Over the past few years, the Internet has truly changed how companies do business. In part, the popularity of this channel has been driven by consumer adoption and technology advancements. Another important contributing factor is the savvy nature of today’s consumers, coupled with their desire to quickly gather information and make on-the-spot decisions and purchases. This phenomenon has accelerated the need for all companies to extend communication via the call center to other channels that should equally be able to meet and exceed consumer expectations. A service that once was primarily handled either in person or over the telephone has evolved and is now conducted through a number of Web-based multimedia touch points and even by consumers serving themselves. While Web initiatives have historically been a function of the IT and marketing departments, increasingly contact centers are taking the lead in managing the self-service revenue channel to ensure that the Web serves as a profitable service media – as well as a consistent and quality-focused touch point.

In recent years, email and Web chat have been the primary Web-based communication channels that customers have chosen. But even these mediums require wait times for customers looking for quick responses. For instance, the standard email response time from an organization runs between six and eight hours, while Web chat still is not a standard offering for customer service inquiries in many organizations. Increasingly, many find it much more convenient to simply “help themselves” through Web self-service to research and gather information, find answers to their questions, and purchase goods and services. In addition, consumers have the option to “self-serve” using voice recognition over the telephone or computer kiosks with touch screens to find answers and make purchases. This makes Web-based customer self-service one of the fastest growing channels in the multimedia matrix.

Perhaps the growing popularity of Web self-service is due to the fact that consumers maintain control of the interaction and time spent gathering information. They receive instant gratification by getting the information they need when they want it without facing the potential hassle of communicating with agents trying to sell them on other products and services. This movement toward self-service is really just a reflection of our customers taking control of how they interact with our businesses. More than ever before, consumers are dictating when, where and how they communicate with a company. In the process, one clear trend has emerged and that is the Web as consumers’ preferred method of interaction.

Improving Loyalty While Reducing Costs Through Self-Service
As consumers turn to self-service CRM as their preferred interaction channel, many organizations are quickly realizing the cost benefits tied to this phenomenon – one that is rapidly becomes a favorite for companies building and investing in their e-commerce business. According to a market study conducted by Forrester Research, 62 percent of the Global 3,500 firms surveyed cited self-service as the most important CRM initiative at their companies. Analysts support this movement and agree that the economics of multi-channel support and self-service are extremely compelling.

According to Gartner, the ability to lock customers in by providing convenient touch points and consistent service not only improves loyalty, but also drives down costs and increases revenue. In its recent study, the analyst firm stated that self-service applications that are blended seamlessly into the customer experience will lower operational costs, enable higher customer satisfaction, and emerge as a cornerstone of competitive differentiation. Specifically for the contact center environment, the cost implications are huge. Interactions with “live” agents average $5 per transaction, whereas serving a customer via self-service features costs a mere $0.35. In other words, it costs 150 percent more to serve customers over the telephone, when many actually prefer the Web.

Because this emerging architecture enables companies to decrease costs and experience unprecedented productivity in serving customers, industry experts are counseling firms to move aggressively and enhance their self-service strategy and offerings – starting with one of the most used self-service sources: their Web sites. Today, companies must evaluate their Web site design, navigation, content and ease-of use to ensure it is effective, efficient and above all, user-friendly. They also need to integrate self-service features throughout their site to ensure consumers’ needs are easily met. Frankly, if it’s more than a few clicks away and not organized in an easy-to-use format, consumers are likely to lose interest in the information and the site. In fact, analysts warn that companies who can’t provide quality self-service features will consequently face increased call volumes, customer defections and lost revenue.

Getting Beyond Self-Service Speculation
Many companies engaged in e-business initiatives today already have access to Web metrics that provide quantitative assessments for measuring Web effectiveness, such as click stream analysis tools to report basic Web site activity statistics. Although it provides valuable information for managing a Web site, click stream analysis only opens the door for speculation on the actual visitor experience without delivering the drill-down analysis that includes captured samples from actual consumer perspective. However, if the consumer and his/her experience is truly the most critical aspect of the mix, then one must ask, “Do the number of clicks on a Web site really tell me what kind of experience the customer had overall?” While those in sales and marketing may hope a customer’s Web visit is lengthy, the customer care professional is much more likely to focus on the overall consumer experience, such as could the user easily find information or purchase products in a reasonable period of time.

Existing software provides little perspective into visitor intent, end user behavior and visual flow. So as we incorporate self-service methodologies into our customer service formula, we should consider real tools for measurement of self-service effectiveness versus using speculation as the method for understanding what consumers are trying to accomplish. As Web initiatives evolve, measurements must evolve as well to include qualitative assessments pinpointing the customer experience. This evolution intersects quantitative data with observed user behavior gathered through qualitative means.

To truly understand the customer experience, organizations are finding it increasingly important to combine samples of what the visitor was trying to do with how they were trying to do it. Leveraging the proven solutions for optimizing quality and efficiency in the call center is one method organizations are relying on to achieve the same level of success with their Web initiatives. Capturing observed Web visitor behavior enhances core business processes, including transactions, commerce and customer care.

Luckily, the Internet is the only business channel in which we can track and monitor every action that our customers make. It allows us to record, store and playback customer scenarios to quickly identify opportunities that may increase sales, enhance customer satisfaction and further solidify relationships, as well as areas in which the site requires improvement. By monitoring customer experiences on-line, organizations can proactively create a user-friendly interface that is more effective, easier to navigate and less time consuming. They even can use the information to evaluate site design and ensure performance feedback remains on track.

Recorded interactions can reveal customer intentions through interpreting what they “tell” you through their actions. When a Web visit results in a telephone call to a company’s call center for customer service through the click of the “call me” button, the initiation of a Web chat, or the abandonment of a shopping cart, the visitor is sending the all too clear message that a need is not being met. All of this information serves as a form of intelligence that helps an organization react in a positive manner to consumers’ needs, buying patterns and expectations.

In a day and age when your competition is only a click away, the time to start taking action to implement and improve self-service channels into the customer service function is now. Capturing real-life snapshots of user experiences can strengthen customer contacts throughout your company, fine-tune your processes and strengthen your Web offerings – encouraging customers to return time after time.

*Special Note: This article was originally published in the May 2002 issue of RealMarket Magazine.

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