TMCnews Featured Article
June 19, 2012
Contact Center Planning Complexity Simplified with CenterBridge
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
If something isn’t perfect, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not viable. Many a solution has been shot down due to the impatience associated with arriving at the desired result or trivial imperfections that may not mean a whole lot in the long-run.
One consultant tells of an experience with a client where just such a situation occurred in this BayBridge Tech blog. During a presentation relaying return on investment figures for a particular contact center planning project, the consultant revealed a cost savings measure that would reduce the company’s operating costs by $7 million.
Even in light of such a substantial savings, the client was disappointed. Since it took the system more than 10 minutes to return the best solution, the client admitted to getting impatient and wanting to shut the entire system down. The consultant pointed out that a $7 million savings for 12 minutes time was a pretty solid return on investment.
In the client’s eyes – an answer returned in matter of seconds would have been ideal. But isn’t it worth it to sit through a 12 minute analysis to save $7 million annually? While most people wouldn’t argue with that, the client’s impatience may have cut a good solution short because it wasn’t the instant answer expected.
Like the ROI example mentioned earlier, proper contact center planning is never easy. There are a number of variables involved, but solutions can be reached quicker and more precisely with the help of CenterBridge.
CenterBridge is a platform that calculates contact center planning needs based on internal and external variables. The outcome is the right number of agents when and where they’re needed, helping the company reach its goal of providing excellent customer service.
CenterBridge can aid contact center planning efforts by helping to answer a variety of questions. Some issues that CenterBridge can provide answers to include: how to anticipate call volume, how seasonality will affect the business, when to hire new agents (or just use overtime), what level of customer service is most profitable for premier customers, and how to provide consistent customer service when business changes seasonally.
Customer service is an integral part of contact center planning. There are so many points of contact with customers today, even compared with just a few years ago. Aside from inbound and outbound calls, the contact center has to decide how it is going to manage communications across e-mail, online chat forums, and social media applications. Being consistent in delivery is a challenging but necessary part of achieving high levels of customer satisfaction.
Organizations today realize the value of good customer service as it results in increased brand awareness, repeat business, and referrals. A bad customer experience can be very destructive, which is why companies are pouring millions into customer improvements. The result is special sales and service programs, agents that speak a variety of languages, new technology offerings, and a better selection of products and services.
Edited by Jamie Epstein
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