1to1 Magazine - November/December 2008 - (Page 34) >1TO1 IN ACTION WHITE PAPER SERIES TheContact Center When viewed as a profit center, the contact center locks in loyalty and yields strategic gains. Delivering outstanding customer care in a difficult economy can be highly challenging. In today’s “do more with less” environment, it becomes increasingly important to focus on improving customer service productivity while maintaining keen insight into companies’ contact centers and their customers. Research has shown that companies that continue to invest in customer service during rough economic times ultimately extend their business in the long run. A Peppers ters viewed as profit centers will help to lock in valuable customer relationships that can yield strategic gains and short-term wins, as well as improve a company’s growth and profitability. On a global basis, customer relationships are won or lost in the contact center. As the vendors in this section demonstrate, successful businesses are leveraging their contact centers as a focal point for customer interactions and investing in the tools that will help them determine what customers want. The bottom line is that companies maintaining a customer focus through these trying times will thrive. & Rogers Group whitepaper titled “CRM in a Down Verint, for example, explains that using analytics will uncover underlying customer issues and help contact center executives gather valuable feedback. West discusses the growing trend of home-based agents and how this staffing model can help to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction. Finally,Nuance demonstrates the potential profits businesses can gain from effectively leveraging the dealer network. The bottom line is that companies maintaining a customer focus through these trying times will endure. But those firms that take that focus to the next level by effectively leveraging voice of the customer, using analytics, and gaining insight into the customer through the contact center, will not only endure; they’ll thrive. —Mila D’Antonio, Managing Editor, 1to1 Magazine Economy: Weathering the Economic Storm Through Customer Relationships, ” asks companies to think about the value of customer relationships as a company asset. The report states: “Each individual customer relationship goes on through time transcending the comings and goings of the economic cycle. For a business, this means the actual cus” tomer relationships won’t erode with these cycles. However, customer relationships that flourish typically result from CRM investments made in customer service. Underfunded customer service initiatives can ultimately erode loyalty. Contact cen- http://www.1to1media.com/view.aspx?ItemID=30883 http://www.1to1media.com/view.aspx?ItemID=29293
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.