For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

The Low-Hanging Fruit That Service Operations Teams Should Consider Now

by Evelyn Hubbert, November 13, 2009

Some IT organizations are confident that they can weather the storm of our current economic situation. Others believe they can maintain their current staffing level, and some are saying that they can maintain their current IT technology investment levels. . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Next-Generation Contact Centers

Solutions To Keep Pace With Your Customers

by Elizabeth Herrell, November 11, 2009

Contact center customer support needs to evolve to better serve customers who no longer rely on one venue for receiving information but instead engage multiple sources. In addition to checking a company's Web site and its brochures, many customers research . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Trends In Data Quality  (582 KB PPT)

by Rob Karel, October 23, 2009

This set of data charts will examine key trends in data quality gleaned from Forrester's August 2009 Global Master Data Management/Data Quality Online Survey.

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

The Help Desk Is On The Critical Path For Pandemic/Disaster Recovery

Oft-Overlooked Group Is Key To Business Continuity

by Evelyn Hubbert, Chip Gliedman, October 22, 2009

The designation of the H1N1 flu virus as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) should, once again, prompt organizations to revisit their business continuity planning processes. However, recent conversations with Forrester clients reveal a . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Technographics® Survey Highlights: US Insurance Channel Preferences  (608 KB PPT)

by Jacqueline Anderson, October 19, 2009

This highlight deck summarizes the key findings from Forrester’s North American Technographics® Investments And Insurance Online Survey, Q3 2009 (US).This deck covers channel preferences for researching and buying insurance, policy payments, and customer . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

The Marketing And Customer Analytics Software Landscape

Unraveling A Potpourri Of Technology Options For Customer Analysis

by Suresh Vittal, October 16, 2009

Marketers recognize that Customer Intelligence is rapidly becoming a mission-critical discipline. This should come as no surprise — valuing, targeting, and retaining the best customers are skills in high demand. But few marketing organizations can muster . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Using Twitter As A Customer Service Channel

by Diane Clarkson, October 14, 2009

Twitter has the potential to change its users' expectations for customer service and how companies interact with these customers. Twitter's instantaneous and personal dialogue is proving to be a valuable social engagement tool for many brands. If customers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Reality Of Customer Service In Europe: How Europeans Use And Rate Service Channels

by Patti Freeman Evans, October 9, 2009

With 51% of European adults having sought company support in the past three months, customer service must be a key component of any company retention strategy. We found that Europeans favor traditional service channels like the phone and in-store interaction, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

To Invest Wisely, Know The Business Value Of Diverse CRM Solutions

by William Band, September 30, 2009

To help customer relationship management (CRM) professionals make smart decisions and navigate the complex CRM technology landscape, Forrester surveyed 286 companies. The goal was to determine the business value-add adjusted for uncertainty of 19 types . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Yola.com Achieves Customer Service Scalability Goal Using Social Media

Best Practices In Customer Service Social Media

by Chip Gliedman, Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., September 28, 2009

Yola.com is an online Web site builder that allows anyone to easily create, publish, and host a Web site. Founded in 2007 on the premise that Web site creation should be easy if publishing tools focused less on the technology and more on the user experience, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Cisco Consumer Business Group Builds The Business Case For Social Media

Best Practices In Customer Service Social Media

by Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., September 28, 2009

Consumer Business Group (CBG) — formerly Linksys — is a division of Cisco that offers a wide variety of consumer and small office voice over IP (VoIP) and networking solutions such as routers, switches, and storage systems under the Linksys by Cisco brand. . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: NetApp Marketing Takes Ownership Of Its Community Initiative To Ensure Success

Best Practices In Customer Service Social Media

by Chip Gliedman, Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., September 28, 2009

NetApp is an industry-leading provider of storage and data management solutions. It has a presence in more than 100 countries; thousands of customers and a network of more than 2,200 partners; and a culture of innovation, technology leadership, and customer . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Intel Uses Social Media To Transform The Customer Experience

Best Practices In Customer Service Social Media

by Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., September 28, 2009

Most people know Intel as a provider of microprocessors for large manufacturers such as Apple, Dell, and HP. However, a large proportion of Intel's business comes from an elaborate network of customers, including resellers, from around the globe. To effectively . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Firms Struggle To Measure Customer Experience Across Channels

Technical And Organizational Silos Hinder Cross-Channel Tracking

by Megan Burns, September 22, 2009

Forrester recently surveyed decision-makers at 41 companies and found that their primary challenges when it comes to customer experience measurement relate to tracking experiences across channels. Several factors contribute to this problem, including . . .

For Customer Experience Professionals

Footwear Manufacturers' Cross-Channel Experience, 2009

An Industry Look At This Year's Best And Worst Of Cross-Channel Design

by Adele Sage, September 18, 2009

As part of a larger analysis of 16 firms, Forrester evaluated the cross-channel experiences of four large footwear manufacturers — adidas, New Balance, Nike, and Puma. Overall, the footwear manufacturers lagged relative to most of the other industries. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The ROI Of Email Relevance, 2009

New Rules To Improve The Bottom Line

by David Daniels, September 16, 2009

Email marketer expectations and sophistication are increasing. Forrester's Q1 survey of 104 email marketers found that the number of email marketers using click-through data as a segmentation attribute grew to 51%, its highest level ever. Yet, the survey . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Nationwide Insurance Uses Mobile To Offer Customers Self Service On The Road

A Mobile POST Case Study

by Julie A. Ask, Chad Mitchell, September 11, 2009

Nationwide Mutual Insurance was the first US insurer to develop a custom mobile application for the Apple iPhone. The firm's mobile application offers customers the ability to file a claim and upload pictures of an accident, follow a detailed accident . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How To Improve Searchable Self-Service Online

eBusiness Professionals Must Focus On Site Search And FAQs To Deflect Call Center Calls

by Diane Clarkson, September 11, 2009

Searchable self-service and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are among the most commonly accessed customer service touchpoints, but there is a lot of room for improvement. Poor performance plaguing searchable self-service and FAQs surfaced in a recent . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Twelve Criteria For Contact Center Outsourcers

Questions Companies Need to Ask When Engaging A Contact Center Outsourcer

by Elizabeth Herrell, September 10, 2009

Many companies consider outsourcing their contact center or customer service centers to improve operational efficiencies and to increase customer satisfaction. However, many decision-makers know little about potential contact center outsourcers, and they . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

Creating A Customer Contact Governance Council

Successful Contact Strategies Require Cross-Functional Support

by Suresh Vittal, Dave Frankland, September 10, 2009

An enterprisewide contact strategy is an important key to success for the marketing organization. Optimal contact strategies help marketers reduce contact fatigue, lower opt-out rates, reduce costs, and embrace customer centricity. But most marketers . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Lenovo Takes Ownership Of Social Media To Reduce Customer Service Costs

Best Practices In Customer Service Social Media

by Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., August 14, 2009

When Lenovo acquired the IBM PC Computing division, it saw that customers were talking about its products in third-party forums like notebookreview.com and thinkpads.com, and it worried that it was being left out of these important conversations. Lenovo . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: ACT! By Sage Uses Social Media To Transform The Customer Experience

Best Practices In Customer Service Social Media

by Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., August 14, 2009

Sage North America, a leading provider of customer relationship and contact management software to small- and medium-sized businesses, faced the twin challenges of unhappy customers and a sinking economy. One specific brand, ACT! by Sage, was tasked to . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The State Of Retailing Online 2009: Merchandising And Web Optimization

by Sucharita Mulpuru, August 14, 2009

The annual fielding of "The State of Retailing Online," a Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research, asked retailers about their prioritization and success rates regarding more than 50 site merchandising and Web optimization tools. Even though retailers . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Best Practices: Five Strategies For Customer Service Social Media Excellence

Use Social Technologies To Improve Customer Experiences And Lower Costs

by Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., August 14, 2009

As consumers rapidly adopt social media — and use it to voice their displeasure about brands and complain about products and services — customer service professionals struggle with how best to harness the power of the cloud to transform customer experiences. . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Infusionsoft Improves Customer Experience Via Social Media

Best Practices In Customer Service Social Media

by Natalie L. Petouhoff, Ph.D., Chip Gliedman, August 14, 2009

Infusionsoft is a Web-based provider of marketing automation software aimed at the true small business with fewer than 25 employees. Infusionsoft wanted to leverage a community of users of its products to simultaneously reduce costs and improve customer . . .