Web Self-Service - The best buy of 2009/2010

Maximize the effectiveness of your CRM initiatives while minimizing customer-service costs through Web self-service. A broad range of offerings are available with levels of functionality that range from content- to transaction-based services.

Many companies are turning to Web-based customer self-service, where customers can obtain information and perform routine transactions on their own. The good news: Not only is this turning out to be an effective way for companies to help retain customers and increase the profitability of those relationships, but it's also helping trim customer-service costs.

Without Web self-service, customer interactions would be handled through alternate customer-relationship management channels, such as a call center or E-mail--options that have a much higher price per inquiry than self-service. An effective Web self-service program can help companies reduce operating costs for customer-service staff, training, and equipment.

Web self-service is ideal for relatively simple, repetitive interactions such as balance inquiries and address changes. Routine information inquiries and transactions rely on the same information and adhere to common processes with little deviation.

Web self-service lets customers navigate and search for information that might be stored in a central knowledge base or in line-of-business applications. Some customer-help systems provide additional means for clients to submit inquiries, such as Web forms, E-mail, or online chat.

A Web self-service module functions as a service on a company's Web site and resides on the same Web server, requiring minimal upkeep. The module requires no customization because it's accessed through standard Web browsers.

To conduct transactions and obtain customer-specific information, Web self-service modules must integrate with enterprise applications such as enterprise resource planning systems and other components within the CRM suite. The larger CRM vendors typically provide some level of integration with ERP systems through pre-built connections or APIs and have integrated their Web self-service modules with their CRM suites.

Web self-service can be segmented into three types. Content-based services focus on inquiries that can be satisfied with static information. The most basic example of content-based self-service is a "frequently asked questions" option. More advanced Web self-services use case-based reasoning, and others track relationships between customer inquiries and the information needed to satisfy them.

Transaction-based services can include services such as placing orders, filling out applications, updating customer information, and making payments. Transaction-based services also include any information requests related to transactions or a specific customer. Because transaction-based Web self-service relies on dynamic information, it must be integrated with a company's back-end enterprise systems.

Software and hosting options are another type. Most customer-relationship management vendors offer at least rudimentary Web self-service functionality as part of their CRM suites. Software from Avaya, E.piphany, Kana, and Siebel Systems all include at least some level of Web self-service capabilities.

A number of vendors also let companies offload the entire process to an application service provider. eGain Communications, Neteos, and RightNow offer hosted Web self-service systems in addition to their conventional licensed software. They provide security features, perform detailed custom analysis, and capture customer navigation.

A comparison of vendors specializing in Web-based CRM with the big CRM-platform vendors yields interesting results. Smaller vendors specializing in Web-based CRM products seem to provide more comprehensive functionality. The larger CRM-suite vendors do offer Web self-service capabilities and typically provide connections with enterprise systems to enable transactions and customer-specific data requests. However, they generally lack tools for knowledge-base development or guided problem solving.

Given the attention that companies are paying to increasing customer intimacy while also decreasing support costs, the market for Web-based self-services should increase significantly during the next year or so. With some vendors now offering Web self-service as a standalone offering or an ASP offering that doesn't require massive investments in a full CRM suite, the technology is within reach of small and midsize companies with limited IT resources.