In all the years I have spent building contact centers and tracking this market, from both business and technology perspectives many things have not changed. Center managers are still under pressure to drive down costs, customers generally are not satisfied with the way their interactions are handled (perhaps less so), and organizations still aren’t making the most of customer interactions. However, as noted in my predictions for 2012, I am expecting more rapid change in the next couple of years than ever before with the advent of a collection of technologies that are already impacting business interactions with customer or by their actions.
What’s driving this change is the Internet. It is the power behind communication habits moving from conversational to electronic and incorporating mobility, which allows people to do things now even if they are on the move. The Internet also has fuelled the rise of social media and empowered people to publicly air their views, has enabled collaboration on a grand scale both inside and outside organizations, and has led to widespread acceptance and adoption of cloud-based systems. In addition the growth and volumes of customer information in what is now called big data and utilizing it through business analytics can empower better customer management. Taken together these changes are having a major impact on the contact center, and my research agenda for 2012 will reflect them.
Regarding the cloud, my benchmark research in 2011 shows that companies increasingly adopting cloud-based systems. First was CRM in the cloud, followed by communications in the cloud and then other business applications. Expecting this trend to continue, I will be tracking how companies use cloud-based systems to optimize customer-facing activities, including:
Amid the changes, an old phrase once popular has resurfaced, as many people are now pronouncing that the “customer is king.” But I question whether the outcomes of calls leave customers with this impression. In any case, this emphasis I believe is why customer relationship management is maturing into customer experience management, and I will be tracking organizations efforts to optimize the customer experience across all channels, including:
Some pundits are predicting that electronic communications and social media will kill off the contact center. One of my other 2011 benchmark research studies shows this is premature because although the rate of increase has dropped compared to other channels, the volume of inbound calls is still expected to rise in 2012. This means people will still be answering customer calls and their performance will continue to impact the overall customer experience. Therefore I will be tracking organizations’ efforts to improve the effectiveness of their entire workforce involved with customer-facing activities, including:
This research agenda will lead us to produce some new benchmark research during the year. I just finished a benchmark on customer relationship maturity in 2012, so look for my report and presentation during the first quarter. That will be followed by research into use of customer feedback management, emerging technologies to improve the desktop for people involved in customer-facing activities, and a maturity assessment of how well organizations are doing at handling all forms of customer interactions. In addition the importance of more detail oriented analysis of vendors and products will be met with new Value Index research that I will be leading covering vendors and products in areas including: agent performance management, customer analytics, contact center in the cloud and customer feedback management.
It is going to be a busy year trying to keep up with expected business changes, shifting customer behaviors and product improvements so follow our efforts to help you come out on top in the competition to gain, retain and profit from customers. To learn more, please come and collaborate with me further.
Regards
Richard Snow – VP & Research Director