Parature Unveils Results of Nationwide Survey of Customer Support Professionals
Findings Reveal Trends in Both Costs and Methods for How Large and Small Organizations Support Their Customers
McLean, VA (May 22, 2006) – Parature, provider of award-winning, on demand customer support software, today unveiled the results of an in-depth nationwide survey of customer support professionals that revealed surprising trends associated with operating customer support organizations in both small and large companies. According to the survey results, all companies, regardless of size, spent the majority of their budget on personnel costs. Further investigation showed that companies using a customer support solution spend 47% of their budget on personnel costs, while companies who do not have a solution in place spend 64% on personnel.
When separated into categories for large and small companies, the difference is even more apparent. Small companies are defined as those with 15 or fewer customer service representatives (CSRs) and large companies as those with 16 or more CSRs. Small companies not using a customer support solution spent 45% of their costs on personnel, while small companies using a support solution spend 22% on personnel. Large companies not using a support solution spend 81% of their costs on personnel, while those using a solution devote 56% of their overall budget to personnel.
Parature attributes these results to streamlined processes and automation that are put in place with a customer support solution, creating a more productive and efficient environment. Also, support solutions like Parature’s offer self-service capabilities such as a knowledge base, online discussion boards, and download centers that potentially can reduce the number of inbound support requests as users begin to solve their own problems. This can impact the amount of personnel resources needed, while also changing the tasks CSRs are focused on. As processes become organized and automated, and answers to common questions are posted and easily found online, CSRs can have more time to spend answering complex one-off questions.
“We’ve always known that customer support solutions have tremendous impact on how customer service organizations spend their budget, but this survey confirms just how much both large and small companies can benefit in areas of costs, efficiency and productivity from solutions like Parature’s,” stated Duke Chung, CEO, Parature. “This industry data gives customer service organizations a great way to compare themselves to the rest of the industry, and gives Parature benchmarks that we are working to improve upon further through new and innovative offerings in areas of self-service, customization and ease-of-use for our customer support and help desk solutions.”
Source: Parature