InfoWorld QuickPulse * Service and Support

Customer service has evolved from a reactive

activity viewed largely as a cost center-based tac-

tical necessity, to a proactive management task

that can in many ways set a company apart from

the competition.

At the same time, the channels by which cus-

tomers receive support are growing and fragment-

ing very rapidly. The telephone is still the primary

mode of support, but is steadily declining as text,

social media, chat, knowledge bases, email and

online communities provide new avenues for cus-

tomers to get the help they need.

Some organizations are embracing this evolu-

tion by implementing technologies that enable

them to interact with customers regardless of the

channel or the device they’re using. This approach

not only improves customer service, but also

boosts the brand image and helps companies

achieve broader business goals.

Simply put, great products are not nearly

enough to maintain a competitive edge. In a

September 2012 guest column in The Wall Street

Journal, Forrester Research analysts wrote that, in

the age of the customer, “past sources of compet-

itive advantage have been commoditized … in this

age the only source of competitive advantage is

the one that can survive technology-fueled disrup-

tion: an obsession with customer experience.” 1

Customer Service is Job 1Businesses are heeding the call. According to a

recent survey of IT managers conducted by IDG

Research, 47 percent view service and sup-

port desk operations as a strategic enabler to

achieving broader business goals. Further, an

overwhelming majority of respondents say that,

among other things, improving customer service

increases customer loyalty, raises customer life-

time value and improves customer acquisition.

How do they know? Fifty-seven percent ac-

tively track and correlate the success of their ser-

vice and support operations to the achievement of

broader business goals.

One example: A leading games-on-demand

provider has embraced advanced chat services

that drastically cut problem resolution time, in-

crease customer retention and boost support staff

productivity, resulting in cost reduction of more

than 30 percent.

The chat services used by the gaming compa-

ny go beyond the basics and include click-to-call

technology, and a tool that lets customer service

representatives connect to a consumer’s mobile

device (with permission) to remotely diagnose and

fix technical problems.

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Service and Support as a Strategic Imperative Focus on customer experience yields tangible business benefits

1 “How CIOs Can Help Companies Survive the Age of the Customer,” The Wall Street Journal, September 18, 2012

In a September 2012 guest column in The Wall Street Journal, Forrester Research analysts wrote that, in the age of the customer, “past sources of competitive advantage have been commoditized … in this age the only source of competitive advantage is the one that can survive technology-fueled disruption: an obsession with customer experience.”

Best-of-breed chat technologies enable

support staffs to manage simultaneous chats,

servicing more customers faster. Further, organi-

zations can use chat technologies to boost sales;

for example, by promoting services that convert

customers to a paid service.

The Evolution of Remote PC Support Despite the torrid growth of everything mobile,

many organizations have not deployed tools that

would enable them to most effectively support

their mobile customers.

Only 24 percent of respondents to the IDG sur-

vey have a remote support solution enabling them

to connect to a customer’s mobile device. At the

same time, more than 60 percent say that such

a solution would positively impact their customer

service and satisfaction metrics.

That disconnect suggests that many organiza-

tions might not be supporting their customers

most effectively.

Support solutions like Rescue from LogMeIn

let technicians remotely support a user’s Android,

BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Mobile or Symbian

device, and quickly resolve issues.

It is the logical evolution of remote PC support.

Indeed, when Telenor Group, one of the world’s

largest wireless carriers, wanted to change the

way its mobile customers receive and experience

support, the company deployed technology for

remotely supporting smartphones.

With permission, Telenor’s support staff can

remotely control a smartphone, helping custom-

ers set up wireless networks, manage security

settings, transfer files and install software, even

rebooting the phone if needed.

“The remote capability allows us to provide a

far more satisfactory customer experience and

one that you’d expect from a leading mobile oper-

ator,” says Lars-Erik Monsvik, product manager in

Telenor’s premium support services department.

Taking it a step further, some leading device

makers are bundling remote control software on

their devices, enabling support staffs to remotely

configure, diagnose and troubleshoot problems

wherever the customer has a data connection.

This technology also lets technicians collabo-

rate on a remote session to solve more complex

problems. Collectively, these tools help solve

problems in a way that leaves the customer with a

very positive brand experience.

Time for a Strategic ApproachMore than half of the organizations in the IDG

survey cite high customer satisfaction as the most

critical goal for their service operations. However

that is getting more challenging as customer

service fragments and becomes multidimensional.

Customers are communicating with vendors in

different ways depending on who they are, where

they are and what device they are using.

“Customers will choose which channels to

engage with you whether you like it or not,” says

John Purcell, director of products at LogMeIn Inc.

“The question is, will you be there to meet them?”

The multichannel aspect of modern customer

service may make some organizations feel a loss

of control, particularly in social media, but tech-

nology provides an important way for organiza-

tions to have at least an equal voice in controlling

perceptions about the brand.

InfoWorld QuickPulse * Service and Support

Source: IDG Research, November2012

Customer Satisfaction’s Effect on Key Business Outcomes

71%

55%

39%

35%

29%

20% 91%

90%

88%

90%

84%

35%

49%

55%

55%

Increased customer loyality

Increased customer lifetime value

Improved customer acquisition

Higher employee satisfaction

Workflow sustainability

Dramatic positive impact Moderate positive impactDramatic/

Moderate positive impact incidence

“Customers will choose which channels to engage with you whether you like it or not,” says John Purcell, director of products at LogMeIn Inc. “The question is, will you be there to meet them?”

“Customers may not want to engage with you

on the phone, but that doesn’t mean you have to

surrender your influence over their experience,”

says Purcell.

Tools that help organizations engage custom-

ers on all levels, particularly mobile, will be key to

satisfying needs in an on-demand world. Busi-

nesses need to understand why customers are

InfoWorld QuickPulse * Service and Support

Visit www.LogMeIn.com

engaging with them, who their customers are and

how they are engaging.

When service providers have a better under-

standing of these elements, they extend brand

influence and drive more positive outcomes with

customer interactions. Forrester Research has a

model showing the three ways in which revenue is

impacted by positive customer experience: incre-

mental revenue from existing customers, revenue

saved by lower churn and new sales driven by

word of mouth.

Considering their daily interactions with cus-

tomers, there is likely no department closer to

customers, no group that understands customer

behavior better, than customer service.

Their critical and unique insight into customers

Propensity for Organizations to Correlate Service/Support Desk Operations to

Business Outcomes

57% Yes31%

No

12%Don’t know

SOURCE: IDG Research Services, November 2012

adds value to the business in ways that no other

discipline can, which makes them a strategic part

of the organization.

ConclusionIn an exhaustive 2011 report2, Accenture surveyed

10,000 consumers and found that, not surprising-

ly, expectations of customer service were higher

than ever. At the same time, Accenture found, the

digital age has made relationships between cus-

tomers and providers more personal because it

provides myriad ways to understand what matters

to and motivates customers.

“If you do not have a customer-centric view of

the world you are denying yourself the opportunity

to drive lifetime value,” says Purcell.

That’s surely true. It’s also true that simply

measuring customer satisfaction through surveys

is not enough. Organizations must collect, evalu-

ate and act on customer feedback, using all tools

available. Doing so is a proactive management

discipline that has a quantitative, demonstrable

impact on business results.

The number of organizations that view cus-

tomer support (and more importantly, customer

experience) as a strategic imperative will continue

to grow. The companies that recognize and

embrace the evolution and importance of the

customer experience will be more likely to achieve

broader business goals.

2 Accenture 2011 Global Consumer Research Study