|
January 29, 2007
Study Examines the State of the North American Contact Industry: Part III
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
Contact centers can serve many different functions for the organizations that they represent. The most important function however, is the interaction that contact center agents have with customers. This interaction can be a result of either outbound or inbound calling into the contact center.
According to the research conducted by ContactBabel and published in the study: North American Contact Centers in 2006: The State of the Industry, US outbound activity is currently just over 30 percent. In Canada, outbound calling is slightly lower than 28.8 percent. The entire North American region employs over 1 million agents that handle outbound calling.
The sector in which the contact center operates can play a part in dictating the type of activity the center will most often employ. Outbound activity is highest in the outsourcing and telemarketing sector, however finance and retail & distribution also play a major part in this type of calling activity.
Outbound activity can be either cold or warm. The past five years have shown an increase in unsolicited cold calls. However with the Do-Not-Call register, a dislike of this activity by customers and agents alike and the introduction of state legislation on dialer rates are likely to reverse this rise. Instead, cold calling is expected to drop significantly and swiftly while also losing importance in the marketing mix of most companies.
The rise in outbound calling can be attributed to warm calls that are made to existing customers. These calls are made to cross-sell or up-sell or even check the customer’s satisfaction and experience. However, warm calling can be detrimental to the company and only about as effective as cold calling if it is not handled properly.
The individual contacting the customer still should understand their needs to better serve them and have a better chance of selling additional products or services. Calling a customer to hound them about buying something they don’t want or need can create a negative experience for the customer and could cost the company business.
Based on the research conducted, ContactBabel expects that over the next five years:
- Outbound calling will decrease and stabilize at around 25 percent.
- Warm calling will become more focused and targeted.
- Direct mail marketing will increase in popularity with businesses.
- Cold calling will decrease slowly.
- Broadband and “always-on” devices will make multimedia communication a better experience for more customers and will slow the rate of increase in inbound voice communication by shifting some service requests onto self-service.
Technology plays a large role in the activities of the North American contact center market in its effort to achieve performance level standards. Many organizations use robust CRM applications to improve warm calling performance and deliver better service to customers. Others will employ enhanced technology options to improve self-service deliverables, shifting some of the burden away from the contact center.
Join us tomorrow as we start to examine IVR  and its role in outbound calling.
Want to learn more about contact centers? Then be sure to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. The papers are authored by industry leaders, who, in turn, receive qualified sales leads from interested parties. Check here for the latest in CRM information.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) | X | | A hardware- or software-based computer system that enables incoming callers to interact with voice prompts or verbal commands....more |
Internet Protocol (IP) | X | | IP stands for Internet Protocol, a data-networking protocol developed throughout the 1980s. It is the established standard protocol for transmitting and receiving data
in packets over the Internet. I...more |
(source: http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/analysis/articles/4787-study-examines-state-the-north-american-contact-industry.htm)
|
TMCnet LOGIN
Webinars
