I’m not a big fan of Madonna’s acting talent—I have not even seen any of her movies. However, I get reminded of one of her 80’s movies titled “Desperately Seeking” someone or the other when I see contact center agents or sales reps desperately trying to find answers with the time-constrained and often irate customer waiting on the line. When agents venture to use keyword search or other legacy search methods that are still around in some places, they get hit with hundreds of hits (no pun intended) or irrelevant answers. When consumers go through the same experience on web sites when they look to buy things or get self-service, they simply defect, often tweeting about the bad experience to the detriment of the brand. In fact, “findable search” has become an oxymoron.

The business impact of unproductive searches in the context of sales and service is huge. In a 2011 survey of 139 CRM executives conducted by eGain, 63% cited “Not able to find information with simple keyword search” and “inconsistent or siloed knowledge bases” as the top issues in sales and service interactions with customers. Even if one were to centralize KM, the findability issue still looms large. How can businesses eliminate knowledge silos, make it easy for customers, service agents, and sales reps to find information, and unleash business value and delightful search experiences? If you are desperately seeking knowledge harmony and findability in sales and service, you could get started by visiting our web page on an entirely new approach to search.