Salesforce Service Cloud Review

Why Salesforce Service Cloud Is Best for Customization

Salesforce’s entry plan is competitively priced at $25 per user, per month. Although you get a strong set of features for that price, you get the fullest value out of the software on higher tiers. We find it’s worth it, particularly if you already use Salesforce in your business. 

Salesforce’s embrace of artificial intelligence (AI) across its platform has been market-leading and that’s the case for Service Cloud too. Its AI is so sophisticated that it can manage almost the entire after-sales process for more trivial inquiries and hand them over to a human representative on more complex cases.

Salesforce tracks everything, so managers can see blockages in resolving cases easily. They can then adapt their processes within Service Cloud to correct any inefficiencies and identify team members who are struggling to top up their training.

The drag-and-drop workflow automation on the platform is superb. Managers can remove the time-consuming, repetitive but necessary tasks reps have to complete, allowing them more time to work on tougher customer care cases.

Salesforce is an investment and, beyond its entry-level plan, its subscriptions are expensive. However, you only need it for your service team and not for every employee so you can allocate licenses selectively, keeping overall costs in check while still benefiting from the platform. 

Salesforce Service Cloud’s Einstein AI bot conversations can suggest the best recommendations to solve issues or problems. Source: Salesforce Service Cloud.

Usability

In our testing, we found Salesforce Service Cloud to be a user-friendly and intuitive system. The dashboard and other functions’ screen layout is clean and minimalist, with the features you want to access within easy reach.

When we went deeper into the system to build workflows and automations, we found the drag-and-drop interface logical and straightforward, even for people who are not comfortable with IT and computers.

The only issue surrounding usability is the sheer number of customization options the platform offers. To speed up implementation and avoid mission creep, you should have a clear plan in mind for what represents a minimum viable version of Salesforce. A few months after rollout, get feedback from your team on how to improve the system further.

Salesforce Service Cloud agent dashboard gives agents a rounded picture of each inquiry or complaint to give a better response. Source: Salesforce Service Cloud. 

Salesforce Service Cloud Features

Build intelligent chatbots

Salesforce’s AI chatbots are standout features. When a chatbot model is trained, the responses are intelligent and insightful. They feel like a two-way conversation. We liked how easy it was to build chatbots for particular use cases from scratch or from one of the templates the platform provides.

You can create multiple chatbots to cover a variety of departments from your sales team to your technical team. Ask the AI to handle as much of the process as you feel comfortable with and set guidelines on when a conversation needs to be transferred to a human agent. Drill down into the analytics to discover how well your chatbots are understanding customers and delivering a positive outcome.

We appreciate how bots encourage self-service by recommending content on a website, portal or mobile app, with analytics tracking the most and least effective solutions. We also like how Salesforce has gone further than other contact center apps by expanding beyond web-based interactions to short message service (SMS) and private messaging apps like SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Apple Messages for Business.

AI bots can set and track field appointments automatically. Source: Salesforce Service Cloud.

Handle multiple inbound streams

We love how Service Cloud brings all customer interactions together in a clear, unified dashboard, handling everything from phone calls, emails and web forms to live chats and private messaging apps. 

Every message is recorded on the system, so you get a complete overview of all of your interactions with each client within Salesforce’s communications console. A quick glance at this history before starting a conversation will allow any customer service agent to better understand each client’s needs.

The customizable omnichannel routing can send each inquiry to the right agent or team automatically based on their skills and availability. Agents see a pop-up message with real-time data, account history and AI-powered insights. Clients don’t need to explain again why they’re calling leading to quicker issue resolutions and improved customer relationships.

Many of the features are ideal for managers too. The system provides real-time transcriptions that capture every detail during calls, which makes it much easier for them to spot the errors their team members are making so they can help them put it right. Streamline their workflows by setting up automated notifications so they spend less time on routine updates and more time on complex issues.

Personalize agent views

Agent personalization tools allow you to tailor your agent interface to suit your business needs. Using a simple drag-and-drop editor, you can build bespoke page layouts for agents using a blend of prebuilt and customizable components. We appreciate how this helps them see the most relevant information straight away rather than having to waste time hunting for it in submenus.

Managers can also configure their dashboards with essential metrics they’re checking their team against, such as average case closing times, customer satisfaction scores and trend data, to help identify performance drivers and distribute tasks and actions more effectively. 

Track and improve agent and team efficiency

As a software-as-a-service market leader, we’re not surprised that Salesforce Service Cloud performs strongly in terms of setting and measuring KPIs. CRM data can be populated automatically, predictive analytics insights identify issues and churn risks and agents and supervisors can escalate issues from agent dashboards.

One feature we appreciate on Salesforce is the “swarming” function, which allows people from across a business to come together and tackle tougher customer issues as a team. Instead of one agent trying to resolve an issue, they can use swarming to pull in an expert team to resolve issues faster. 

We love how easy it is for agents to kick off a session, share ideas in real time and close out cases more swiftly. Highly useful too is the ability for managers to review why swarms form, so they can identify new staff training opportunities.

Build support into your website or app

Unlike many of its rivals that encourage contact through social media channels or secure messaging apps, Salesforce includes embedded website support, so your customers don’t have to leave the website or app they were using. Embedded support includes knowledge articles and live case management tools installed where you want them.

Optional video chat assistance

We like the Visual Remote Assistant, a paid upgrade to the two most expensive Service Cloud packages. The Visual Remote Assistant offers live interactive video guidance, including annotations and a live pointer. Video streams adapt to the available bandwidth in real time, delivering the highest call quality the connection can support.

Salesforce Service Cloud’s Visual Remote Assistant feature offers live video help with annotations and a pointer. Source: Salesforce Service Cloud.

Knowledge Management

Salesforce’s Knowledge Management feature is available to companies on all plans. This highly useful feature allows companies to build a centralized, dynamic repository of information. Staff can use this knowledge base for self-training and to improve the quality of the support they offer to customers.

Better still, you can make your Knowledge Base available to your clients so they have 24/7 access to accurate, up-to-date answers. We see this as a real value adder for companies whose products and services are more complex to share expert tips, best practices and shortcuts. Over time, this resource helps reduce repetitive support queries for your team.

Salesforce Service Cloud Cost

Unlike some rivals, Salesforce is transparent about its Service Cloud package pricing. However, many of its more advanced functionalities are paid extras that customers must negotiate with a sales executive.

Here is a summary of its five main plans.

Salesforce is expensive in comparison to other contact and call center management platforms. However, it is a highly effective platform whose users stay with it and are very complimentary about how it helps their businesses.

Salesforce makes some of its features available for an extra charge. For example, Einstein for Service is included as part of the Einstein 1 Service package but subscribers to Enterprise and Unlimited can purchase it as an added extra.

We appreciate the presence of a 30-day free trial that doesn’t require a credit card or software installation. Compared to the extremely limited trial offered by RingCentral (read our RingCentral CX review to learn more), the Service Cloud Professional Edition free trial offers preconfigured reports and dashboards alongside online training and guided user experiences. You can even upload your own data.

Salesforce Service Cloud includes workforce engagement forecasts. Source: Salesforce Service Cloud.

Salesforce Service Cloud Setup

Salesforce does have a reputation for being complicated and time-consuming to set up. While it’s true there is still a learning curve to installing and using some Salesforce products, Service Cloud is relatively simple to set up in comparison. The Service Setup Assistant walks you through the process, particularly configuring the Service Console — that’s the part of the platform containing each customer and their case history. 

Next, set up case management so you can create, track and update cases in the way you want. Before you do this, you should have an idea of what you want the system to do like automating service requests and directing incoming inquiries to subject matter experts. You should also connect your support channels like email, phone and social media so customers can reach you easily.

Users of other Salesforce solutions, such as the Salesforce Marketing Cloud email marketing platform (read our Salesforce Marketing Cloud review to learn more), will be pleased by Service Cloud’s familiar, intuitive interface. To optimize your customization level, Salesforce runs an AppExchange marketplace where you can access thousands of apps to combine with Service Cloud. 

Only Pro Suite users and above can benefit from the AppExchange marketplace, but we were impressed by the option. It rivals other platforms like Five9 for its sheer number of integrations. [Read our Five9 review to learn more].

Salesforce Service Cloud Customer Service

We were impressed by Service Cloud’s customer service transparency. Unlike some competitors, Salesforce does not attempt to hide its contact details, prominently displaying a telephone number online. 

However, 24/7 toll-free support and the Salesforce Knowledge Base are only available to Premier Success Plan account holders. This comes free with the Unlimited and Einstein 1 Service plans but attracts a 30% of fees charge for all other subscribers (if you pay $5,000 a month in fees, Premier Service Plan costs 30% of that figure).

Live chat support and the ubiquitous online form are augmented with webinars, written guides, company blogs and a thriving online community. The community is a two-way street. Users can recommend improvements to Salesforce software and discuss existing platforms, their limitations and workarounds with knowledgeable fellow users.

Salesforce Service Cloud Drawbacks

While Service Cloud’s functionalities are undeniably impressive, we must reiterate that the most expensive Unlimited package costs $500 per user, per month, with 14 additional services commanding separate fees, such as service analytics apps and intelligent forecasting. That makes it the most expensive contact center package we’ve tested. You’d have to want these features to justify their costs.

Service Cloud’s functionalities and costs are justifiable if you want to unite your telephone and CRM systems or operate in a sandbox. For everyone else, Service Cloud may seem unduly complex and involved. Many smaller businesses want an out-of-the-box platform ready to go from day one with good technical support. It’s worth repeating that 24/7 toll-free telephone support is only available to Unlimited and Einstein 1 Service customers and for clients on lower tiers willing to pay a premium of 30% on top of its plan fees. Everyone else makes do with the Standard package, which is far less comprehensive.

Service Cloud doesn’t offer valuable features found in rival suites, including webinar tools, performance management tools like training and coaching packages, sentiment analysis and advanced analytics. You’ll need to explore the broader suite of Salesforce tools or look for third-party apps with these features. For example, an integrated tool called Salesforce Service Cloud Voice provides interactive voice response via an Amazon Connect integration. Remember that you can’t access the app store or use the apps unless you’re on the Pro Suite plan at $100 per user, per month.

Methodology

When exploring contact center software solutions like Service Cloud, we investigated the capabilities and features of different contact center software, speaking to agents and researching websites and user forums to identify key pros and cons. We prioritized three key areas — customer support, pricing and available features — while investigating platform-specific features like Salesforce’s Einstein AI system and sandbox capabilities. We also ignored generic attributes like the 99.999 percent service level agreement any contact center software provider should promise to honor.

Overall Value

We recommend Salesforce Service Cloud for:

• Businesses that want to handle omnichannel inquiries
• Companies in niche industries where extensive software customization is vital
• Users of existing Salesforce software, such as Slack
• Tech-savvy firms that want to sandbox their software

We don’t recommend Salesforce Service Cloud for:

• Companies that want a simple pricing structure where everything’s included
• Firms with relatively basic requirements or telephone-only contact centers
• Businesses that want 24/7 support without paying for the most expensive package

Related article: See how Salesforce Service Cloud compares to its rivals in our overview of the best contact center software suites of 2025.