• Blog
• Articles
• Books
• Training
• Consulting

Self-Service & Assisted Service

• American Customer Satisfaction Suffers Its Biggest Drop in Seven Years

  What Are the Implications of the ACSI Decline?

  by Brenda Michelson

  The 4Q 2004 American Customer Satisfaction Index suffered its largest drop since 1997. Since customer satisfaction drives consumer spending, almost $50 billion is at stake. Read about the ACSI and learn how to keep your share of the consumer pie.
  Mar. 3, 2005

  All Members

  

• Customer Portals: Central to Your Customer Experience Strategy

  Customer Portals Support Your Customers throughout Their Lifecycles

  by Patricia Seybold

  There are three reasons why customer portals are hot: 1) you save money; 2) you increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and profitability; and 3) you gain visibility into customers’ account information, their needs, and their preferences.
  Jan. 27, 2005

  Strategies

  

• QCE Resolutions

  Focus on What Matters Most to Your Customers

  by Patricia Seybold

  Are you interested in providing or improving your customer experience in 2005? Then start by focusing on these five areas.
  Jan. 20, 2005

  All Members

  

• ServiceWare Enterprise 5.7

  Answer Questions and Solve Problems with Content, Metadata, and Self-Learning Search

  by Mitchell Kramer

  ServiceWare Enterprise can help your customers understand your products; find answers to questions about your products; and diagnose, report, and fix problems with your products across self-service and assisted-service touchpoints. This report examines S
  Dec. 2, 2004

  All Members

  

• PSGroup Bulls-Eye: Self-Service and Support Search

  Which Providers Offer the Best Controls for Managing the Search Experience? Featuring EasyAsk, Endeca, FAST, InQuira, iPhrase, Knova, and Primus

  by Susan Aldrich

  This Bulls-Eye is our ranking of the search management and tuning capabilities of self-service and support search products from seven vendors: EasyAsk, Endeca, FAST, InQuira, iPhrase, Knova, and Primus.
  Dec. 2, 2004

  All Members

  

• PSGroup Bull's-Eye: Self-Service and Support Search Solutions: Best Retrieval and Results Management

  Which Providers Offer the Best Retrieval and Results Management? Featuring EasyAsk, Endeca, FAST, InQuira, iPhrase, Knova, and Primus

  by Susan Aldrich

  This Bull’s-Eye is our ranking of the retrieval and results management capabilities of self-service and support search products from seven vendors: EasyAsk, Endeca, FAST, InQuira, iPhrase, Knova, and Primus.
  Nov. 23, 2004

  All Members

  

• Why It's Hard to Prioritize IT Initiatives around End-Customer Impacting Issues

  Current Disconnects between Business and IT; Suggestions for Bridging the Gaps

  by Patricia Seybold

  Are you having trouble getting customer-centric priorities at the top of your IT shopping list? You're not alone. There are increased tensions brewing between the business and IT for lots of good reasons. See if your organization looks like the picture w
  Nov. 10, 2004

  Strategies

  

• Kanisa Application Suite 6.1

  Process-Oriented Navigation and Search of Content to Answer Customers’ Questions and Solve their Problems

  by Mitchell Kramer

  The Kanisa Application Suite can help you support activities within the plan, explore, and use phases of the customer lifecycle across the Web and contact center touchpoints. This report evaluates the Kanisa Application Suite against our evaluation frame
  Oct. 28, 2004

  All Members

  

• Self-Service and Support Search Solution Comparison Matrix

  EasyAsk, Endeca, FAST, InQuira, iPhrase, Knova, and Primus Compared to Our Evaluation Framework

  by Susan Aldrich

  This report presents a side-by-side comparison of seven solutions against 23 criteria identified by our Self-Service and Support Search Solution Evaluation Framework.
  Oct. 28, 2004

  All Members

  

• Primus Enterprise Search V.4 Self-Service and Support Search Solution

  Classification and Context

  by Susan Aldrich

  Primus Enterprise Search stacks up very well against our self-service and support search solution evaluation framework.
  Oct. 21, 2004

  All Members

  

• Cross-Channel, Cross-Lifecycle Operational Requirements

  What Types of Products Do You Need to Deliver a Comprehensive Customer Experience?

  by Mitchell Kramer

  This report presents the requirements for the operational capabilities of cross-channel, cross-lifecycle customer service products; product types that address those requirements; and examples of those product types. Because no product or product suite ad
  Oct. 14, 2004

  All Members

  

• Putting E-Learning in the Context of Customers Scenarios

  How Organizing Instructional Content for Just-in-Time Learning Enhances Customer Support

  by Geoffrey Bock

  Whether they are customers, business partners, or employees, adult learners in business situations seek solutions to their work-related issues.
  Sep. 23, 2004

  Strategies

  

• Banks Measure What Matters to Customers—and Improve Service

  Leading Practitioners Now Measure the Quality of Customer Experience

  by Patricia Seybold

  Banks and other financial services firms are focusing on the Quality of Customer Experience for critical customer scenarios. Here are a couple of examples of how banks are measuring and improving what matters to their prospects and customers.
  Sep. 23, 2004

  All Members

  

• FAST Data Search V 4.0 Self-Service and Support Search Solution

  Pipelines, Information Management, and Dynamic Navigation

  by Susan Aldrich

  FAST Data Search stacks up very well against our self-service and support solution evaluation framework.
  Sep. 16, 2004

  All Members

  

• Self-Service and Support Search Solution RFP Template

  Patricia Seybold Group's Template for Preparing an RFP

  by Susan Aldrich

  You can write a great Self-Service and Support Search Solution RFP in a short time using our outline and the Self-Service and Support Search Solution Evaluation Framework, and following our guidance.
  Sep. 2, 2004

  All Members

  

• InQuira Self-Service and Support Search Solution

  Advanced Linguistics, Dynamic Navigation, and Classification

  by Susan Aldrich

  InQuira 6.5, a premium search engine, stacks up well against our self-service and support search solution evaluation framework.
  Aug. 12, 2004

  All Members

  

• Endeca ProFind V4.5 Self-Service and Support Search Solution

  Dynamic Navigation, Team Support, and Concept Classification

  by Susan Aldrich

  Endeca ProFind, a premium search engine, stacks up well against our Product Search Evaluation Framework.
  Aug. 5, 2004

  All Members

  

• Where Does Support Fit in Your Customers’ Lifecycles? Everywhere!

  Support Isn't a Stage in the Customer Lifecycle; It's the Engine That Drives it!

  by Patricia Seybold

  Customers need to be supported throughout their entire lifecycle, not just during the post-sales stage. Customer support should be the engine that drives your business process improvements.
  Jul. 29, 2004

  All Members

  

• EasyAsk for Commerce V.9.1 Self-Service and Support Search Solution

  Advanced Linguistic Processing, Dynamic Navigation, and Federation

  by Susan Aldrich

  EasyAsk for Commerce capabilities stack up well against our self-service and support search evaluation criteria.
  Jul. 29, 2004

  All Members

  

• iPhrase OneStep V. 4.7 Self-Service and Support Search Solution

  Advanced Search and Navigation, Email Deflection, and Analytics

  by Susan Aldrich

  iPhrase OneStep’s capabilities stack up well against our self-service and support search evaluation criteria.
  Jul. 22, 2004

  All Members