNow’s portal integrates case management, knowledge management, an
automated catalog of services (unmatched by competitors), chatbot, and community.
Allow your business to cater self-service channels to match customers’ needs with this
mobile-optimized experience.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
With ServiceNow there is no legacy. The platform is a
cloud solution that is built to underpin and integrate all
the workflows in our customer service operation.
By leveraging ServiceNow's self-service
Matthias Lippert
capabilities, Basware accelerates customer VP Customer Services, Basware
support from issue to resolution.
94% Reduction in customer
support emails received
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
Connect siloed systems to get to know your customers
Disconnected legacy systems force agents to switch between systems when attending to
even the simplest of customer requests. As you can imagine, this negatively affects agent
productivity, slows service delivery—and ultimately impacts customer satisfaction.
ServiceNow simplifies agents’ work and allows them to assist customers more quickly.
ServiceNow Agent Workspace with Customer Central uses Remote Tables and
IntegrationHub to consolidate information across systems into a single location, making
it easier for agents to get a full view of the customer when they need it. Agent Assist
streamlines agents’ workload by using machine learning to offer suggested solutions as
they work with customers.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
Our agents now have a 360-degree view of the customer
and they have one application that helps them provide
excellent service.
Vodafone has complete customer visibility
Head of Digital Experience, Vodafone
with ServiceNow.
360 Degree view of
the customer
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
Monitor and predict issues before they
become customer problems
There are many indicators that a problem is brewing: some might be obvious, some might
be subtle. In a digitally connected world, customers expect no disruptions when they use
products and services. Even the slightest issue may cause them to go to a competitor.
ServiceNow can monitor indicators and use prediction to circumvent customer problems.
Tracking device and service health, automatically scheduling preventive maintenance,
and analyzing trends can reduce or eliminate disruptions.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
We’re leveraging the ServiceNow platform to revisit our
IoT platform and service models. This is a game-changer
for us.
Using ServiceNow, TAPCO breaks down barriers
Jason Anderson
to ensure seamless communication among IT Director, TAPCO
devices in the field and maintenance teams.
41.6B
IoT devices
by 2025
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
Empower customers and agents to do it themselves
with a knowledge management program
There’s always more than enough information within an organization that can assist
customers and agents. The problem is it can live exclusively in siloed systems or people’s
brains. And when it does get published, making it easy to find can be a challenge. Add to
this a lack of governance that can lead to incorrect or outdated information, and all your
hard work can be for naught.
ServiceNow Knowledge Management uses Predictive Intelligence to help uncover
knowledge gaps. Workflows make editing and publishing easy with KCS® (Knowledge-
Centered Service) V6 support.6 Agents can create in-context articles as they work and
articles can be maintained in Microsoft Word. Take mundane tasks off the to-do list of your
tier 1 staff and allow them to more swiftly engage and address the inquiries that need a
more human touch.
CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT
By taking the plunge and publishing articles that a
search engine can bring up, we’re actually empowering
people to fix things quickly and easily and taking a more
With ServiceNow, Capita Software takes a
proactive approach.
more strategic approach to customer service
to delight customers and empower staff— Michael Noonan
Divisional Transformation and Operations Officer
while consolidating customer service teams
onto a central platform and enabling more
self-serve capabilities.
375% Increase in knowledge
article views
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
PART 3
The ServiceNow workflow solution that offer a seamless customer
experience across all interactions
Customer Service Management
Go beyond traditional customer service solutions by connecting
customer service with other teams to resolve issues quickly and
proactively.
• Connect teams to boost efficiency with automated processes
from the front office to the back. Intelligently route tasks to the
best employee and group similar cases to streamline resolution.
• Proactively address customer issues by monitoring services and
case trends to identify problems and notify impacted customers.
Fix issues faster by analyzing workflow trends to increase
automation and efficiency.
• Expand self-service by automating the resolution to common
customer requests and provide answers with an AI-powered
chatbot.
Get more info here.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
The ServiceNow offering that helps financial institutions unite teams and
improve customer service
Financial Services Operations
Provide efficient, resilient financial services operations for enhanced
customer and employee experiences. Digitize core processes across
your institution on a single platform. Unite your front, middle, and
back offices. Transform your financial operations so you can:
• Respond more efficiently to customer issues by breaking down
silos and automating processes across departments. Give
customers complete visibility into the status of their cases.
• Digitize processes to become more proactive, predictive, and
resilient—all while improving visibility and compliance.
• Empower employees to achieve their full potential by
automating repetitive tasks and equipping them with the right
tools and insights.
Get more info here.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
The ServiceNow offering that helps CSPs enhance customer care and get
real-time data visibility
Telecommunications Service Management
Connect your telecom operations—from the network to the
customer—on a single platform. Simplify service delivery with insights
to take proactive action and deliver better customer experiences.
• Provide exceptional customer care through automated issue
resolution, proactive engagement, personalized self-service,
and empowered agents.
• Detect network and service issues early to maximize availability
and quality of service.
• Deliver differentiated enterprise experiences to increase revenue
and improve your Net Promoter Score (NPS).
• Rapidly digitize operational workflows to drive organization-wide
efficiencies and enable a more cost-effective use of tools
and systems.
Get more info here.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
The ServiceNow offering that help increase field service efficiency
Field Service Management
Boost customer satisfaction and service efficiency with Field
Service Management. Connect field service with other teams
and mobile tools to quickly respond to and prevent issues while
ensuring the safety of both customers and workers.
• Automatically assign the most qualified people for the job and
ensure they have the right info by integrating with customer
service so you can solve customer issues on the first visit.
• Maximize uptime by automatically scheduling preventive
maintenance and reduce truck rolls by using asset history to
ensure comprehensive service visits.
• Help field service workers complete tasks faster with an intuitive
mobile app plus offline access, allowing your organization to
meet service level agreements, optimize schedules, and keep
workers safe.
Get more info here.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
The ServiceNow offering that helps connect IoT data with business context
Connected Operations
Revolutionize your operations and services with Connected
Operations. Monitor and manage your critical infrastructure,
turning products into services by connecting IoT data with business
context and digital workflows. Leverage IoT data to drive action,
resolution, and compliance across your organization to:
• Gain remote, real-time visibility and accelerate event resolution
by bringing siloed data together on a unified platform for a
complete view of your operations. You can also monitor assets
remotely across multiple sites or customers.
• Enable business results, including customer loyalty, revenue
growth, and service productivity.
• Take action by connecting your teams to resolve issues quickly
and manage your response across multiple groups, including
customer service and field service.
• Be proactively alerted to issues, automatically trigger
maintenance workflows, and satisfy regulatory and
compliance requirements.
Get more info here.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
The ServiceNow offering that helps deliver proactive digital operations
IT Operations Management
Deliver high-performance business services for customer-facing
products and services with visibility and Predictive AIOps. Move
IT operations from a reactive team to one that works intelligently
for the business, gain visibility across infrastructure and apps,
maintain service health, and optimize cloud delivery to improve
customer service.
• Discover and map services for your IT resources across on-
premises data centers and the cloud.
• Track and maintain service performance with Predictive AIOps,
moving from reactive problem-solving to a preventive approach
using machine learning.
• While working with customer service, proactively notify customers
of issues and keep them in the loop as issues are resolved.
Get more info here.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
The ServiceNow offering that helps build low-code apps quickly
App Engine
Reimagine every process as a digital workflow. With ServiceNow
App Engine, you can build low-code apps quickly, with more
creators and less complexity, safely scaling cross-enterprise
experiences that users love.
• Empower more creators to bring their workflow apps to
production quickly for mission-critical tasks. Design with
best-practice guidance and templates—all within a holistic
low-code dev experience.
• Accelerate process automation and show value quickly with
native integration and low code. Scale your workflows from
simple to complex, with consistency across the enterprise.
• Collaborate with no friction, enabling builders of all skills to code
harmoniously in a shared environment. Free business creators to
build apps while maintaining app quality and platform stability. • S
eamlessly embed AI and analytics in every app to amplify your
work. Predict issues, make smarter business decisions, and help
• Captivate users by delighting them in the moments that matter people get work done easier and faster.
with a modern unified experience that’s easy to understand. Build
mobile-first experiences using our intuitive, low-code designer. Get more info here.
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A ServiceNow Workflow Handbook | Deliver seamless customer experiences
Digitally transforming the customer experience can
help resolve issues fast and effectively. Unfortunately,
Ready to deliver there’s no secret formula or perfect recipe for turning
experiences your customers into diehard fans of your brand.
your customers Thankfully, you can learn and improve customer
will love? service by implementing workflows that:
• E
mpower customers to fix issues themselves with
personalized self-service backed by automation
• R
educe disruptions when customers use your
product or service—and notify them quickly if you
learn about a problem before they do
• A
ccelerate processes and connect teams for fast
resolutions and better visibility
• U
nify your approaches to customer service through
a single digital platform
Now’s the perfect time to create a seamless
Let’s workflow it. customer experience across all your interactions.
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For a deeper exploration of ServiceNow customer workflow solutions powered by the
Now Platform, we recommend the following content:
The 2020 Magic Quadrant for the CRM Customer Engagement Center
Read the full, complimentary report to learn why ServiceNow is a Leader in the 2020 Magic Quadrant
The Three Customer Service Megatrends in 2021: Post-Pandemic Customer Service Excellence
Be ready for “the next normal” and beyond. Read this Forrester Research report to reveal the top megatrends customer service
leaders must know to perform and transform.
AI and customer experience: Keeping it “intelligent” without the “artificial”
Read this ebook to learn how AI and advanced analytics can transform the customer experience.
AI and Intelligent Technologies: 3 Strategies for transforming your customer experience
Customer service organizations need to take advantage of artificial intelligence and intelligent technologies to deliver the
experiences their customers expect. Read this ebook to find out where to start.
About ServiceNow
ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is the fastest-growing enterprise cloud software company in the world above $1 billion. Founded in 2004 with
the goal of making work easier for people, ServiceNow is making the world of work, work better for people. Our cloud-based platform
and solutions deliver digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity for more than 6,200 enterprise customers
worldwide, including approximately 80% of the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.servicenow.com.
Sources:
1. An IDC Perspective: Driving the Right Conversation with the CxOin 2021 and Beyond, 2020
2. Qualtrics XM Institute, Insight Report: ROI of Customer Experience, 2020
3. The Total Economic Impact™ Of ServiceNow Customer Service Management, November 2020
4. Tennessee DHS redefines the customer experience for government services
5. Basware accelerates customer support from issue to revolution
6. KCS® is a service mark of the Consortium for Service Innovation.™
7. 2020 CCW Market Study | The Future of the Contact Center: A Forecast
© 2021 ServiceNow, Inc. All rights reserved. ServiceNow, the ServiceNow logo, Now, Now Platform, and other ServiceNow marks are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other company names, product names, and logos may be trademarks of the respective
companies with which they are associated. SN-EB-Customer Workflow Handbook-062021
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