White Paper: Using Web-based Support Tools to Improve Customer Service

Many service-centric organizations have already integrated their in-house service and support applications with Web interfaces, or deployed systems designed for the Web from the ground up. They’re better integrating channels through customer interaction platforms, greatly expanding self-service functionality, undertaking knowledge management initiatives, and extending their reach through remote support and maintenance tools.

This informative white paper from Supportindustry.com and sponsored by LogMeInRescue and Parature, examines the latest trends and technologies in using Web-based support tools to improve customer service.

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Sprint Nextel Defends Cutting Customers
Sprint Nextel Corp. isn't apologizing for its decision to ax customers it determined were calling customer service too often. The nation's third-largest wireless provider sent letters to about 1,000 subscribers June 29, saying the company's records showed they had made frequent calls for help with questions about billing and other account information. The customers were told their service agreements were being terminated, they wouldn't owe anything on their final bill, and the company would waive early termination fees. They also were told to switch to another wireless provider by July 30 if they want to keep their phone number. In debate on the Internet, Sprint's move has attracted criticism that the company is penalizing consumers for trying to get what they paid for, or that the frequent calls are more a reflection of poor customer service by Sprint itself. However, Sprint said the targeted subscribers each made an average of 40 to 50 calls a month to customer service.

AOL to Pay $3M, Reform Cancel Policies
Averting a looming court battle over how it has handled the exodus from its Internet dial-up service, AOL has agreed to make it easier for its remaining customers to leave as part of a $3 million settlement with 48 states and the District of Columbia. The resolution announced last Wednesday was driven by a deluge of complaints from AOL customers who said they tried to close their accounts, only to be thwarted in their attempts or discover they were still being billed for services that they thought had been canceled Subscribers who phoned AOL to cancel their service sometimes were greeted by aggressive customer service representatives who were paid bonuses of up to $3,000 if they found a way to retain the business, according to the multistate settlement. AOL, the Internet division of Time Warner Inc., didn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement.

Phone delays up after Hawaiian Air outsources call center
After Hawaiian Airlines recently outsourced its reservation call center to the Philippines, some customers have had to wait 30 minutes to 45 minutes before they can speak with a representative. Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner said the delays are largely the result of a 30% spike in call volume. He said moving the call center to the Philippines only played a limited role in the delays. Wagner added that some of the call center workers are trainees who are not as familiar with the airline's operations. They may be taking a minute longer to handle customer service calls, contributing to the backlog, he said. Wagner said the airline's call center operator, Citel, is hiring 40 additional workers to handle the increased volume and providing additional training. Similar outsourcing efforts have been implemented by competitors such as United Airlines and American Airlines, who have moved hundreds of reservation jobs to India since 9/11.
Source: USA Today

Telefónica Móviles Turns to UTOPY for Customer Intelligence
UTOPY, a provider of enterprise-class solutions for Customer Intelligence through Speech Analytics, announced that Telefónica Móviles of Spain, a company of the more than $70 billion Telefónica group, has selected UTOPY. Telefónica Móviles is implementing the fully localized Spanish version of UTOPY’s SpeechMiner solution with the support of UTOPY’s reseller and implementation partner, Fonetic, who is headquartered in Spain. By leveraging the conversations taking place in the contact center and transforming them into meaningful information, UTOPY's Customer Intelligence solution provides key data across the customer lifecycle. Telefónica Móviles España uses the solution to analyze both inbound and outbound customer interactions -- enabling the company to create a holistic portrait of all customer relationships.

Epicor Extends Next-Generation CRM Solution
Epicor Software Corporation, a provider of enterprise business software solutions, announced significant enhancements to its Epicor Customer Relationship Management Suite, Epicor Clientele CRM.NET 8.5. The new release - built with 100% Microsoft .NET managed code and employing an adaptable service-oriented architecture (SOA) approach in the creation of customer-centric software processes - now supports Epicor’s Productivity Pyramid, which draws together people, processes and applications through the combination of three of Epicor’s powerful business tools: Epicor Portal, Service Connect and Information Worker.

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Two and one-half times more Best-in-Class organizations have visibility into an accurate up-to-date inventory of wireless devices compared to Laggards. Inventory needs to be tracked with personnel status, job function, usage, and costs. As employees leave the company, enterprises must request that the carrier disconnect service and billing or reassign the device and services associated with the device to new employees. This helps to explain why Best-in-Class organizations are able to spend nearly two times less on their wireless expenses compared to all others even though they have 21% more wireless devices,” stated Joe Basili, Research Director at Aberdeen Group.

Nearly four times more Best-in-Class organizations have a tool for ongoing wireless plan optimization compared to Laggards. Deployment of wireless plan optimization tools contributed to six (6) times more Best-in-Class organizations reporting a decrease in the actual wireless cost per minute compared to Laggards.

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60 Percent Of Europeans Have Adopted Social Computing
60 percent of European online consumers are taking part in Social Computing activities such as reading or writing blogs, listening to podcasts, setting up RSS feeds, reading and writing online customer reviews, or taking part in social networking sites, according to a new report by Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). However, the survey of more than 7,000 online consumers across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and Sweden found that consumers in those countries are adopting Social Computing at differing rates. The result is a unique Social Computing profile for each nation.

Highlights from the report include:

• Reading peer reviews is the No. 1 Social Computing activity, with nearly one-third of European online consumers taking part in that activity.
• Consumers in the UK and Sweden are embracing social networking sites, while users in Germany and France are far less impressed. More than one-third of UK consumers take part in social networking sites, double the European average.
• Nine percent of all Europeans maintain blogs or publish Web pages. The Dutch are the most prolific, with 15 percent of users in the Netherlands taking part in this activity.
• The Spanish actively comment on Web sites, while Germans are, by and large, reluctant to offer their opinions online.

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Skills gap holding up IT projects
Skills gaps in enterprise IT departments are hampering change management programs, IT leaders have admitted. CIO Connect, an independent networking forum for chief information officers, has released information based on a study carried out among its membership.

Three-quarters of CIOs and IT managers believe that the progress of change management programs in their organizations is being impeded by the lack of skills within their own IT department. A further 64 per cent said that they been forced to introduce new leaders into projects to ensure success.

Around half of the 135 CIOs and IT managers responding to the survey would be increasing investment in training over the next 12 months to ensure that staff could contribute more in change management programs. Less than four percent said that investment in training was being cut.

The survey also asked IT leaders to rate their organisation's capability levels when it came to tackling a number of specific change management challenges. Respondents cited 'overcoming the restrictions of any silo-based business process' as their most problematic area, with 50 per cent rating their capability level at the low end of the scale.The thorniest issues were also 'winning over sceptics by selling the benefits of a proposed change', with 40 per cent citing a low level of capability, and 'communicating the nature of project changes to stakeholders'.
Source: Vnunet

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support.com Reports Top Consumer Issues With Windows Vista
support.com, a service which provides consumers with Instant Technology Relief(SM) from their frustrating computer problems, announced the top call drivers into support.com about Microsoft's new operating system, Vista.

According to a recent independent survey from support.com, of 1,000 computer users in the U.S., more than two-thirds, or 77 percent, expected some sort of problem with Vista, including 30 percent who expected problems due to the new user interface. Anthony Rodio, chief marketing officer responsible for support.com, noted that the top three consumer call drivers regarding Vista since its release six months ago include:

1. Navigation problems - The new Aero user interface is causing confusion among consumers trying to locate files or operate basic functionality due to the fact that people are accustomed to using the interface in Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

2. Device incompatibility - Consumers who purchase computers with Vista installed or who upgrade their current system cannot connect their devices, including printers, MP3 players and digital cameras, due to outdated drivers.

3. Home networking issues - Consumers who set up a home network using a Vista-enabled computer cannot view other computers in the network running Windows XP.

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Poor Translation Hinders Business Growth Overseas
Businesses are facing greater pressure than ever before to market their brands globally, but cultural and language differences are proving to be thorny barriers, particularly when companies sell products on the Web to a foreign audience, Forrester researchers say in a new study. The customer experience usually suffers at first when firms go global, Forrester’s survey found. Businesses often use separate software platforms for each country, which increases cost and reduces consistency. Only one out of five companies are using a central technology solution to help with brand management in all countries they operate in, and make sure terminology is consistent across languages.
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What It Takes for a CIO to Be a CEO
Do you know your Executive Quotient (EQ)? By figuring your EQ, you can determine how well you’re positioned to be the strategy-oriented CIO that businesses are demanding.Your EQ can be measured across a set of executive leadership competencies that are essential for any well-rounded C-level executive -- including IT leaders who want to move beyond the limits of Function Head and its focus on operations, alignment and order-taking. It’s also a success indicator for CIOs who are taking on formal or informal responsibilities in non-IT aspects of the business or moving up to the CEO role.
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Five Outsourcing Trends to Watch
Which way is the wind blowing in the outsourcing market? What's looming on the horizon in the next five years? This article identifies five areas to watch.
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Microsoft Takes On Salesforce
As growth slowed in recent years at Microsoft's Office division, which specializes in such business productivity applications as e-mail and spreadsheet creation, the software company looked for opportunities in other areas. Customer-relationship management (CRM) software seemed an ideal candidate. At its worldwide partner conference July 10 in Denver, Microsoft unveiled the pricing for a new version of its CRM software that it will host online, something only its partners have done up to now. The new iteration, due later this year, puts Microsoft in direct competition with Salesforce. And Microsoft, which analysts expect to post $51 billion in sales for the fiscal year that ended June 30, has come out with aggressive pricing, beating the competition by 40% or more in some cases.
Full Article...

Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here: Inside the 300 Billion Dollar Business Behind the Media You Constantly Consume
by David Verklin, Bernice Kanner

In Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here, Verklin and Kanner expose the inner workings of the media, marketing, and advertising industries. Readers will learn why their favorite shows get cancelled, why Oprah gives away cars, and how money, people, politics, and new technologies are transforming TV, the Internet, radio, magazines, and other media Americans consume every day.

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Multichannel Service & Support Survey of Executives: Report of Findings
Supportindustry.com and eGain Communications Corp. recently conducted a survey of contact center, helpdesk and customer service managers and executives, focusing on multichannel customer service and support -- its importance, the current state of their multichannel capabilities and challenges in implementing and managing it.

To get a complimentary copy of the report, click here.

Editorial suggestions, feedback & comments:
Carolyn Healey, Editor - chealey@supportindustry.com

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