These days, you can buy your groceries, do your banking, check in at the airport, finish your Christmas shopping and even check out your library books all without interacting with another human being. Yet many companies still act under the erroneous assumption that customers prefer live service, when in fact, the opposite is becoming the norm. Customers expect and demand the convenience of being able to make contact when they want and how they want.

The internet, interactive voice response (IVR) systems and mobile apps have made self service a more efficient and cost effective option for many companies. Consider this. On average, it only costs a company $1 when a customer self serves as opposed to $10 for email service and $33 for a service phone call. That is a significant savings.

And though it may seem counter-intuitive, customers who experience quick and easy self service interactions tend to feel more engaged with the company. Conversely, customers who are forced to pick up the phone after attempting—and failing—to self serve are “10% more likely to be disloyal than those customers who were able to fully resolve their issues in their channel of choice,” according to the Harvard Business Review.

In short, companies that want retain customers, inspire brand loyalty and lower their bottom line need to adapt and evolve to meet their customers’ demands for robust, multi-channeled self service options. USAN’s Customer Engagement software provides, in a single software platform, everything a company needs to establish and optimize web- and voice-based full-service and customer self-service solutions for any type of customer interaction.

Contact USAN today for more information.