SearchCRM.com Special Report

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Special Report: Strategies for Contact Center Success

SPECIAL REPORT SUMMARY

Are you running a contact center that's built for the e-business era? Is your technology up to date? Is your workforce motivated and managed properly? SearchCRM.com has a series of articles designed to help you set your contact center strategy, better service your customers and make the most of your interactions with them.

>> Contact center admin: Life without management tools 'is hell'

>> Is the call center dead?

Agent buy-in key to contact center success
by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D. (05/12/2003)

There is no question that the contact center is one of the most important customer-relationship hubs today. At most firms, more interactions go through the contact center than through any other department, and those interactions are playing an increasingly vital role in a company's ability to retain customers, as well as improve their value.
To get the most out of this key interaction point, contact centers must align their day-to-day workflow with the company's customer-centric vision and goals. This includes the department's physical and logical setup (are reps organized by customer needs and value, and are contacts routed to reps based on their value to the firm?); matching the right agents to the right customers (have all agents' strengths and skills been evaluated so they are assigned in a manner that brings the most value to the firm?); and developing a change management plan that evaluates training needs and secures buy-in from each customer-facing employee.
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RELATED INFORMATION FROM SEARCHCRM

ADVICE:

>> Using chat in contact centers
Our contact center expert, Lori Bocklund of Vanguard Communications, explains the best approach for using chat in the contact center. The challenge is that different contact centers have different characteristics of their transactions and how they handle them...

>> Agents of change: Taking contact centers to new heights
These days contact center agents are doing a whole lot more than merely manning phones. Peppers & Rogers found some workforce optimization and training tools that are a great way to get more out of your staff.

>> Don't miss our future webcasts: "The Customer Interaction Hub: Enabling Consistently Excellent Customer Service" and "Aligning Corporate, Call Center, and Technology Strategies for Call Center Success"
Later this month, visit our webcast library to view these two exclusive webcasts hosted by Michael Maoz, VP and Research Director, Gartner CRM Strategies and Lori Bocklund, VP, Vanguard Communications.

LINKS:

>> Check out the resources we've collected here -- the best links the Web has to offer on contact centers

>> Learn why Patricia Seybold touts cross-channel consistency for CRM

>> Browse our white papers on contact centers

>> Learn more about the vendors who offer call center management products

NEWS:

>> VoIP being talked up in contact centers (SearchCRM.com) 05/12/2003
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has yet to make a huge splash in the contact center, but those who have invested in the technology are seeing benefits. And analysts say it won't be long before others follow suit.

>> Contact center admin: Life without management tools 'is hell' (SearchCRM.com) 05/12/2003
Anticipating call volume, juggling agents' schedules and monitoring employee performance aren't easy tasks. That's why workforce automation management software has saved contact center managers more than a few headaches.

>> Is the call center dead? (SearchCRM.com) 05/12/2003
No, it's not time to lock the doors to the your call center. But, with so many contact channels, some analysts say it's time to turn your center into a "customer interaction hub."

BOOKS:

>> SearchCRM.com recommends: Call Center Technology Demystified $39.95
Call Center Technology Demystified clarifies the sometimes complex and often confusing array of technologies that enable call center success. This book will lead you through the labyrinth of customer contact technology jargon, common misperceptions and marketing hype to help you align technology with business needs and optimize your technology investments.

>> SearchCRM.com recommends: Wake Up Your Call Center: Humanizing Your Interaction Hub $35.00
Wake Up Your Call Center: Humanizing Your Interaction Hub discusses such call center topics as e-commerce, ER in the call center, managing workplace conflict and technical support staff. Includes updated statistics and information on technical information and training, software, hardware, new systems and expanded references.


ADVICE:
>>	Using chat in contact centers Our contact center expert, Lori Bocklund of Vanguard Communications, explains the best approach for using chat in the contact center. The challenge is that different contact centers have different characteristics of their transactions and how they handle them...
>>	Agents of change: Taking contact centers to new heights These days contact center agents are doing a whole lot more than merely manning phones. Peppers & Rogers found some workforce optimization and training tools that are a great way to get more out of your staff.
>>	Don't miss our future webcasts: "The Customer Interaction Hub: Enabling Consistently Excellent Customer Service" and "Aligning Corporate, Call Center, and Technology Strategies for Call Center Success" Later this month, visit our webcast library to view these two exclusive webcasts hosted by Michael Maoz, VP and Research Director, Gartner CRM Strategies and Lori Bocklund, VP, Vanguard Communications.

LINKS:
>>	Check out the resources we've collected here -- the best links the Web has to offer on contact centers
>>	Learn why Patricia Seybold touts cross-channel consistency for CRM
>>	Browse our white papers on contact centers
>>	Learn more about the vendors who offer call center management products

NEWS:
>>	VoIP being talked up in contact centers (SearchCRM.com) 05/12/2003 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has yet to make a huge splash in the contact center, but those who have invested in the technology are seeing benefits. And analysts say it won't be long before others follow suit.
>>	Contact center admin: Life without management tools 'is hell' (SearchCRM.com) 05/12/2003 Anticipating call volume, juggling agents' schedules and monitoring employee performance aren't easy tasks. That's why workforce automation management software has saved contact center managers more than a few headaches.
>>	Is the call center dead? (SearchCRM.com) 05/12/2003 No, it's not time to lock the doors to the your call center. But, with so many contact channels, some analysts say it's time to turn your center into a "customer interaction hub."

BOOKS:
>>	SearchCRM.com recommends: Call Center Technology Demystified $39.95 Call Center Technology Demystified clarifies the sometimes complex and often confusing array of technologies that enable call center success. This book will lead you through the labyrinth of customer contact technology jargon, common misperceptions and marketing hype to help you align technology with business needs and optimize your technology investments.
>>	SearchCRM.com recommends: Wake Up Your Call Center: Humanizing Your Interaction Hub $35.00 Wake Up Your Call Center: Humanizing Your Interaction Hub discusses such call center topics as e-commerce, ER in the call center, managing workplace conflict and technical support staff. Includes updated statistics and information on technical information and training, software, hardware, new systems and expanded references.