A thorough and practical guide to maintaining a proactive support operation. Customers expect constant assistance no matter what type of products they buy, and today's support operations face greater responsibilities than the IT help desks of the 1990s. This book provides readers with up-to-date case studies and research that illustrate how support is evolving beyond trouble tickets and maintenance contracts to encompass up-selling and long-term customer care. This book also furnishes readers with examples of how and how not to offer support on-line. It highlights how organizations apply theories of customer relationship management in the real world of support. And it describes what types of products and services are essential for any support operation - including tools for reducing or preventing future requests for help - and shows readers the best ways to use them.

Today's support operations face greater responsibilities than the help desks of the 1990s. That's because customers expect 24x7 assistance on whatever channel they choose - no matter what type of products and/or services they buy. The Complete Guide t