Los Angeles, California - (via THE HOSTING NEWS) - August 31, 2005 - Online business is big business, and consumers' use of the Internet has continued to grow. This presents many business owners with the challenge of how to deal with an increased volume of customer support questions and issues, particularly a growing volume of e-mails.

According to a recent study conducted by Jupiter Research, 90 percent of customers surveyed who contacted customer service during a six-month span in 2004 did so via online self-service, and according to industry indications that number is growing.

Enabled by rapidly developing technology and customers' strong embrace of the Internet, scores of organizations have adopted an automated support strategy. Automated customer support offers a way for businesses to allow customers to access information and obtain responses to common questions over the Internet, without requiring a significant investment of human resources. Automated customer support, most often called "customer self-service" or "web self-service," provides 24/7 support, and immediate access to information without having to wait for an e-mail response or a returned telephone call.

The financial motive is clear. According to Forrester Research, the cost of the average web self-service session is less than $1, compared to $10 for an e-mail response and $33 for a telephone call. How can more online businesses leverage automated customer support technology to enhance their business goals and realize this level of cost savings? How can small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) find a cost-effective solution to automating customer support for timely and efficient responses to online customer queries?

The good news for SMBs is that software providers are now bringing automated support technology and services to online businesses. While the terminology and processes might overwhelm and challenge small business owners who do not have customer support departments, or have limited customer service and support resources, the benefits of call centers, CRM and knowledge management are all available through hosted online support services.

Los Angeles-based HostedSupport.com is an emerging leader in the growing field of automated customer support, enabling companies to provide timely customer responses which correlate to more purchases, higher satisfaction and increased staff productivity. HostedSupport.com is addressing the needs of SMBs that, until now, were either priced out of existing solutions or didn't know that affordable products existed that could help them manage their growing volumes of customer support inquiries.

Steve Yeich, CEO, HostedSupport.com explained, "Most small business owners simply allocate more time and staff resources to answer e-mails and keep up with the amount of calls they receive on a daily basis. Yet, 80 percent of customer support inquiries are predictable and have an easy answer that can be automated, thereby freeing up resources and servicing customers more efficiently."

For example, a variety of HostedSupport.com customers such as API Outsourcing, MyGolfBallStore.com, E! Online, TicketWeb.com, and Netmagazine.com note improved ability to communicate consistently and quickly with customers, report fewer customer support issues and experience increased customer retention.

The owner of MyGolfBallStore.com has been an enthusiastic cheerleader of HostedSupport's customer support automation system. Before he started using ezSupport Pro, HostedSupport's premier product, more than 18 hours every day was spent responding to customer e-mail. "Most of the e-mail dealt with basic questions, such as 'Do you ship to Europe?' These kinds of e-mails are handled automatically with ezSupport Pro," he explained.

ezSupport Pro answers nearly 80 percent of customer e-mail. Is the owner happy? "I have my life back," he said.

According to the head of customer support at E! Online, "Our main customer service concern is dealing with the huge volume of inquiries we receive every day and sorting out the simple requests for entertainment-related information from the actual customer support issues. With the HostedSupport.com system, people are able to find answers to their questions themselves 24 hours a day. The system answers questions without us, and that has meant a drastic reduction in incoming e-mails. HostedSupport.com gives us an organized customer service database and allows us to focus in on the people who need assistance right away."

HostedSupport.com's ezSupport and ezSupport Pro empower business with easy-to-use auto-answer e-mail, FAQs, ticket tracking, live chat, advanced reporting and POP e-mail importing, as well as free training and set-up assistance. Pricing is $49.95 per seat per month for ezSupport and $79.95 per seat per month for ezSupport Pro.

To learn more, please visit: www.hostedsupport.com.
Posted on Wednesday, August 31,2005