A poll this week asks readers of destinationCRM the following question:

What Web support services will your organization implement in the next 12 months as part of its online self-service initiative?

To be fair to the poll, the question did ask what "self-service" tools were companies looking to implement.  But is self-service always the way to go?  We've always said that online commerce is evolving from a "self-service" transaction model to that of strategic customer engagement.  The reality is that self-service cannot always be acheived online...especially for complex sales.

Most people are just more comfortable talking to someone on the phone when they have a question and are about to spend their hard-earned money.  Jupiter Research estimates that a vast majority of online shoppers who spend more than $500 in a 6-month timeframe would rather speak to someone when they have a service issue.  

Of course, some transactions have low values and some companies have low lifetime values per customer.  In those cases FAQs, e-mail and text chat will suffice, but when it comes to big ticket items, companies must think about better ways to engage their customers before they lose the sale.