Just a few short years ago, the idea of a dedicated mobile support strategy seemed ludicrous for most people. Even the best smartphones were often crippled by low-resolution displays, limited functionality, and incompatible Web browsers. Users often struggled with all but the most basic document editing and e-commerce tasks, and many saw these devices as good for little more than checking e-mail and keeping their calendars up to date.
Today, the line between mobile devices and computers is blurring constantly. Newer smartphones have substantial memory and storage, greatly improved processing power, and increasingly serviceable Internet and applications capabilities. And with the advent of small, portable tablet devices such as the iPad, the capability gap between a mobile device and a laptop computer is smaller than ever.
The use in social media in support follows a very similar storyline. Chances are that a couple of years ago real support meant contacting a call center or a dedicated web site; Facebook or Twitter were websites your teenage children used, and getting support through social media seemed about as logical as embedding it in your favorite video game.
To gain insight as to how mobile and social media environments are impacting support environments, Supportindustry.com and Citrix Online sponsored a survey in late 2010 to assess the impact of mobile and social media environments on support, with over 200 responses.
Key points from the survey results include the following:
• Over half of respondents either have a support strategy in place for mobile environments, or plan to implement one over the next 12 months.
• Mobile support environments are growing rapidly, with the number of respondents supporting these poised to double by late 2011.
• Increasing use of mobile devices, a more distributed customer base, and resource pressures all serve as nearly equal factors in this growth, as well as Internet compatibility across mobile devices.
• 34% of respondents either support or plan to implement social media support channels, with another 34% currently undecided.
• Facebook and Twitter are the most common channels for social media support, with LinkedIn a distant third.
• The use of web chat as a live support channel will more than double over the next year, to include over half of all survey respondents.
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