BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - March 17, 2009) - Small and midsize service organizations (or
SMBs) continue in their transformation from cost centers to profit centers,
with 60% of SMBs currently operating as profit centers (in contrast to 55%
in May 2007) and an additional 18% planning to operate as profit centers
with financial and operational goals within the next 18 months, as
indicated in "Service Management for SMBs: Employing a Strategic Approach,"
published by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (
NYSE:
HHS). To obtain a
complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/5350-RA-service-management-smb.asp.
The idea of strategic service management entails that customer service is
embraced as a key differentiator, so customer-driven pressures are usually
the top priorities for profit-oriented service organizations to address.
However, in Aberdeen's benchmark survey of over 150 small and midsize
service organizations, it was found that these days rising cost pressures
trump the customer demand for faster service call resolution, and the need
for improved data capture and information for management insight rounds out
the top three pressures. In response to these pressures, leading firms were
more than twice as likely as all other firms to have embraced technology
solutions to improve operations and 1.5 times as likely to have a senior
service chain executive to oversee operations.
"Fifty-five percent (55%) of the Best-in-Class have made purchases of
post-sales service automation solutions, and 17% more will be making such
purchases in the next 12 months," said Zack Westenhoefer, Research
Associate at Aberdeen. "While just 24% of all other SMBs have to this point
invested in post-sales service automation solutions, 43% are actively
seeking to make improvements through technology within the next 12 months.
It has become widely accepted that the ROI generally makes such investments
worthwhile, so it seems that for these SMBs inevitability of purchase is
only a matter of time and money."
"Technology is integral, but remains just one piece of the puzzle," adds
Sumair Dutta, Senior Research Analyst at Aberdeen. "Building a leading
service organization requires a holistic approach, combining a host of
strategic actions, organizational capabilities, and enabling technologies
that encompass the various aspects of service management."
Westenhoefer recommends that service organizations consider the following
strategies to help spur the necessary performance improvements:
-- Change business processes to align with customer needs and
expectations
-- Give field service technicians the ability to access service schedules
and see their work order queue
-- Increase the frequency of performance measurement
-- Offer tiered service-level agreements and contracts
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part to the
following underwriters: ClickSoftware, Inc. and Single Source Systems, Inc.
To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/5350-RA-service-management-smb.asp.
For additional access to complimentary Service Management Research, please
visit
http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-service-management.
Aberdeen's Service Management Research Practice will host its annual Chief
Service Officer Summit, the global meeting place for service, finance,
supply chain, and operations executives seeking to accelerate strategies
for post-sales service transformation. For more information or to attend,
please visit
http://summits.aberdeen.com/index.php/cso.html
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen
http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
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Contact Information: Media Contact:
Zack Westenhoefer
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5354
zachary.westenhoefer@aberdeen.com