SSPA Releases New Support Sense Booklet

The new Booklet now available is Improving Electronic Customer Support: An E-mail Writing Guide for Support Professionals by Tracy Wetjen, Technical Support Solutions, Inc. (TSS). Abstract: Most companies today, regardless of industry, are striving to offer customer service and technical support via electronic means. In most cases, electronic support is a cheaper method of handling customer incidents than is the telephone. This is more so the case when technologies such as email, text- based chat, and voice over IP are used in conjunction with self-help support tools such as knowledgebase articles and FAQs. Consequently, companies are trying to encourage customers to either help themselves via the support web site or to use email to get answers to their questions. Customers are pleased because they have an array of help tools at their disposal, and companies are pleased because their costs are lower with electronic support. But the transition to electronic customer support introduces a whole new set of issues that support managers and analysts must deal with. Organizations have been training on technical skills since as far back as the abacus. And many support organizations have been training on effective verbal communication and problem-solving skills for at least the last seven to ten years. Now support professionals must adapt their communication skills to master the written customer interaction as well.

The Support Sense Booklets are part of the Supportgate.com Data Research Group which also includes the SSPA Survey, an industry-wide survey that provides a comprehensive review of over 100-service industry practices, performance indicators and operations metrics, and provides a benchmark for service and support organizations; and the Market Research Center where, through a Partnership with InsightExpress, Supportgate.com Community Members will be able to create a survey in minutes, target their current and potential customers, and assess their opinions in just a few hours.

A new Booklet is released monthly with the first four available at www.supportgate.com:

The New Support Center: Workplace Diversity in the Twenty-First Century. Abstract: Diversity is Here! Welcome to the year 2000! Beyond all of the hype, hope and anticipation over the new millennium is an exciting and challenging new reality facing every support manager in the United States. It's called workplace diversity.

Customer Perceptions & Their Effect on Customer Relationships. Abstract: How important is a customer's perception of the service they receive? In today's complex support environment, perception is key to retaining customers. Customers from their perceptions of the call center and company based on the professionalism and effectiveness of the company personnel. It is not just what we do that creates the perception, but also what we say and how we say it. When a customer calls a support center they perceive you, the support representative, as being "the company". It doesn't matter to the customer that someone else wrote the software or sold them the software. At this very moment you are the person who is going to solve their problems.

Knowledge- The Ultimate Frontier for Support Centers. Abstract: Everyone’s talking about knowledge bases and how great they are, but no one’s talking about what it takes to build one. Are knowledge bases just for the big guys? Do you need to create (and fund!) a special group to tend to one? This booklet will help you sort out the must-haves from the extras and, I hope will inspire you to get started on the best-kept secret for support center productivity.

Making Support Managers Into Support Leaders. Abstract: The role a Manager or Director assumes in his or her customer support organization has a profound effect on the success of that organization. The Manager can choose simply to manage, focusing on the tactical act of directing business and handling daily affairs or they can choose to be a leader by actively working to create an environment that fosters individual and team achievements. Managers that make the effort to acquire a few core leadership characteristics will benefit personally as well as through the successes seen in their department.

Subsequent Booklets to be released include:

• Characteristics of Effective Teams
• Get a Better Tool without Losing your Sanity or your Time
• Shattering the Glass Ceiling- Closing the Gender Gap in Information Technology
• Workplace Violence: Prepare to Prevent

Call for Authors: Anyone interested in authoring a Booklet and participating in this exciting new SSPA venture should send an email to info@supportgate.com for additional information.

About SSPA
Founded in 1989, SSPA represents over 11,000 service executives in over 500 member companies worldwide. SSPA gives software service professionals opportunities to share ideas, discuss developing trends and network with their peers. SSPA offers its members conferences, seminars, specialized training, executive forums and a variety of publications. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.supportgate.com building Internet service communities, or send an email to info@supportgate.com.