According to a research conducted by the Aberdeen (News - Alert) Group, a Harte-Hanks Company, entitled 'Multi-Channel Service Delivery: Getting Customers the Service They Want, Where and When They Want,' it was found that many of the premier companies, as a means to capture customer requests and deliver service are utilizing channels other than the contact center and are also investing resources in ensuring the consistency and efficacy of information and the overall experience available on all delivery channels.

The contact center, fax, and email have been the traditional channels available for customer service requests whereas channels such as live chat, customer-specific web portals, and others have emerged as the new support in the last three years.

 

To increase the availability of service information via live chat, social media platforms, messaging, and technical forums and discussion boards, the organizations are actively looking ahead.

 

'The extended network of communication tools and platforms also impacts the way customer service can be delivered. By no means is the phone the only way one can get in touch with a product manufacturer or servicing organization. As customers, whether in the form of consumers or businesses, we are afforded a variety of channels to capture service information, make service requests, share feedback and purchase additional products and services,' Sumair Dutta, Senior Research Analyst, Aberdeen, said. 'These channels also allow for better visibility into issues of customer sentiment and customer feedback, all of which can greatly impact customer service strategy.'

 

The findings of the research in the Multi-Channel Service Delivery report shows that on one side where all firms are looking to improve time to repair and first-call resolution, the leading firms are focusing on increasing access to customer - and service-specific information and knowledge across the organization. As such, these firms exhibited the following:

 

 

In related news, the recent research report of Aberdeen, 'Why are IT Leaders Deploying Virtualized Storage,' shows that companies that have deployed storage virtualization are gaining great operational and financial returns on their investment.