Speech Self-Service a Top Priority in 2008

Companies are beginning to see the technology as an essential part of customer service strategy.

Speech self-service is quickly becoming an essential application for any organization interested in delivering the best customer service possible. In fact, the technology ranks as the top strategic action in 2008 for companies considered Best-in-Class, according to a new benchmark study of more than 300 companies by Aberdeen Research.

Alan Hubbard, senior vice president of Aberdeen's customer support practice, and a co-author of the report entitled "Speech Self-Service: Say 'Yes' to Reduce Costs and Improve Customer Satisfaction," says a portion of the end-user feedback surprised him. "We knew going into this that the overall implementation of speech self-service was low," he explains. "We had seen in previous surveys it was in the 3 to 10 percent range of companies that actually installed it." Among the Best-in-Class companies over the next 12 to 24 months, however, "upwards of 30 percent will implement some form of speech self-service." [click heading for more]