August 07, 2006

 

Business Intelligence can often seem like another buzzword among corporate execs that's used so often in the enterprise; it tends to be tuned out and rendered ‘just talk.’ But, by doing so, the enterprise runs the risk of ignoring what could lead to one of their most valuable assets – customer data.

 

Enter the contact center. Often times, the contact center is the primary, or only, contact the company has with the customer. Unless the enterprise is exploiting this contact as an opportunity to gain valuable customer information, the full benefit of the contact center cannot be realized and business decisions will fail to be customer-centric.

 

The contact center should really be considered the business intelligence center. First and foremost, the organization must understand why the customer is contacting them. If the contact is due to a negative situation or problem, the center should record that and plug it into future strategies to understand what needs to change to ensure happier customers.

 

Second, are the organization’s customers and their tastes changing? Yes, they are their customer now, but are they doing what they should to ensure that their customer today will be their customer tomorrow? Are organizations gaining insight from their customers as to what they expect from their company to keep them satisfied?

 

Third, are the organizations customers receiving exceptional service when dealing with the contact center? Is management monitoring first contact resolution? Are they surveying customers to get a clear picture of their perception of the service they are receiving?

 

When the organization has this kind of information at your fingertips, strategy planning for the organization can be streamlined to ensure that it targets the core customer. As a result, current customers will become loyal customers due to an improved customer experience; the contact center can reduce unnecessary costs due to a reduction in overall call volume; and time and energy can be spent focusing on actual problems and not problems that are only perceived to exist.

 

When the contact center is transformed into the business intelligence center, it can shake off the stigma that its capital drain imparts and become the portal of valuable information for the company. If your contact center is falling short in its business intelligence gathering, your organization is not reaping the benefits of personal contact with your customers. And, if you are not customer-centric in your strategies, your competition will likely soon enjoy a larger customer base.