Customer service is essential for local government agencies. In the private sector, providing good customer service affects an organization’s bottom line and ROI, but in the public sector, there is a direct connection between providing good customer service and improving citizens’ lives.

Government exists to serve the people. When municipal governments invest in good customer service, they are not only investing in their residents but ultimately their city as a whole. Prioritizing citizen needs helps to build greater trust in government, which opens the door to an array of other benefits, attracting more residents and businesses and ultimately improving the prosperity of the city.

For many citizens “good government customer service” is an oxymoron. Local government agencies often have a reputation for bad customer service that relies on antiquated systems and processes. To improve local government customer service, many agencies are turning to technology to keep up with the times and more efficiently serve their residents through cost-effective channels that meet residents where they already are.

At the center of local government technology is the customer relationship management (CRM) platform. From providing self-service options for citizens to streamlining the process of service order management, CRM software for local government agencies offers a lot of benefits for cities seeking to improve their customer service.

5 Ways that CRM Software Can Improve Municipal Customer Service

Providing good customer service to residents requires balancing a lot of individual pieces that are constantly in motion. Government agencies must streamline citizen requests, work across multiple departments, provide multiple channels of access (including self-service options), and be able to gather enough data to measure municipal performance and establish baselines for customer service standards.

This is where a CRM platform can be a game-changer. Here’s a look at how customer relationship management software offers a variety of tools and abilities that can improve municipal customer service offerings.

Knowledge Base to Provide Self-Service Help

Providing citizens with an easy way to find information on their own is a great way to start improving municipal customer service. Knowledge bases are publicly available databases of information that residents can search to find the information they need before turning to more intensive contact methods.

With Comcate’s CRM software, a knowledge base might look like an interactive Help Center or pop-out FAQ feature on your homepage that allows citizens to click through popular topics or type keywords into a search bar. From here, residents can even submit a service request – all without having to download an extra app, make a phone call or come into a government office.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys to Measure Municipal Performance

Public sector customer service is different from its private sector counterparts in many ways, one of which is that in local government, residents are both client and stakeholder. Because citizen taxes pay for government services, there is often a need for greater accountability to ensure that service is being delivered at the highest level.

To that end, customer satisfaction surveys can be critical for measuring citizen satisfaction concerning their interaction with local government agencies. Many customer relationship management software tools have integrations that allow municipalities to send out customer satisfaction surveys after the conclusion of a citizen’s experience with their local government. These surveys help to generate data that can be used to measure how effectively a city is serving its citizens. The data generated can also help identify areas where processes need to be improved, as well as provide information on the demographics of citizens that are reaching out.

Omnichannel Communications: Meet Citizens Where They Are

When many people think of customer service, a vision of a call center rep with a headset on probably comes to mind. While phone is still an important channel for delivering service, these days customer service is delivered in so many more channels than ever before.

Today’s citizens have high expectations for digital service when it comes to their interactions with municipal government. These days, people expect to reach their local agencies through a variety of channels, including email, text, instant messaging, online self-service and more. This confluence of communication options is referred to as “omnichannel” and is all about meeting people where they are.

Today’s customer relationship management tools provide omnichannel access for residents to interact with their municipal government. For example, Comcate’s CRM/311 software allows citizens to input requests via online form and receive text or email updates about the status of their work order.

GIS: Shared Information Across Departments

Geographical information systems (GIS) allow for multiple data layers, permitting different departments within a local government agency to exercise control over the dataset for their own purposes while still maintaining consistent standards with the organization in general. GIS allows agencies to gather data and create maps to visually identify and track trends, which can help municipalities better figure out where to allocate resources for community improvement.

In addition to its role in data-driven decision making, local government agencies can utilize GIS within a customer relationship management software solution to capture address and property owner information to complete service requests.

Work Order Management Systems to Track Citizen Requests

A service order management system streamlines citizen requests and helps municipalities to resolve issues more efficiently. Through rule-based automations, modern CRM platforms can turn a citizen submission into a work order that is routed to the correct department. With additional triggered automations, citizens are kept in the loop about the status of their request every step of the way.

For agency staff, CRM software with service order management functionality helps prevent requests from falling through the cracks. By combining the submission process for multiple departments into one system, it’s easier to cross-collaborate between departments. Requests past due are also automatically escalated by the system.

Comcate: CRM Software for Municipal Governments of All Size

As a company founded by local government leaders, Comcate believes in better government for all – and that software has the ability to take us there. That’s why we developed affordable, flexible CRM / 311 software for municipalities of all sizes. Through tools like FAQ features, workflow automations, email notifications and communications and more, we make it easy for residents to find what they need and staff to more efficiently do their job. Interested in leveraging technology to better serve your residents? Schedule a demo today by filling out the form below.

Schedule a Meeting with Comcate Today!

Learn how Comcate can help make government delivery simple, and offer a modern digital experience to help you increase transparency, efficiency, and performance across your departments. If you have any questions about implementing our software, please fill out the form below or call us directly at (415) 632-1248.

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