A ticket tells the story of one request. A CRM record tells the story of one customer across all their requests, purchases and conversations. When a returning customer calls, the CRM is what lets you say "I can see you contacted us last week about your refund" instead of "Please explain from the beginning." Customers notice that difference, and so do employers. CRM experience is named in many support adverts in Ghana and abroad.
What a customer record holds
Details vary by company, but a record often includes:
- Contact details: name, phone number, email, location.
- Account details: account or customer number, products or services they use, plan or package.
- History: past tickets, calls, chats, orders, payments and refunds.
- Notes: short comments from agents about preferences or important context.
- Consent and preferences: for example whether they agreed to receive marketing messages and which language they prefer.
Searching well
Customers often have similar names, so search carefully. Search by a unique detail first, such as a phone number, customer number or email, and then confirm the name and one more detail with the customer. Opening the wrong record and discussing someone else's account is a serious data protection mistake.