A
silent revolution is happening in post-sales customer
service, and as usual the Internet is the culprit.
For
years, CRM "gurus" have had us believe
that the customer is king. That customer retention is
the highest margin method of revenue generation. Whilst
this is true, placing highly reactive post-sales
staff close to customers on a more strategic basis
is often problematic to achieve. Service managers are
often (understandably) more concerned with staff rotas,
travel times, and managing the never-ending stream of
customer enquiries from increasingly demanding
customers.
Post-sales
support has, for too many years, been a Cinderella
operation, not used to the bright lights and marketing
budgets enjoyed by the sales teams. But that's now
changing rapidly.
The
Internet Changes Everything
Internet
based access to post-sales support
systems and processes (eService)
offers organisations a number of
margin-expanding opportunities.
Of course many companies already
use Internet based customer access
to streamline service operations,
drastically reducing call volumes
and hence post-sales costs. However,
the regularity of customer
contact that eService brings is
increasingly being seen as a market
channel that has for too long been
ignored. Good Internet-based
post-sales customer management encourages
frequent customer exposure
to your business, and it's marketing,
at minimal cost. Furthermore it
allows continuous gathering of demographic
and other qualification-rich data,
following a customer's relationship
throughout the entire customer
lifecycle, personalising the contact
with the customer, and extending
One to One marketing strategies
without direct staff intervention.
The Internet allows your service
operation to virtually visit
every customer, maintaining increasingly
complex customer relationships
to target only the most relevant
repeat opportunities.
Ignoring
the Internet as a rich channel to market, and
failing to exploit the potential it presents for true
CRM, could be the biggest risk your company
takes this decade.
Interchange's
WWW Service Portal Solutions
WWW-based
customer management solutions from
the Interchange Group allow ambitious
service organisations to exploit
the Internet to benefit in a number
of ways:
Reduced
Post-Sales Support Costs
Self-generation
of enquiries and service requests allows customers
to report faults or request information without
using valuable helpdesk resource.
Self-help
enquiry generation reduces customer queues at
busy times. With Internet based enquiry registration
the customer is never placed in a queue, the
enquiry is. This not only improves customer's
perception of service levels,
but also reduces short-lived demands on staffing
levels in the help centre.
Increased
Revenue Opportunity
Self-management
of service levels promotes service level
alternatives and encouraging upgrade leads.
Direct
customer access to service contract renewal
dates promoting early renewal of service agreements
and improving cash flow and forecasting.
Increased
Customer Satisfaction
Self-management
of service request progress along with
the ability to update the enquiry text
following initial referral removes the need
for staff to answer customer's requests for
updates on progress with their service
calls.
Proactive
notification of enquiry status changes
allows customers to be kept informed on progress
before the frustration of having to chase is
able to cloud the customer relationship.
On-line
service history allows the customer to monitor
service quality objectively rather than focus
on the last broken promise, improving false
perceptions and customer satisfaction.
Simplified
Multi-Departmental Customer Handling
Portal
based systems integration gives a single view
of all transactional data for a customer
via the WWW portal
Experience
that Counts
The
Interchange Group has 25 years of
experience in providing CRM
solutions to leading companies worldwide.
At the Interchange Group we
take pride in creating customised
eBusiness systems that allow your
customers to enjoy an eService portal
either as part of your existing
WWW site, or as a stand-alone solution.
Interchange's ServiceVision
portfolio of the world's best pre
and post-sales front-office systems
is unparalleled and means we can
carefully match an eService solution
to the requirements of any size
business.
Interchange's
hands-on experience in providing
mission-critical integration
to all major back-office systems
means that we can ensure your existing
systems and data are fully exploited
as part of your eService solution.
This pragmatic migration to an eBusiness
paradigm no longer requires massive
system replacement.
The
Interchange Group are an ISO9001
registered company (certificate
no. FM 10391). Over the years we
have created, and evolved, an implementation
methodology for any size solution
and customer. Today, our field-proven
benefits-led project management
methodology is your guarantee of
our commitment to your bottom line
success and is designed to deliver
the benefits from your investment
in change, not just the technology
to enable it.
The
Interchange Group, improving customer
service worldwide since 1976.
eService
eMarketing
eSales
Custom
WWW Portal design
Filed
Service Management
Depot
Repair management
Copyright
2001 - 2008 Interchange Group Limited - All Rights Reserved
Copyright
2001 - 2008 Interchange Group Limited - All Rights Reserved
