Discuss five (5) key steps in developing the e-service strategy

1. First, find the desired level of customer service that can realistically be achieved
through e-service. Outstanding service is probably the ultimate goal, but depending
on the current state of play, an organisation might set out to achieve suboptimal
service within, say, a year, and then move to service excellence after that. It is
important to base the desire for improvement upon customers’ actual experiences.
That is, how services should look to customers, rather than on an internal judgement
of service quality. This means the company must talk to customers about e-service.

2. Next, review current service levels in all channels, including e-service. The review
should be based upon factual information, coming primarily from customers
themselves. What do customers really think about the business they do with the
company when they conduct it face-to-face, by telephone, and via the Internet? Even
more importantly, how effectively can they channel-switch if they want to (or if they
are forced to, which sometimes happens when a company’s e-service offering is only
partially complete).  Service channels should integrate to give customers a good
experience.

3. The third element in the strategy analyses the changes that are needed in e-service
to reach the service level discussed in point 1. This part of the strategy identifies how
improvements for customers will be made.

4. To complete the e-service strategy, the organisation should plan how to acquire and
deploy the necessary resources to make the changes. With customer service, this
planning normally focuses heavily on the organisation’s people, and one would
expect enhancement to employees’ customer service skills and product/service
knowledge to be included, as well as how to change the online processes (the
technical aspects) to the best effect.

5. In addition, E-service can give customers a self-service (unassisted) approach or one

that is enhanced with support (by online chat or instant messenger) from the
company’s well-trained customer service representatives. Support delivers assisted
e-service, which is sometimes needed as a way of “training” customers to use the
technology.