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Unit 6: Technology for Customer Relations

establish a department for inbound calls, one for outbound calls, and a group for e-mail. (There Notes
are as many organizational permutations as there are ways to communicate.) Some companies,
especially smaller ones, opt to create “universal agents” who handle all contact types. Companies
create universal contact agents for reasons of efficiency and service, and often because they find
it easier to train agents in multiple communication methods than to train multiple agents in
product or service information.

Did u know? Some contact centres are called blended operations—agents in the centre
handle both inbound and outbound contact. Blending done well can make contact centre
operations very cost-effective and can improve service to the customer as well.

What Makes a Good Contact Centre?

In general, the things that make a good contact centre are also the same things that make a good
business. For instance, a good contact centre has a strong culture where people work from a
common set of values and beliefs and are bound by a common purpose and a strong focus on the
business objectives. Just as in any business, effective management continually aligns everything
the contact centre does with its business objectives and desired culture. Generally, as Figure 6.1
illustrates, you should look for your contact centre to deliver in three areas:

1. Revenue generation includes everything that leads to revenue—sales, upgrades, customer
retention, collections, and winning back previously lost customers.
2. Efficiency refers to cost-effective operations for the organization—whether this relates to
the operation of the contact centre or to getting work done for the organization. Generally,
the contact centre is a much more efficient means of contacting customers about a new
promotion than John, Betty, and Fred in the marketing department.
3. Customer satisfaction is really long-term revenue generation— build customer loyalty
and keep them doing business with you. Contact centres should make things easy for the
customer. The contact centre is available when the customer needs it and has access to all
the information necessary to answer customer questions or solve customer problems. Try
calling a checkout clerk or even the president of your favourite sporting goods store—
trust me, even if you do get through, you probably won’t get the answers you need.

Figure 6.1 Mutually Dependent Business Objectives

Source: http://misbridge.mccombs.utexas.edu/knowledge/topics/crm/

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