Posts by Zia Daniell Wigder from May 09, 2008

Zia Daniell Wigder | May 09, 2008, 10:01 AM
Maintaining an advantage in global customer care

Our global online retail report, which will be published next week, ended up so long that we decided to spin off a couple of topics into separate reports. One of these topics is global customer care. Many US-based companies look at the global landscape and balk at having to support multiple customer service channels in multiple languages. As a result, both support channels and languages are often sacrificed outside of the US to try and keep costs in check.

A handful of companies are getting creative to maintain multi-language support. In a conversation with eGain’s CEO Ashu Roy earlier this week, for example, he indicated that some multi-channel merchants in international markets have turned to their local employees to assist with customer service requests. These employees are obviously well versed in the local language, as well as aware of local customer preferences and resources. As companies expand into markets where there may be multiple languages or dialects spoken, not all of which are supported through traditional customer care channels, such a strategy can help fill in the gaps.

Indeed, while there are certainly areas where companies can contain costs in international markets (and the report will help identify these areas), companies must ensure they don’t miss out on an opportunity to differentiate based on customer care. US-based companies are often taken to task for their missteps in global markets; by contrast, there is often a perception that these companies provide superior customer care. In our report, we outline how US companies can take advantage of their expertise in customer service, and identify which tools and options can help them build a leadership position in customer care outside of the US.