As the industrys leading
publication since 1982, this 19th Buyers Guide edition of Customer Inter@ction Solutions is
designed to help you decide what you need to buy, what you must outsource, how to avoid
mistakes and pitfalls, and how to position your company for maximum mar-ket share gains as the
economy continues to improve.
In this issue and throughout 2003
I will try to tap in to the
knowledge of industry
leaders as well as consulting with the editors of this industry-leading publication, who
have an amazing total of 97 years of
industry-related experience, all with this publication, which laid the foundation for the multibillion-dollar call center, CRM,
customer interaction/contact
center industry with its
founding back in 1982.
What Should Be Going On In
Senior Managements Mind?
To Buy Or Not To Buy, That Is The Question
The prudent and progressive management of any CRM contact center should be
asking the following questions:
1. Why should I buy or outsource
contact center products and
services?
2. What do I need to buy or
outsource ("rule of
thumb, you must outsource what
is not your core competency")?
3. How do I select products and
services?
4. How do I compare products and
services?
5. What about compatibility?
6. What do I need to protect my
market share?
7. What do I need to do to
increase my market share?
8. Finally, given the
ever-increasing global competition,
what should I do to remain
competitive?
Fortunately, the economy is
turning around and it is time
for a progressive contact center
manager to acquire the latest technology
in products that will help to achieve
the following:
1. Improve overall productivity;
2. Improve agent productivity;
3. Improve CRM, customer care and
customer retention
capabilities;
4. Better control of agent
training and monitoring;
5. Automatic compliance with all
state and federal laws, and
6. Improve ROI.
Some Advice From The Experts
To provide guidance in the judicious selection of products and services for your contact
center, I asked a few industry
leaders to provide their
insight on what you should look for when selecting products and services to bring your contact center to the next
level.
Steve
Brubaker, senior vice president
of Corporate Affairs at InfoCision Management Corporation ([email protected]),
provided the following guidelines
for selecting a teleservices outsourcing company.
"The rule for selecting a
teleservices partner is to
make them prove their experience, commitment and quality to you.
"Experience: Ask for
examples of success within
your industry. Get case studies and ask specific questions about how theyve handled programs like yours.
"Commitment: What resources
will be available to you for your project? Do they prove their commitment by investing in the
right people, technology and
processes? Is the operation
scalable?
"Quality: Visit the
operation. Meet the people
who will manage your project, and without exception visit the call center. Determine whether or not the environment
and people emulate your culture and
values. Are they the people who will
best represent your company
to your customers?
"Keep these tips in mind,
and always remember an
operations quality cant be found in a slick brochure or ad campaign, but in its people and its call
center."
Scott Murray,
president and CEO of Data-Tel Info Solutions ([email protected]m),
related this advice about selecting products for the contact center.
"Buying hardware and
software for your contact
center can be an overwhelming process.
Here are a few tips for identifying the solution that is best for your business.
"Key questions to ask
yourself include: How is our
contact center performing now? What improvements do we want to make, in what timeframe? Then, perform a gap
analysis. What resource constraints
affect this decision? Given
those constraints, what are
the most important gaps to address?
"Look at functionality that
often generates a superior
return on investment: Scalability;
skills-based routing; an open architecture
system that allows for no-cost, easy integration; a system that can blend inbound, outbound and Web-bound
activities; and management
tools such as monitoring, coaching
and real-time displays and reporting
to measure effectiveness and efficiency."
David Fuller, director of Marketing, Call Center Applications at Interactive Intelligence, Inc. ([email protected]m), urges one to keep an eye on the ROI.
"Successful contact center
solutions must exceed
business objectives while satisfying ROI requirements. Traditionally, this has meant addressing the contact management
needs of the contact center alone,
which has limited the scope
of users and departments factored
into ROI calculations. However, organizations are increasingly looking to use bundled communications suites with
pre-integrated functionality
that meet the needs of both
contact center and enterprise users.
"This multifunction approach
inherently supports lower total cost of ownership figures due to a single
administration and development
environment for universal queuing,
IVR, PBX, unified messaging/unified communications, recording and screen pop features since more users
and departments needs can
be factored into ROI
calculations."
Roger Sumner, CTO and vice president of Global FirstPoint Solutions Services
and Operations at Rockwell FirstPoint Contact ([email protected]m), provided the following insights.
"Before
investing in customer contact technology, understanding your customer relationship strategy is
paramount. Selecting
the right technology can result in fulfillment of objectives for a contact center.
With the correct
technology deployed to support agents and the right management processes in place, a
contact center managers goal high quality customer service at minimal
cost can be achieved.
"Contact centers have always
been a delicate balance of
people, processes and technology. Today, new multichannel communications need to be managed in addition to traditional voice calls. The real
challenge is to maintain
service levels for both voice and new media contact.
"Today, if companies are
going to successfully accommodate
multichannel communication in
their contact centers, they require off-the-shelf products that are adaptable to specific requirements. This means looking
for an open, scalable platform that
can be easily integrated and tailored to support business objectives. When it comes to choosing
this technology, the key for all
organizations is
future-proofing their investment."
These guidelines should provide
you with a starting place to
upgrade your contact center and
get a jump on the competition in 2003. . When it comes to choosing
Mark Your Calendars Now
I am proud to announce two highly focused events you won't want to miss in the first half of 2003.
Finally, A Forum For
Teleservices Outsiders
First is the brand new Global Call Center Outsourcing SummitTM coming to Reno, NV in
June (www.tmcnet.com) and featuring the 18th-annual Top 50 Teleservices
Agencies/MVP Quality awards dinner.
This special executive-level
event is a must-attend for
any teleservices outsourcer. The three-day program features conferences, networking
receptions and a golf outing. Come
learn and network in an
environment focused on helping teleservices agencies improve your business and increase your profitability.
Internet Telephony Continues
To Grow
Second is the seventh INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPOTM (www.itexpo.com), February 5-7 at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Miami. (For
reservations, call 305-577-1000 and
mention Internet Telephony
Conference & Expo for a
discounted rate.) There is a complete conference track dedicated to informing you about the benefits of deploying IP
telephony systems in the
contact center. By using IP telephony,
you can significantly reduce costs
in your contact center and maximize your profits. The three-day event also features an exhibit hall filled with leading
vendors showcasing the newest
products, and two networking
receptions where you can learn
from your peers and find new partners.
For more information about these
events, contact Bruce Hirsch
at 203-852-6800, ext.130 or e-mail Bruce at bhirsch@tmcnet.com.
I wish you all a happy and
prosperous 2003, and, as
always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Nadji Tehrani
TMC Chairman, CEO and
Executive Group Publisher
ntehrani@tmcnet.com
[ Return To December 2002 Table Of Contents ] |