Summary: Sometimes, CRM managers doesn't even know what they have done wrong until it is too late. Here are some of the pitfalls to watch out for.

Self service capabilities woven into customer interaction tools benefit a company’s CRM initiatives in many ways. Self service drives customer confidence in your business and executed right, it enables your business to conserve resources.

This said there are pitfalls in the implementation of a self-service culture. Be aware of these pitfalls so that you can circumvent them.

1. Self-service is not customer service – Self service is fine so long as the customer knows his way around your website and has conducted business with you earlier; however, self service cannot replace customer contact persons. So, when implementing a self service system remember that customer support in the form of a real person in a call center cannot be done away with. Quick resolution of issues is important for customers and this is best achieved by interacting with people via a voice channel.
2. All self-service customers are not the same – All your customers do not represent equal value to your business. It’s important that high-value customers are kept at the forefront of the service hierarchy. Self-service should be implemented in conjunction with inbound predictive analytic solutions so that customers can be assigned a live agent or automated self-service based on predictions about their value. This ensures good service to high-level customers and helps check agent talk times. 
3. Disgruntled customers can leave – Cutting off human aid and intervention and leaving the customer to fend for himself can be frustrating for him. No doubt, you save on agent costs and skilled agents can be deployed elsewhere but remember that for the customer his time is paramount. You may save on agent talk time but lose loyal customers who can simply not put up with multiple automated voice commands. You can lose customers to a silent attrition without being aware of it. Self-service should not jeopardize your customer retention efforts.  
4. Do it right – Automated systems that are poorly designed can actually increase the workload on your contact center staff. It also irritates customers who have to revert to a live call after trying to get their issue resolved via an automated response system. Self service automation should be personalized and deployed such that both the company and the customer are satisfied. Enquiry resolution should be smooth and for this to happen you need to provide your customers with the same information and support that you offer your call center agents.
5. The agent’s time does not give maximum ROI – As your self-service initiative becomes more successful, you will need to ensure that your agents are better utilized. This is best achieved when you know when to enable the self-service option and when to put your agent to the fore. The functions of up-selling and cross-selling are best carried out by experienced call center executives. Intelligent predictive analytic solutions facilitate the ranking of callers according to their value and allow optimum utilization of the agent’s time and speedy ROI.

Conclusion

You need to remember that self-service is not a means by itself but an important cog in the overall CRM initiative. It helps minimize the cost of customer interaction but should be treated as a quick fix for cost reduction. Customer preference for a mode of communication should be respected and if it means that you cannot deploy self-service to the extent that you desire, then so be it.