Posts on Site Technologies  

Zachary McGeary | February 25, 2008, 12:08 PM
The IVR Revolution Will NOT Be Televised: We Predicted it First
A recent BusinessWeek story highlights the dwindling popularity of the pro-consumer crusade established by GetHuman.com. Page views on the site have dwindled from about 40,000 a day in the spring of 2006 to some 4,000. The discussion board, while still active, has quieted down since 2006, when thousands of comments...( more )

Zachary McGeary | December 17, 2007, 07:11 AM
Holiday Customer Service: Retailers, Are You Ready?
The holidays are upon us, so by now you know the answer to this question. Good luck. In a recently published report, we highlight the primary areas retailers addressed this year to manage a seasonal flux of inbound inquiry. Most are adding staff, either temporary or permanent. Others are bolstering...( more )

Zachary McGeary | December 10, 2007, 07:14 PM
Holiday Customer Service Email Response Performance. Shame On You.
I am back in the midst of our Annual Customer Service & Support Webtrack, a well-vetted methodology for evaluating customer service & support availability and performance during this peak holiday season. This year we will be focusing exclusively on email response performance. Preliminary data show a continuation of well-established trends....( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 06, 2007, 12:05 PM
Just When You Hadn't Heard Much News About Outsourcing...
With their recent acquisitions of call centers in Reno, Ohio, Mumbai-based Tata Group now brings us "insourcing". Their 250 person call center answers calls for Expedia. The advantages of "insourcing": Some companies feel hearing a fellow American makes callers feel more comfortable. Other foreign firms think Americans bring a more...( more )

David Schatsky | July 23, 2007, 11:47 PM
Marc Andreessen Does it Again
Marc Andreessen of Netscape fame does it again. Amazing. Congratulations to Marc and the whole Opsware team....( more )

IanFogg | July 10, 2007, 03:10 PM
Dial-up is slower than it was
OK, so the title is a tiny bit misleading. The spirit of the title is correct, if not the letter: Dial-up Internet access feels slower than it used to because web site designers are used to building for the broadband-connected majority. Page sizes on existing sites have crept up and...( more )

David Schatsky | May 08, 2007, 09:44 AM
Web Site Spending Continues to Rise
I recently had the opportunity to write our annual report on site operations spending trends. A few key takeaways: most sites, especially big-company sites, are expecting facing significant increases in site operations budgets--for the third year running. My favorite counterintuitive finding: despite the reputation of open source Web stacks and...( more )

Zachary McGeary | April 03, 2007, 06:19 PM
Introducing Vovici (voh-VEE-see)
This morning, Vovici announced it's company and product re-branding (this is the merger of Perseus and WebSurveyor) as well as a new product. The new product is called EFM Reporting and is meant to provide greater insight to survey and campaign results beyond pie and bar charts. The remaining products...( more )

Zachary McGeary | March 29, 2007, 05:24 PM
Text Chat: Not Just For Service Anymore
Following up on a post from October, JupiterResearch just published a report called Real-time Online Interaction Strategies: Opportunities for Managing Higher-Cost and Higher-Value Online Interactions (link here). The report details how companies are leveraging proactive outreach via either chat or click-to-call to: * Increase Average Order Value * Increase Conversion...( more )

Zachary McGeary | March 26, 2007, 11:15 AM
Are Service Organizations Simply Outsourcing Inefficiency?
While many companies are increasingly ceding full control of contact center operations to an outsourcer, Lillian Vernon is bringing it back in-house. In this article, representatives cite several areas of efficiency that allowed them to do this. --Reduced call handle time by 36 seconds --Eliminated third-party sales promotions --Reduced IVR...( more )

Zachary McGeary | October 18, 2006, 11:00 AM
Lots of Chat Chatter
We've been talking about the growing popularity of chat (and click-to-call) as a service tool for several years now, based largely on more flexible and targeted deployments. Chat is not a one-size-fits-all solution, folks. Recent news is lending some proof to our speculation and vindicating the value of automation as...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 21, 2006, 08:48 AM
Online Self-service Webinar
Join me tomorrow, 2pm EDT/11am PDT, for a webinar on next-generation online self-service. I will be discussing the current shortcomings of online self-service deployments and the simple, practical investments companies must make to provide satisfactory online self-service. Hope to see you there!...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 01, 2006, 04:00 PM
Research Alert: Online Self-service Metrics
"Online Self-service Search Metrics: Evaluating Opportunities for Failed- Search Recovery in Last Mile" has been published. This report examines how well companies are managing the effectiveness of their onlne self-service search investments. Bottom line, adherence to best practices for search result display and failed search recovery is minimal. Even companies...( more )

Barry Parr | June 15, 2006, 07:40 PM
Enjoying synchronicity
I've been using a couple of applications to synchronize my use of the web lately and I'm really enjoying it. As someone who uses Windows for work and a Mac for everything else, this is a particularly challenging problem. Google Browser Sync synchronizes multiple copies of Firefox across computers. It...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 08, 2006, 10:00 AM
Apple Re-thinks India Call Center Strategy
There is not much in the way of available facts at this point, beyond: :: Apple announces plans to launch Bangalore-based call center (March 9, 2006) :: Apple announces plans to scrap Bangalore-based call center plans (June 5, 2006) It's unclear exactly which factors influenced Apple's decision, but one comment...( more )

Zachary McGeary | May 23, 2006, 08:46 AM
RightNow Technologies Bolsters CRM Offering With $9 Million SalesNet Acquisition
Press Release here. The acquisition will add: --26 employees --12 offshore development contractors --deployments of up to 2500 users (several hundred total clients) Interesting, the news is less about SFA and more about experience management. Regardless, the acquisition will accelerate RightNow's Sales product roadmap. RightNow Technologies Salesnet...( more )

Zachary McGeary | March 06, 2006, 01:00 PM
Coverage Area Launch: Customer Service and Support (formerly CRM)
We have officially launched Customer Service and Support, the re-branded coverage area formerly known as Customer Relationship Management. This change is meant only to better reflect the nature and scope of our coverage. In fact, actual research and analysis will remain unchanged. This is going to be a very exciting...( more )

Zachary McGeary | February 27, 2006, 04:41 PM
OnDemand Performance Transparency
Not new(s), but Salesforce released Trust, a portal which provides some transparency into the performance of their (of late) beleaguered network. Cool dashboard design, green and red lights, pop-up windows for more information. And if stuff like this makes any sense to you, you'll even find value in the information....( more )

Zachary McGeary | February 01, 2006, 04:14 PM
Meet Me At Call Center Demo and Conference, Austin, TX, February 7
I will be in Austin, TX, on February 7 speaking at the Call Center Demo and Conference. The session is titled "Prepare Today for Tomorrow's Customer Care Technology". My presentation will focus on consumer behavior and attitudes towards emerging consumer-facing voice technology (e.g VoIP, Voice-enabled IVR) and how investments...( more )

Zachary McGeary | February 01, 2006, 01:58 PM
(Updated) The OnDemand Uptime Battle Plays Out
Another related story here folks. RightNow Technologies today released the following press release touting their uptime for 2005. What a "coincidence"! UPDATED The folks over at CRMAdvocate have been covering this story for a few weeks now. They featured my first blog post on this topic on January 23. In...( more )

Zachary McGeary | February 01, 2006, 12:54 PM
Salesforce Outage, Again
It rained again on the OnDemand honeymoon. Some Salesforce.com customers experienced another outage reportedly ranging from 30 minutes to several hours. A few accounts laid out intermittent access throughout the day. More details here. Regardless, this still doesn't change my view. OnDemand is here to stay. And so are such...( more )

Zachary McGeary | January 23, 2006, 03:12 PM
Amazon Makes Real-time Phone Service Available, For Real This Time
Have you ever needed to call Amazon.com for customer service? I bet you found that there was no 800 number on their website. Except that they do have both a call center AND an 800 number: try typing "Amazon 800 number" into Google. Well, in a very strategic move, Amazon...( more )

Zachary McGeary | December 24, 2005, 09:55 AM
Salesforce.com: OnDemand...Um...When Available
A database crash at one of Salesforce.com's global hosting sites left many customers with intermittent access to their critical data for six hours yesterday. This is definitely a strike against the software-as-a-service revolution but I don't foresee long-term consequences. If anything, this will cause short-term panic and only encourage companies...( more )

Zachary McGeary | December 19, 2005, 11:30 AM
Webinar: The Costs of Failed Customer Service
Please join me tomorrow, December 20, at 2pm EST for a webcast on "The Costs of Failed Customer Service." I'll be indentifying key trends in customer service attitudes and behavior as well as how service organizations continue to contribute to poor service levels. It's not too late to register! See...( more )

David Card | December 09, 2005, 12:24 PM
More Signs of the IT Apocalypse
Uh oh. Last time it was a three-fer that drove irrational IT exuberance: Y2K, ERP, and that thing called the Internet. Now we've got Internet 2.0 and Sarbanes-Oxley. If there's a trifecta on the horizon, better put your money in a little box under your bed. A new tech sector...( more )

Zachary McGeary | November 24, 2005, 12:18 PM
IVR Cheatsheet: Cool, With a Catch
There was a great story on NPR yesterday about a gentlemen who appears to fancy himself the IVR Customer Experience martyr. One by one, he is working his way through the IVR systems of major businesses and finding the most direct route to a live human being. See his IVR...( more )

Zachary McGeary | November 02, 2005, 04:24 PM
IBM Purchases iPhrase Technologies
IBM announced yesterday afternoon that it acquired iPhrase Technologies, a provider of self-service search technology and applications, for an undisclosed sum. It seems the acquisition was more for the underlying search technology and not necessarily the applications built on top of search. However, IBM seems to have madea committment to...( more )

Zachary McGeary | September 29, 2005, 12:30 PM
Scratch One Up for Nano Owners
NEWS: Apparently hordes of Nano owners have taken to the Internet to announce and commiserate the scratches that all too easily appear on their screens, making photo viewing and just about everything else very difficult. A quick glance at the Discussion section of the Apple website reveals numerous threads on...( more )

Zachary McGeary | September 15, 2005, 12:44 PM
RSS Makes CRM Debut
Two announcements of note in this space. First, Spanning Partners last month developed an RSS product, Spanning Salesforce 2.0, that integrates with Salesforce. Any Salesforce Enterprise user can subscribe to the feeds, which deliver information to users such as new leads through a user's RSS reader of choice. Second, Microsoft...( more )

Zachary McGeary | September 13, 2005, 12:15 PM
No, AppExchange is NEITHER iTunes NOR eBay
Let's just call it a "marketplace" for third-party, on-demand applications that extend the functionality of Salesforce beyond CRM. No, the applications do not cost .99, nor are they auctioned off. And let's not call it Multiforce either, because that might confuse customers. Ok? Yesterday Salesforce.com announced the rebranding of Multiforce,...( more )

Zachary McGeary | September 12, 2005, 11:32 AM
Buh-bye Siebel. Hello Oracle-Peoplesoft-Siebel.
Oracle announced today it's plans to purchase rival CRM software maker Siebel Systems for $5.85 billion, a deal with a real purchase price of $3.61 billion after subtracting the $2.24 billion cash in Siebel's coffers. This deal will make Oracle the largest provider of CRM software in the world. Existing...( more )

Zachary McGeary | September 01, 2005, 02:37 PM
Customer Service Executive Survey
JupiterResearch would like to invite you to participate in our Customer Relationship Measurement executive survey, in exchange for the aggregated survey results, and an entry to win a $50 gift certificate from Amazon.com. Details JupiterResearch is conducting a study on companies' self-service offerings, both offline and online, and general contact...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 26, 2005, 03:53 PM
More IVR Morass
I contacted my broadband provider today. I needed to update billing information since my carrier was switched over. I got the IVR. Rats. The options were to leave a message or press "0" to contact a live rep, "if this matter is urgent". Well, even if it wasn't urgent to...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 24, 2005, 11:04 AM
Google Talk. So Fresh, So Clean...I Think!
Revision: I lied about the lack of Trillian configuration info. The search function was just down for a bit. Here's the link. Still cannot connect, though. Will keep trying. Google Talk. Simple. Straight-forward. Still somewhat limited. But really, no complaints here at the Beta stage. Besides none of my Gmail...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 22, 2005, 02:38 PM
Outlook Integration...AND the Kitchen Sink!
Discussions (Card, Gartenberg) on Google vs. Microsoft, aside, what is the practical, incremental value added by Google Desktop Search 2.0 (BETA)? For me it was being able to access desktop search from Microsoft Outlook, rather than having to open a browser or search from the toolbar that I would rather...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 19, 2005, 05:35 PM
I Am Customer With Weblog, Hear Me Roar!
Buzzmachine blogger Jeff Jarvis has waged a fight against the customer service practices of Dell Computer, Inc. But he's not alone. Joining him are thousands of bloggers who, throughout the pervasive blogosphere, are now sharing their stories of Dell customer service nightmares. According to an Online Media Daily article, BuzzMachine...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 17, 2005, 11:39 AM
When Service Goes Bad, Part II: Don't Get Mad, Get Even
The Chicago Tribune has a story (registration required) about a woman who made complaints about the quality of service provided by her cable operator and subsequently received her monthly bill with a profane name in place of her own! Apparently, this is not the first time this kind of thing...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 16, 2005, 09:45 AM
When Service Goes Bad...
It is not uncommon for customer service representatives to withstand daily barrages of insults, and even profanities. In fact, this is one of the dynamics that drives CSR turnover. The follwoing letter is a perfect example of the abuse that service organizations often face from their customers. The worst part...( more )

Zachary McGeary | August 15, 2005, 12:21 PM
IVR Directory: Have You Seen This Before?
I ran across something this morning that I've never seen before: an online IVR directory. When you call B&H Photo Video, the IVR prompts you to enter your party's extension. Rather than requiring their customers to listen to lists of options, B&H has posted a list of "parties" and their...( more )

Zachary McGeary | July 26, 2005, 12:47 PM
Poor Email Inquiry Reponse Performance Begs the Question....
"...how can we be raising customer satisfaction with customer service while maintaining such poor email inquiry response performance?" The answer is simple. Consumers turn to other channels when email customer service does not meet their needs/expectations. This ultimately helps mitigate poor email service performance levels but is not without the...( more )

IanFogg | July 21, 2005, 11:59 AM
Contacting Websites
Gripe of the day - sites that insist on web forms for communication, rather than a straight email address, rarely reply promptly. Often they don't reply at all, and of course there's no easy way to send a polite follow-up email that refers to the original. Yes, I know spam...( more )

Zachary McGeary | July 14, 2005, 05:28 PM
High on PCP (Proactive Cookie Prevention)
My colleague Eric Peterson has been making the Keebler Elves jealous lately with all the attention he has received surrounding cookies. In a recent post Eric highlights a built-in browser function that empowers users to opt-in to cookies. As he points out, it's much too tedious to ever really become...( more )

Zachary McGeary | July 12, 2005, 12:42 PM
George Be Nimble, George Be Quick
Word on "The Street" is that Siebel will disappoint investors this quarter, with revenues falling short of expectations. This confirms that dwindling growth in the software market is affecting Siebel's business. And that the hosted delivery model has not provided the much needed boost for the once-dominant CRM vendor to...( more )

Zachary McGeary | July 07, 2005, 07:42 PM
Press 1...To Read About IVR
You've all seen the CitiBank Small Business commercials, right? The ones with the "agents" that only speak in IVR code: "beep, boop, beep"? Funny. But mostly it highlights the general frustration consumers feel when interacting with these systems. Yet, our data indicate renewed momentum in the deployments of IVR, particularly...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 30, 2005, 11:33 AM
Consumers and Self-service Search: Good News, Bad News
An article today on SearchCRM.com discusses a year-long online self-service search implementation by BellSouth. The most interesting part of the story is how they chose the technology they wanted to deploy for search. After analyzing their site search logs, they discovered that consumers were phrasing their inquiries in natural language...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 30, 2005, 10:37 AM
Covet Thy Customer's Data, Part II
According to one of two articles run in The Economist this week, consumer identity theft came at a cost of $50 Billion last year alone. Is that not motivation enough for companies to start making investments in appropriate security technology and organizational changes? Or perhaps even for the Federal or...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 17, 2005, 05:22 PM
If You Build It, Will They Come?
My presentation this morning on Understanding Consumer Self-service Attitudes and Behavior went very well. The US data and general analysis—my biggest concern—was well received. This is mostly due to the perception that US consumers are on the bleeding edge of self-service adoption. Trends in our US data show steady adoption...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 16, 2005, 11:10 AM
Thanks, Big Brother
Yesterday morning I arrived to my hotel room to find this personalized welcome screen. At first I found it odd that the TV was on when I got to the room, but this configuration is quite nice. I can check my messages through and check my bill through the...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 14, 2005, 02:02 PM
Covet Thy Customer's Data
Is your personal, sensitive information really safe with the companies that you do business with online? Certainly, many Financial Services firms are making efforts to address these issues and quell consumer fears. But a recent snafu involving CitiFinancial illustrates that security and privacy risks extend beyond phishing and identity fraud....( more )

David Schatsky | June 13, 2005, 02:32 PM
Invitation: Blog With Us Some More
I'm extending another invitation to blog with us. The last go-round produced some interesting dialog. (See here and here and here.) As I said before, while our research is rooted in analysis and interpretation of our proprietary data, there are often multiple ways to interpret the data. By inviting outside,...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 13, 2005, 02:23 PM
Speaking In Brussels
I'm off to Brussels, Belgium this week to speak at the ETIS Annual Conference. Entitled "Aligning IT & Corporate Goals in the Face of Convergence", this conference provides a forum for telecommuncations executives to learn and share experiences. One of the key themes this year is "Convergence", or the alignment...( more )

Zachary McGeary | June 13, 2005, 01:28 PM
CRM Blog Launch
Welcome. At Jupiter I cover all aspects (both existing and emerging) of customer service that online businesses are confronted with today. I advise companies of all sizes across all industries about their service strategies (short- and long-term), CRM technology purchases, industry benchmark and consumer attitudes and behavior to name a...( more )

David Card | May 17, 2005, 06:01 PM
Why Humans Are Better Than Robots, Part LXXV
I'm assuming the fact the LA Times posted a story on unions at youth prisons in its "Corrections" section is a content management system error. If humans did this, well, maybe it's a joke, son. "Correctional" officers, get it?...( more )

David Schatsky | April 26, 2005, 12:51 PM
Enterprise Portals, Blogs and RSS
RSS aggregator NewsGator is entering the enterprise software arena in a sensible move to go to where the money is. At beta sites that contemplate tens of thousands of users of the enterprise version of NewsGator, something interesting is going on. There is fertile tension between the imperatives of enterprise...( more )

David Schatsky | April 25, 2005, 03:10 PM
Recipe for Web Site Governance
I just got off the phone with a client who works for the Web group of her company, a large financial services concern. Many large companies struggle with governing their Web site(s). As Jupiter has observed, multiple business units and functional areas are often in conflict when it comes to...( more )

David Schatsky | April 25, 2005, 03:10 PM
Recipe for Web Site Governance
I just got off the phone with a client who works for the Web group of her company, a large financial services concern. Many large companies struggle with governing their Web site(s). As Jupiter has observed, multiple business units and functional areas are often in conflict when it comes to...( more )

David Schatsky | April 18, 2005, 08:46 AM
Adobe to Acquire Macromedia
In an acquisition that has been long bandied about, Adobe announced today that it would acquiare Macromedia in an all-stock transaction valued at around $3.4 billion. Adobe has been on a tear for the last several years as it has successfully pursued a stategy to capitalize on the ubquity of...( more )

IanFogg | April 08, 2005, 03:29 PM
Advertisers Beware, Flash Opt Outs Already Exist
Eric Peterson is right, advertisers should be careful about using cookie functionality in Flash adverts (to overcome cookie blocking) and of using other Flash tricks that make Flash adverts annoying to consumers. For select groups of consumers that use Firefox, easy on/off switches for Flash already exist, see: Flashblock and...( more )

David Schatsky | March 15, 2005, 12:03 PM
Cookie Grumbling
I'm pleased to see that Eric's recent report on the declining value of cookie-based measurement schemes has gotten a lot of play. It's an issue of great importance to our clients and to online businesses generally. We don't envision a measurement doomsday, though Web sites and measurement vendors do need...( more )