Self-service will increase as strategic priority during 2011

As retailers and retail manufacturers grow in 2011, they will increasingly embrace self-service as a strategic priority rather than treating it as an emerging technology, according to the third self-service survey by bizcommunity.com in partnership with World Wide Worx.

The survey found that companies no longer see self-service as a nice to have but as a ticket to play in a world where clients are more demanding than ever before, and that the trend is expected to accelerate sharply during 2011.

One sign is that companies in the 2003 and 2007 surveys saw self-service as a benefit mainly for their customers. Now they overwhelmingly see it as a benefit to them.

This new understanding of self-service has taken root in an economy where costs are rising and companies are desperate to save money where they can.

Compared to 2007, double the proportion of respondents saw self-service as a strategic, board-level issue rather than a tactical and operational concern. This is encouraging, since it means companies are seeing self-service as being more about customers and a channel to market.

Self-service is important when companies must drive down their costs of doing business to remain competitive and sustainable.

On the whole, self-service has come a long way in the short space of seven years since the two companies completed their first market survey. Self-service is now thought about as seriously and strategically, and companies will continue to grow as usage of self-service channels increases in 2011 and beyond.

source: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/458/55706.html

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