MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwire - November 20, 2008) - eGain Communications Corporation (
OTCBB:
EGAN), the leading provider of multichannel customer service and knowledge
management software on-premise or on-demand, today published its 2008
international benchmarking report for the retail sector. The report
benchmarks and compares email customer service and web self-service offered
by leading retail companies in North America (the US and Canada) and the
UK. The research found that North American retailers performed worse than
the UK in email response quality, but better in web self-service and speed
of email response. However, the research shows that there is significant
room for improvement in both these areas.
eGain used a "mystery shopping" approach to evaluate customer service
performance. Posing as prospective buyers of high-value products and
services, eGain researchers contacted leading retail businesses through
email, showing an obvious intent to buy, and also evaluated the
self-service capabilities offered by these businesses. The objectives were
to assess the responsiveness and quality of email customer service, the
range of "web self-service" options offered, and the ability to easily
escalate to agent-assisted service. The North America research also
included other aspects of customer service including interaction channels
offered, and multichannel and multi-agent service consistency.
The following key statistics emerged from the study:
-- North America findings:
-- 25% of the companies failed to respond to customer emails
-- 65% responded to emails within 24 hours, but 55% of the responses
were "poor" or "below average" in quality
-- 45% scored "above average" or "exceptional" in web self-service but
55% received "poor" or "below average"
-- North America-UK comparison:
-- North America trailed the UK in email response "quality"
-- Only 45% of the North America sample received an "above
average" or "exceptional" rating in email quality, compared to
56% in the UK
-- North America performed better than the UK in email responsiveness
-- 65% of the North America sample responded to emails within 24
hours compared to only 36% in the UK
-- Only 25% of the North America sample completely failed to
respond to customer emails compared to 35% in the UK
-- Web self-service performance was poor across the board,
although North America was ahead of the UK
-- 45% of North American companies scored "above average" or
"exceptional," compared to only 16% in the UK
"These scores are concerning, especially since email customer service and
web self-service are key requirements to attract and retain customers in
today's volatile macroeconomic environment and increasing movement of
brick-and-mortar purchases to online channels," said Ashu Roy, Chairman and
CEO of eGain. "It is crucial that retailers invest in robust customer
service management solutions that will not only improve online customer
service but also unify the customer service experience across channels."
"Retailers must optimize service performance across existing touch points,
particularly e-mail and online self-service. Adherence to best practices
within both channels will go a long way toward meeting customers' needs
this holiday season," writes Zach McGeary, Associate Analyst for
JupiterResearch, a Forrester Research company, in the research report
"Customer Service During the Holidays," dated December 10, 2007.
About the State of Customer Service in the Retail Sector research
This report consolidates the findings of the "2008 State of Customer
Service in North America" and the "2007 State of Customer Service in the
UK" research studies. The combined sample consisted of over 240 leading
companies, with $250M or more total annual revenue, and included 50
retailers.
The full report of findings from eGain's research can be downloaded at:
http://www.egain.com/best_practices/research.asp.
Additional information on eGain solutions for the retail sector can be
found at:
http://www.egain.com/solutions/retail.asp.
About eGain
eGain (
OTCBB:
EGAN) is a leading provider of multichannel customer service
and knowledge management software for in-house or on-demand deployment. For
more than a decade, the world's largest companies have relied on eGain to
transform their traditional call centers, help desks, and web customer
service operations into multichannel customer interaction hubs. Based on
the Power of One™, the concept of one unified platform for multichannel
customer interaction and knowledge management, these hubs enable
dramatically improved customer experience, end-to-end service process
efficiencies, increased sales, and enhanced contact center performance.
Headquartered in Mountain View, California, eGain has an operating presence
in 18 countries and serves more than 800 enterprise customers worldwide. To
find out more about eGain, visit
www.eGain.com or call the company's
offices: 800-821-4358 (US headquarters), 1753-464646 (UK and Continental
Europe).
eGain, the eGain logo, and all other eGain product names and slogans are
trademarks or registered trademarks of eGain Communications Corp. in the
United States and/or other countries. All other company names and products
mentioned in this release may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the
respective companies.
Contact Information: eGain media contact:
Connie Pheng
Phone: 650-230-7449
Email: pr@egain.com