Forrester's Best Practice Framework for
Customer Service
Kate Leggett, Senior Analyst
October, 2011
1 © 2010 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited
2009

Ninety percent of customer service
decision-makers tell Forrester that a
good service experience is critical to
their company’s success. Sixty-three
percent think the importance of the
customer service experience has
risen.
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2009

Three questions comprise Forrester’s Customer
Experience Index
Source: January 11, 2011, “The Customer Experience Index, 2011” Forrester report
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Few companies deliver an outstanding customer
experience
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2009

There is a wide variability between high and low
performers
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The difference between high and low performance
can be worth billions of dollars
Source: November 19, 2010, “The Business Impact Of Customer Experience, 2010” Forrester report
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The customer service leader must balance the needs
of his customers with the needs of his business
Cost
Cost
Revenue
Customer Compliance
Regulatory
satisfaction compliance
Customer Business
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2009

Negative opinions can spread rapidly through social
media
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2009

The customer service leader must balance the needs
of his customers with the needs of his business
Cost
Cost
Revenue
Customer Compliance
Compliance
satisfaction
Customer Business
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2009

But what is it that customers want?
Source: August 2, 2011, “Turbocharge Customer Service Processes With Social Technologies” Forrester report
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2009

What are companies doing to deliver
better service?
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2009

One solution is to move customer service to less
expensive communication channels
Source: December 18, 2009, “It’s Time To Give Virtual Agents Another Look” Forrester report
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2009

Another solution is to focus on communication
channels that customers want to use
Source: May 10, 2010, “How To Create A Social Customer Service Strategy” Forrester report
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Issue 1: Knowledge is everywhere
Email
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Issue 2: Companies are offering more customer
touchpoints than ever before
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Issue 3: Multichannel integration remains low on the
priority list for most companies
Source: May 14, 2010, “Contact Center Purchase Plans 2010” Forrester report
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Issue 4: The volume of social inquiries and comments
is overwhelming
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What is the No. 1 pitfall that you have experienced while
customer service?
 Lack of executive sponsorship
 Functionality gaps in the customer
service solution
 Lack of technical knowledge about the
solution
 Poor governance and project
management capabilities
 Poorly defined business processes
 Inability to integrate smoothly with
other solutions
 Lack of metrics
 Difficulty in achieving necessary
changes in organizational culture
18 © 2011 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Start with your strategy
Ask yourself: “What is your strategy to deliver
consistent customer service across all the
communication channels you use to interact
with your customers? How does your strategy
incorporate the voice of the customer?”
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How mature are your business processes?
Customer service business process management
focuses on agent and customer functions, including
case management, multichannel communications, and
field service.
How well do you do in supporting the right business
processes to keep your customer service customer-
centric?
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Ask yourself the following questions
 What is your channel strategy?
 Do you deliver a consistent experience across the different communication
channels that you support
 How well do you process cases?
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Do you have a consistent knowledge strategy across
all touchpoints?
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How mature are your phone, chat, email, and social
channels?
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Leverage technology wisely
Source: May 26, 2011, “Forrester’s Best Practices Framework For Customer Service” Forrester report
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How well do you manage your people?
The most overlooked category of business is
managing your people.
Are you paying attention to . . .
Your culture?
Your leadership practices?
Your collaboration methods?
Your training programs?
Your performance measures and approaches?
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Offering excellent customer service is good for business
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Case Study
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Thank you
Kate Leggett
+1 650.269.8658
kleggett@forrester.com
Twitter: @kateleggett
www.forrester.com
© 2009 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Self-Assessment
 Take the online assessment to see how your organization compares against
Forrester’s best practices: www.moxiesoft.com/assessment
 Contact Moxie:
– info@moxiesoft.com
– North America: 1.800.474.1149
– Europe: +44 (0)870 904 1122
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