The Real-Time Contact Center

5Designing, Building, and Maintaining a Vibrant E-Service Strategy

Internet-based customer service (also known as e-service or web-based self-service) has evolved since the mid-1990s, when it was considered an afterthought of e-commerce, to an essential element of every company’s customer service and CRM strategy today. It would be great to think the maturity and expansion of this sector of the software market is the result of companies recognizing the value e-service offers to customers. The reality, though, is that this market has grown because of pressure on enterprises to reduce sales and service costs by minimizing human-assisted transactions. But don’t expect less emphasis on e-service in a stronger economy; the e-service sector of CRM ...