If you’ve ever watched The Office, you might remember the episode when Dwight and Jim discover that their customers have been giving them terrible reviews. They’re in total and utter denial — “The reason that I got bad customer reviews is because I didn’t! There is a massive conspiracy going on here!” Dwight protests.

Thousands of Windows users have been asking the same question and wondering why Microsoft teams won’t uninstall. They delete Microsoft teams from their computers, but MS Teams, much like an uninvited guest launches itself back at boot. This is creepy and incredibly annoying because the app constantly pops up when a user turns their computer on. And, this brings us back to our question: why do Microsoft Teams keep installing itself?

When Birchbox, a personalized beauty subscription service, was founded in 2010, they had just a few people answering customer emails. Eight years later, they had a team of 54 support agents managing a monthly volume of nearly 38,000 tickets across multiple channels. With the efficiencies gained from implementing a robust customer support software, they actually reduced their cost per contact and achieved their fastest resolution time ever, despite the company’s rapid growth.

Slack and Mattermost need no introduction as two of the most popular workplace communication apps. Slack, which stepped into the SaaS world as a platform for gamers to communicate, reported 10 million daily active users. Mattermost, an open-source Slack competitor, recently closed a $20 million funding to create new integrations and plugins.

As a customer, hearing the answer “go read this self-service article” from a support agent can be a frustrating experience. So many companies do self-service poorly that this type of response can feel like the agent is brushing the customer aside to focus on another issue. However, a great self-service experience can change this feeling of being ignored to one of feeling satisfied and empowered.

Businesses tend to primarily associate customer acquisition with marketing and sales. They often leave customer service out of the equation because they forget that customer acquisition includes the ability to convert prospects that are already in contact with your business. Prospects often subscribe to email newsletters, follow your business on social media, or read your blog, demonstrating a level of interest and familiarity that hasn’t turned into monthly recurring revenue—yet.

Despite our cultural obsession with achieving inbox zero, email remains one of the top ways customers reach out to businesses. In fact, 49 percent said email was their preferred customer service channel, second only to phone, according to Zendesk research. Email, if a little perfunctory, has the advantage of being a readily accessible and widely understood medium.

When most people refer to a CRM (customer relationship management) they’re referring to software or a tool that enables them to manage and improve their relationships with prospects and customers. But customer relationship management varies, depending on what department you’re talking to. A support team might use a CRM to manage customer tickets, while marketing teams may use the tool to analyze how consumers respond to online campaigns.

In recent years, remote working has risen sharply, with a 27.7% increase in the number of home-workers in the last decade alone. A mobile workforce means that a business' data is also ‘mobile’. Data, whether it is emails, ideas, contracts or plans, is the life-blood of most modern businesses; it is their intellectual property (IP). Without this data, there would be no product, no service, no sales.

Customer expectations are higher than ever—so much so that ​IDC predicts​ that companies will spend $641 billion on customer experience technologies by 2022 to meet them. Customers want easy, fast, and personalized experiences across touchpoints, and they’re comparing your business to companies that consistently deliver on their needs. When companies prioritize their relationships with their customers, they reap the benefits of renewed loyalty and competitive advantage.