Two Basic Types of Service Catalog
An integral feature of how to implement service level management is the service catalog. There are two types of service catalog, the records based service catalog and the actionable based service catalog. Knowing the difference in the two types of service catalog can be crucial to making the right choice for your company. There are also many different types of sub catalogs out there, which are just as important for your company to be aware of.
What is a Records Based Service Catalog?
One of the two types of service catalog, a service record catalog stores information about services that are provided. It holds specific details about each service that is required. These records can be manufactured using spreadsheets, documents, management applications or any other system built for this purpose. The drawback to this type of service catalog is that it takes time to input the information into the system and errors can occur. On the upside however, these documents can be shared with other documents to track the progress of services your company offers.
Records Based Customer Service Catalog
Another type of service catalog is the customer service catalog, which falls under the heading of a records based service catalog. It allows the customer service department to see information regarding the customers they are dealing with. It also allows employees to be able to see the services that each of their customers use within your company so that they will have a better understanding of the issues at hand.
What is an Actionable Based Service Catalog?
This type of service catalog is published so that customers can order goods or services from your company. This type of service catalog opens up the time of the employees and allows these transactions to happen virtually on their own. By using IT to streamline things, the customers are assured they are getting the quality of service they deserve.
Actionable Customer Service Catalog
This is the actual service that allows customers to interact with your company’s customer service. This type of service catalog provides customers with a list of services that your company offers that might be of interest to them; this is very much like a shopping list. This serves as the request form that a customer would fill out for an additional service from your company.
Making the Decision on a Service Catalog
Each type of service catalog has distinct characteristics and is geared towards a specific audience. All types of service catalogs require their own type of design to be the most effective and efficient they can be to your company. Knowing the difference between them will be crucial in making your business purchase decision. No matter which way you choose to go though, all types of service catalogs can offer perks to your company and improve your current customer service processes. Streamlining the process for your employees, while also making your customers more satisfied, is a lot of what makes for a great company to work with. Knowing that your customers are satisfied and are secure with their business decisions only means future growth for you company and a long lasting relationship with your current customers.