A new podcast on SearchCRM.com  looks at some innovative new approaches to self-service.  Hosted by former Forrester analyst and current VP of Research for the Service and Support Professionals Association, John Ragsdale, the event is available for download here. 

According to the site, "In this podcast he discusses the future of self-service technology, it's evolution from a tactical to a strategic imperative and how vendors in the market are innovating. He also shares his take on highly customized "microsites" that allow users companies to create personalized pages for customer eservice and the growing importance of click-to-call."

Interesting post yesterday by Stoffer's Soapbox on Gen Y and the Changing Contact Center.  According to the post, the internet and new media are changing the way companies approach lead generation and support for this market.

"Those companies who will succeed in this new world will find a way to use these new channels of communication to communicate with each customer the way that customer demands to be communicated with. Gone will be the days of the static lead form and we will usher in the days of click to chat, click to call, more free upfront content, product blog feeds and self service as a primary means to sign up as a customer and manage a customer account."

The Kelsey Group reports today on a new study by Webvisible that looks into ways that small businesses can drive offline conversions using search.  According to the study, call tracking plays a big role:

“The ability to put a call tracking number on a website or landing page is really valuable to people in the service industry,” David Reeve, marketing manager for WebVisible, told me last week. Reeve also pointed out that the latency in search behavior found by this study is important to keep in mind. Specifically, the report showed that while looking for a local service vendor more than once after using search, 27 percent searched a second time; 23 percent had bookmarked the vendor’s website; and 35 percent wrote down and saved the phone number.

“Often, call tracking numbers are automatically generated every time they appear,” he said. “People will write down the phone number or bookmark it, so you want to be careful that these phone numbers are consistent so that if someone calls at a later date, it will still be tracked effectively.”

Is click to call a fad or is it here to stay? Having seen the dramatic impact click to call can have on boosting sales, reducing website abandonment and improving customer service, it's no wonder that hundreds of large enterprises around the globe say it's here to stay...and you know what side of the camp we're on.

Still, there are some that are confused by the technology and its many applications.  That's why it's time for some myth busting.

A new survey reported on by Internet Retailer finds that 56% of companies can’t confidently demonstrate ROI for their online channel.  According to Brulant, the company that conducted the survey, “The online channel is growing 25% to 60% annually while other channels are maxing out at 7% growth...This alone is sufficient justification for not only investing in the online channel, but also for investing in the tools and expertise needed to effectively measure web ROI.”