Interactive multimedia customer services on demand for the commercial environment

A successful organisation places customer services high on its agenda. Traditionally a telephone customer inquiry service or sales outlet has provided these services. However, organisations now have an opportunity to benefit from customer service provision based on the integration of existing systems with multimedia based telecommunications. By offering the customers direct access on demand, a company could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its customer relations. This article examines the development of this next generation of customer services which is being undertaken as part of a three-year UK research collaboration, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, between the University of Salford and NORWEB Communications.