CRM - February 2009 - (Page 16)

THE Recession ISSUE Breaking Customer Service Tradition More companies are realizing that delivering a great experience may not require a contact center R ecessions are a difficult time to improve—let alone start— a traditional contact center. Companies of all sizes are looking for ways to serve consumers while remaining mindful of cost. When Microsoft Live Labs launched its Photosynth product in August, the unit opted out of its parent company’s large contact center. “Microsoft of course has a big investment in customer support,” recalls Photosynth group manager David Gedye.“[But] this product is very different and it called for an [atypical] approach.” Analyzing uploaded photos, Photosynth looks for similarities to use in recreating the photos’ original environment, and then uses that as a canvas for displaying them. “It’s [a mix of] photography, movies, and video games,” Gedye says. “It allows people to create a new media type and experience.” Gedye and his team of roughly 20 felt they needed to directly connect with Photosynth users to answer any questions they might have while using the product. A traditional contact center was not an option. “I couldn’t imagine training a support engineer on this technology,” he says. “It’s a product where the expertise and experience in using the service is going to make a big deal of difference. You really need someone who’s passionate about [Photosynth] to help others.” So Gedye turned to Get Satisfaction, a community-based customer service platform used by more than 5,000 firms. Instead of offering an email address, knowledge base, or phone number, Photosynth created a widget that connects users to a Get Satisfaction page on which they interact with Photosynth employees. Gedye says thousands of suggestions have come in since August, and, despite his team’s small size, they’re able to have everyone on deck to speak with users. “Get Satisfaction gets much more community involvement from people willing to put something into it than other [competitors],” Gedye admits. “It’s a great place to start everything, and engagement has been fantastic.” Get Satisfaction has thrived because of the ongoing hunt for new ways to interact with customers, says Thor Muller, the company’s cofounder and chief executive officer. “A lot of businesses are looking at the cost structure of the traditional [customer service] model and are saying that it may be too expensive and not scalable enough to provide what’s necessary.” Muller says that many of his smaller clients use the site in place of an entire support initiative, but larger clients—such as Whole Foods—use it as an extension of existing outreach. He also sees services allocated with an eye to specific consumers.“Some businesses are using our channel for lower-end customers, and saving the call and email support for more-profitable ones,” he says. “Plenty of companies are considering the future and moving entirely in this direction, but it’s a process.” Get Satisfaction offers basic packages between $49 and $99. Gedye says the bargain was certainly a draw, but hardly the only reason to forgo traditional customer service. “Microsoft is probably not in the same position [as] a lot of startups,” he says. “Everybody appreciates a low price point, but it was not the driving issue with us…. It was really about the experience.” —Christopher Musico OUTSPRINTED Telecom giant Sprint cuts telecom contact centers Telecommunications vendor Sprint Nextel recently noted a drop in calls to its customer service lines, and that, in response, it will close some of its contact center locations. As first reported by TradeTheNews.com, Chief Service Officer Bob Johnson predicted that service-call volume might shrink by as much as 20 percent in 2009, leading to the closure of up to 20 contact centers, or half the number Sprint operated in 2008. Tough economic times sometimes call for tough measures, but any closure of a contact center by Sprint Nextel carries a strong dose of the ironic. Like SAP slashing its IT budget or American Express cutting back on travel and entertainment (see page 14), this reduction goes to the heart of Sprint’s business. The news led some to suggest that the closings would compound the company’s recent problems with customer service. One analyst, quoted by Forbes.com, said poor network quality and bad handsets have plagued Sprint since mid-2007 and have led to market-share problems, with customers switching to AT&T or Verizon Wireless. “In this environment, many companies like Sprint are looking to cut costs; unfortunately, customer-care organizations and contact centers are often viewed as cost centers, making them sitting ducks for slashing,” says Bruce Temkin, vice president and principal analyst for customer experience at Forrester Research. “It’s unclear how these contact closings will impact Sprint’s customer relationships, but the wireless carrier just came out 107th out of 114 U.S. firms in [our] customer experience rankings. So Sprint will likely lose more customers even if it maintains the status quo.” These challenges may lead Sprint to increase marketing spend in early 2009, but that approach carries risks as well. “If Sprint decides to heavily invest in customer acquisition, customers might be in for a rough time as a growing number of new customers vie for a smaller number of call center reps,” Temkin says. There’s already evidence of marketing motion, with new wireless routers, BlackBerry phones, and other products intended to reduce customer erosion. —Marshall Lager 16 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | FEBRUARY 2009 www.destinationCRM.com http://www.TradeTheNews.com http://www.Forbes.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - February 2009

CRM - February 2009 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Express Service CRM on Twitter Breaking Customer Service Tradition Outsprinted That’s (Not) Entertainment Running on Empty Required Reading Up Against the Downturn The Numbers Tell the Tale Make Marketing Your Megaphone! Hold Onto Your Customers! Spend Your Way Out! Constructing a Virtual Customer Experience Next Customer, Please! It’s Showtime! From A(erospace) to Z(oology) Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - February 2009

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