It requires effective information capture, an ability to collect information into useful relationships, and the efficient dissemination of knowledge to the interface levels within the organization that need it most.

For example, each time a customer makes contact with a service representative, the customer's needs, as well as the actions taken to satisfy these needs, represent information that may be captured and processed to benefit future customer interactions.
This knowledge may also be made available to the enterprise, e.g., other service representatives and product-development managers. Establishing an effective customer service management capability is a challenge for most organizations.

Especially difficult is the capture of tacit knowledge that resides primarily in the heads of experienced employees. Customer Service Consulting helps in extracting and understanding this knowledge.

The vastness and complexity of customer service consulting is due to the fact that the information generated in today's service operations demand advanced customer service management capabilities.

Customer service consulting aids the core process of customer service and support. It is comprised of three fundamental activities:
-Advice on the Connect, which is defined as how a customer makes contact with the company. Included in this activity are the connectivity methods available to a customer, such as automated call distribution, interactive voice response, and the Web. Companies also determine which services the customer is entitled to receive through this activity.
-Advice on the Identification, which means determining the customer's needs. Customer needs may be diagnosed through a variety of means: through a live customer-service representative or a self-help tool. A recommended course of action is defined to address the customer need.
-Advice on Resolution, which comprises of all of the actions necessary to satisfy the customer's needs; e.g., provisioning of repair services or managing logistics to support field operations. Resolution also includes formal closure of trouble tickets, customer billing, and capture of lessons learned.

~ Category editor Sakina Kadiwala. copyright data indianchild.com

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