By Zachary McGeary, Associate Analyst , Jupiter Research —

During the past several years, companies have focused on the self-service paradox (i.e., the difficulty of balancing cost-effective self-service and satisfactory self-service).

Key Questions
• Which self-service tools do consumers prefer?
• What are the risks of online self-service?
• What are emerging best practices for online self-service?

Key Finding
Ninety percent of consumers who contacted customer service during the past six months used online selfservice, but satisfaction with self-service remains low, compared with more costly phone and e-mail support channels. Companies must look beyond self-service as a contact-deflection tool, and increasingly consider it a problem-resolution tool.

Ninety percent of consumers who contacted customer service during the past six months said they used online self-service—static frequently asked questions (FAQs) and search boxes—at least once. Both online self-service channels also experienced significant growth in adoption: Six-percent more online consumers used searchable self-service and nine-percent more online consumers used FAQs, compared with the numbers of consumers who did the previous year. Although companies have successfully encouraged adoption of online self-service, however, consumers who are satisfied with self-service still prefer the cost-intensive phone and e-mail channels for almost every type of service request. Only 30 percent of consumers who are satisfied with self-service said they used self-service the last time they made a product-related (i.e., prepurchase) inquiry, which is more than twice that of any other inquiry type.

As such, satisfaction with self-service is not a huge driver of repeat use. Only 18 percent of consumers who are satisfied with self-service said satisfaction with previous selfservice encounters drove them to use self-service the last time they contacted customer service. Instead, consumers are far more concerned with the availability and immediacy of the online self-service channel. Additionally, some frustration with self-service appears to come from consumers who found self-service to be the only available option. Thirtyfive percent of unsatisfied online service users said it was the only available option when asked why they chose this channel. Consumers who said resolving their own issues is a reason for using self-service are 79 percent more likely to be satisfied with self-service than are consumers who did not say that.



JupiterResearch data provide compelling evidence to suggest self-service may put
companies’ revenue and most valuable customer relationships at risk, as follows:

• Lost revenue. Consumers who contact customer service spend significantly more (80 percent) online than does the average online consumer—mainly due to the correlation between purchase and subsequent need for service. Even though online self-service earns a respectable 51-percent satisfaction rate, data indicate dissatisfied consumers are among the most valuable consumers. Dissatisfied self-service consumers spend 35 percent more online than satisfied consumers do, and account for 41 percent of total revenue from all consumers who contact customer service. Ultimately, these dissatisfied consumers will probably turn to other channels for service, adding to the costs—for service and potential lost revenue—of poor online self-service.
• Increased service costs. Consumers dissatisfied with self-service contact customer service 19 percent more frequently than the average support seeker does, ultimately raising costs of service when they turn to other more costly channels for support (e.g., the phone). Twenty-seven percent of consumers said they used the phone the last time they called customer service because service through other channels failed. Companies must provide effective and efficient resolution to these consumers’ inquiries to preempt contact through additional channels.
  

Ultimately, resolution through self-service will probably result in satisfaction at least 50
percent of the time. However, companies must not blindly rely on self-service and should address failed self-service sessions with proactive outreach to mitigate customer churn and escalated service costs. (See Mitigating the Threat of Viral Consumer Behavior, Customer Relationship Management, July 13, 2004.)

Implement E-mail Contact Deflection to Cut Costs and Increase Self-service Adoption
Eighty-four percent of companies with customer-facing Web sites have implemented
online FAQ tools, but only 23 percent provide functionality for searching and parsing this information. Two vendors in the self-service space, iPhrase Technologies and Inquira, offer an e-mail deflection tool that meets the needs of both consumers and companies. The tool works by suggesting appropriate knowledge-base (KB) entries before e-mail inquiries go to agents for review.

This tool creates increased balance between the needs of consumers and those of
companies. Consumers have the opportunity to efficiently and independently resolve
their inquiries, while companies avoid manually answering e-mail inquiries and gain
empowered self-service users. Additionally, the e-mail deflection tool provides an
increasingly seamless experience across e-mail and Web support channels by leveraging the same KB content, which will also encourage adoption of self-service tools among consumers who generally pursue other channels first. Using iPhrase’s Contact Us e-mail deflection tool, Cloudmark, a spam-fighting technology vendor, deflected 38 percent of incoming e-mails within the first few weeks.


Leverage Legacy Content to Deflect Costly Service Inquiries
Archived content can help to deflect service inquiries, particularly in industries that
produce products with long life cycles. Adaptec, a data storage solution vendor, noticed it still received a fair number of inquiries regarding legacy products. Although Adaptec’s service level agreement does not include live support for legacy products, the company tries to deliver this online support through its KB. Using the KB functionality of RightNow Service from RightNow Technologies, Adaptec now dedicates about 20 percent of ongoing KB maintenance to legacy KB resources. Ultimately, the purpose of this initiative is not to deflect calls because these issues are not handled by live support. Rather, Adaptec views this ongoing initiative as an investment in the future, demonstrating appreciation for its existing, and often long-term, customer relationships.

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About the Author

As an Associate Analyst in JupiterResearch's Web Technologies and Operations group, Zachary McGeary focuses on aligning the positioning and performance of clients' Web sites with their key business, service and marketing objectives. McGeary joined JupiterResearch in the Fall of 2002 as a member of the Custom Research and Consulting group. Currently, he covers Customer Relationship Management, focusing on customer-service initiatives and customer-relationship management applications and strategies in a multichannel environment.

Comments? Suggestions? We would like to hear from you. Please email the editor at sspanews@thesspa.com.

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