As global employment prospects lag behind a slow economic recovery, customers in many parts of the world are more cautious but better informed than ever. They have access to a wealth of information about the products and services they seek, much of it obtained from trusted sources almost immediately. Yet businesses have moved slowly to exploit emerging technologies and information sources like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. As a result, customers often seem better informed about the products and services they buy than companies are about their customers. This imbalance presents a big challenge to companies struggling to avoid commoditization and it could grow into a competitive disadvantage as customers demand more personalized service.

This white paper discusses how gathering intelligence from multiple sources such as social media, customer service centers and online support, and then transforming that intelligence into productivity improvements are vital steps in transforming customer service in the digital age.