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The following is an extract from a white paper, 7
Innovations to Reinvent Phone-Based Customer Service, produced
by Mountain View, California-based eGain.
 Until the mid-1990s, the phone
channel accounted for most business-to-customer communications
but the advent of the Internet led to an explosion of
business-to-customer communications through electronic
channels such as email, chat, web collaboration, and web
self-service.
Today, innovations such as VoIP, customer interaction hubs,
multidimensional knowledge management™, and multishore
sourcing models, have re-configured the economics and
flexibility of phone customer service. As most companies
struggle to find ways to provide superior customer service
experiences, a savvy few are already grabbing the low-hanging
fruit that has been there all along: the clunky old phone
channel.
Driven by the dot-com boom and generational
changes in channel preferences, businesses optimized
e-channels and let phone service deteriorate. According to a
2007 Forrester study, of business and IT
executives, 57% of survey respondents thought that their
company's phone customer service was average, below average,
or poor.
While some research studies indicate that e-channel
communications have surpassed phone communications in volume,
the phone continues to remain popular both as a preferred
single channel for some customers and transaction types, and
as an important part of the multichannel mix for many others.
In fact, a 2006 survey of US and UK consumers by
Accenture showed that 82% of respondents continued to use the
phone to get assistance.
By innovating in the phone arena, while integrating with
other channels, companies are enhancing brand loyalty,
extending their competitive advantage, and reaping operational
benefits. Following are some innovations that are helping to
drive business growth::
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With the holiday season upon
us, what gift would you most like to give or
receive?
by Nelson DeMille.
