-- Choice of communication channels: The choice of interaction channels
offered is important as consumers and business customers continue to adopt
new channels such as chat and web collaboration to complement traditional
ones like the phone. This is measured by the Choice Quotient™
-- Email customer service: Email is second only to the phone in
interaction volume. The study measures email responsiveness as well as the
quality of responses with the Email Quotient™.
-- Web self-service: While web self-service usage has continued to
increase, many industry studies show that customer satisfaction with self-
service is not where it needs to be. Inability to find information through
web self-service and to seamlessly escalate to agent-assisted service
continues to be significant barriers to self-service adoption. Self-Service
Quotient™ measures the range of information access options in web self-
service, ease of escalation, and responsiveness to escalated requests.
-- Multichannel consistency: Customers are increasingly using multiple
channels to communicate with businesses and, often, to complete a single
transaction. They expect consistency of answers and service processes
across channels, which is measured by the Multichannel Quotient™ metric.
-- Multi-agent consistency: Customers often contact multiple agents to
get answers to questions or resolve issues. They expect consistency of
answers and service processes across agents, which is measured by the Multi-
agent Quotient™ metric.
These dimensional metrics or sub-quotients were then abstracted to an overall Service Quotient (SQ), on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0, for each of the companies that were assessed as well as for each industry sector and the overall market. The sub-quotient and SQ scores were then categorized as "poor," "below average," "above average," or "exceptional."** "Automation and consolidation of channels are the top issues for customer interactions and a critical requirement for business differentiation through customer service," said Johan Jacobs, Research Director at Gartner. "Bringing in and supporting new channels with minimal cost is the "number one" priority for the next five years. By focusing on designing around the customer, services and channels can be managed through a customer interaction hub (CIH) approach in order to present a unified customer experience across all the channels." "Companies continue to struggle with satisfying consumers across channels -- particularly online. Current problems primarily exist because of companies' silo approach toward managing customer interactions," said Zach McGeary, lead analyst at JupiterResearch. "Consumers' propensity to re-contact after inquiry resolution failure cannot be ignored or reactively handled. Service organizations must consistently unify measurement, technology, and process across all touch points." Cross-industry findings:
-- SQ for the overall market was 4.1 out of 10.0 with 68 percent of the
companies in the "poor" or "below average" performance categories.
-- Only 2 percent of the enterprises received "exceptional" SQ scores.
-- A stunning 60 percent of the companies received a "poor" or "below
average" score in the Multichannel Quotient and 46 percent received a
"poor" or "below average" rating in the Multi-agent Quotient.
-- 28 percent did not respond to email inquiries. Although 50 percent
responded within 24 hours, the quantity of "poor" responses went up from 14
percent to 20 percent, compared to previous research conducted in 2004.
Other findings:
-- Service Quotient (SQ): The consumer electronics sector performed the
best, albeit with a "below average" score of 4.6 out of 10.0, while the
travel sector performed the worst with a score of 3.6.
-- Choice Quotient: The consumer electronics sector came in first again
with a score of 2.4 out of 4.0, and the financial services sector came in
last with a score of 1.6.
-- Email Quotient: The insurance, communications, and consumer
electronics sectors performed the best, all with a score of 1.5. The
financial services sector performed the worst with a score of 1.0.
-- Self-service Quotient: The consumer electronics sector came in first
with a score of 2.1, while the insurance and financial services sectors
were both last with scores of 1.3.
-- Multichannel Quotient: The financial services sector posted the best
performance with a score of 1.9, whereas the retail sector scored a
shocking 0.9 out of 4.0 with 60 percent of the companies receiving a "poor"
rating.
-- Multi-agent Quotient: The financial services sector posted the top
performance with a score of 2.2, and the travel sector came in last with
1.5.
"Customer service is fast becoming a critical competence that businesses
need to acquire and exploit for competitive advantage," said Ashu Roy, CEO
of eGain. "While the study raises concerns about the service competence of
North American businesses, there are technologies and best practices that
can help companies take their SQ to new levels."
** Rating system Sub-quotients based on a scale of 0.0-4.0: Score < 1.0: Poor Score > = 1.0 and < 2.0: Below average Score > = 2.0 and < 3.0: Above average Score > = 3.0 and < = 4.0: Exceptional Overall Service Quotient based on a scale of 0.0-10.0: Score < 2.5: Poor Score > = 2.5 and < 5.0: Below average Score > = 5.0 and < 7.5: Above average Score > = 7.5 and < = 10.0: ExceptionalAbout eGain eGain (
Contact Information: eGain media contact Connie Pheng Phone: 650-230-7449 Email: pr@egain.com