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PacificNet Brings CRM to China Telecom
PacificNet is chosen by China Telecom to provide CRM services.
By DAVID SIMS
TMCnet CRM Alert Columnist
PacificNet Inc., which sells CRM, call center, interactive voice response and other services in China, is announcing that its PacificNet Epro subsidiary has been selected by China Telecom's Hainan Branch to provide CRM consulting and call center training services.
PacificNet Epro had previously served China Telecom's main customer service centers located in Jiangsu, Hubei, and Guangdong.
China Telecom's 10,000 information hotline -- that's what the press release says -- was, company officials claim, "the first customer service center in China's telecom industry," and was designed to provide basic customer service such as answering customer questions, processing orders, and handling complaints.
Beginning in 2005, China Telecom has been trying to upgrade customer service as a competitive advantage in the increasingly competitive Chinese economy. Face it, a central command economy is great at producing Five-Year Plans but isn't the best incubator for responsive customer service, so as the Chinese consumer economy morphs into a competitive one, where customers actually have options, customer service is seen as a key differentiator.
PacificNet Epro is expected by China Telecom to help Hainan Telecom improve its CRM services with the specific goal of generating profit through CRM services, telemarketing and outbound telesales.
Tony Tong, Chairman and CEO of PacificNet, said that price is no longer the deciding factor for Chinese consumers, who are getting more sophisticated about quality customer service: "Today, customers choose a provider in China not solely based upon price, but upon a number of factors including CRM service, loyalty and retention programs. This trend has created the demand for and deployment of large scale customer contact centers."
Tong called the CRM contact center "the new competitive advantage for the market leaders in China," declaring that "to become a market leader in China, whether as a product or service provider, a company needs to devote resources to CRM and customer service."
China Telecom is the largest fixed service telecommunications provider in China, which includes data, Internet, and the XiaoLingTong PAS wireless system. A couple days ago it announced it's considering combining its fixed line operation with its "Little Smart" mobile communication services business.
Wang Xiaochu, China Telecom chair, told Telecom Asia the move was being considered as this was a global trend in the communications industry.
The growth of the mobile communications market has resulted in a decline in the company's local fixed line business in the first half, Telecom Asia reports: "However, with its fixed phone business having a penetration of only 23 percent, China Telecom remains bullish on prospects for this."
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David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles by David Sims, please visit:
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