Page 153 - DMGT308_CUSTOMER_RELATIONSHIP_MANAGEMENT

Customer Relationship Management

Notes It’s a mistake to think that revenue, efficiency, and customer satisfaction are distinct goals. In
fact, they’re very much mutually dependent (Figure 6.1 illustrates this). Good revenue generation
cannot happen without some level of efficiency, and only satisfied customers will continue to
buy a product. And for customers to remain satisfied, they want the same thing contact centres
do when they do business—an efficient transaction. For most customers, talking to your contact
centre is not the highlight of their day! When a contact centre fails to sell a customer on the first
attempt, revenue isn’t maximized because customers who really want your service/product
must call back. This creates inefficiency by duplication of effort. It also represents poor service,
as it makes customers do more work to get what they wanted when they initiated the first call.
Merits
Not all contact centres are created equal—some are run very well with clearly defined missions,
while others are a hodgepodge of people tucked away in a corner trying to poke their fingers in
the dike. (Think of the brave work of Hans Brinker in saving his city in Holland.)
When everything is working as it should, a good contact centre:

1. Focuses on its business goals
2. Answers customer contacts (phone calls, e-mails, and so on) quickly
3. Has high employee morale
4. Resolves a high percentage of customer inquiries on the first contact

5. Measures customer satisfaction as a service indicator and has high customer satisfaction
scores
6. Provides a significant source of revenue for the organization

7. Has a good process for collecting and presenting performance data: everyone knows
where they stand monthly, daily, hourly, or in real time
8. Is efficient—little rework is required: calls are consistent in length, requiring a minimum
of customer time for resolution
9. Has everyone engaged and busy with a purpose, but with no one overly taxed
10. Improves processes continually to make constant gains in service, efficiency, and revenue
generation
11. Is seen corporately as a strategic advantage—an ally to the rest of the organization
Many contact centres are exemplary in their dedication to customers and clients. The real pros in
the industry have transformed perceptions so that well-run contact centres are no longer viewed
as “money holes” or “necessary evils,” but as profit centres or a real competitive advantage.

In fact, today entire companies are built around contact centre capabilities.

Example: You may buy a computer from a company that doesn’t have a retail store, or
do your banking with a bank that doesn’t have branches—they offer the telephone or Internet as
your only contact options.

Demerits
Not all of the changes in contact centres have been viewed as positive. Contact centres and their
managers have faced significant challenges. Partially because of the impact that contact centres
have had on everyone’s daily lives, and partially because of some bad management and bad
business practices, contact centres have raised the ire of consumers and caught the attention of
legislators, particularly outbound centres. (See the related sidebar.)

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