Smarter Customers have greater choice in the Online Marketplace

Research and Markets have announced the addition of the 'Call Centers and the Internet: Enhancing Customer Contact report to their offering.

Customers are smarter and have a greater breadth of choice in todays online marketplace. The Internet affords them greater control of their purchasing decisions and allows them increased access to the organizations of their choice. In many cases, the key differentiator between organizations competing online is the level and quality of customer support that they are able to offer their valuable customers.

Today, customers are able to send inquiries and complaints 24 hours a day, seven days a week from around the globe. Their questions are sent in seconds over the Internet, and their expectations for a quality response are increasing. In addition to customers expectations of prompt response, the level of customer support provided over the Internet must be comparable to the traditional phone-based call centers.

Critical cross-selling opportunities and customer touch" points are lost if customers cannot contact a company representative seamlessly. Traditional call centers are turning into contact centers" where phone, e-mail, fax, and chat are becoming the mediums of choice for customers around the world. How are organizations able to keep pace with technology change and growing customer expectations? This is among the many challenges that call centers and customer support managers are facing today.

STUDY FOCUS

Drawing input from Response Design Corporation and secondary research literature, the study team identified four key areas for research. These areas guided the design of the data collection instruments. Brief descriptions of the four areas are provided below.

I. The Emerging Role of the Internet
- The Internets priority in both the companys and the call centers strategic
direction
- The call centers role in supporting Internet initiatives
- Integrating Internet technology into existing call center technology
- Evaluating and selecting Internet options
- Expected return on investment (ROI) from Internet investment

II. Building an Internet Business
- Preparing/educating customers to do business on the Internet
- The cultural change in the call center as it transitions to Internet-based business
- Capabilities of the call center to react to Internet customers
- Changing competencies of the call centers staff to support Internet customers
- Involvement of other operational functions (human resources, training,
information technology) in supporting the transition to the Internet
- Guidelines used to select and implement new technology to support the Internet

III. Maintaining an Internet Environment
Processes/technologies in place to ensure:
- reliable, predictable service;
- security/confidentiality;
- service levels in disasters, emergencies, or dramatic changes in level of se; and
- integration of customer information collected from the Internet into existing
repositories.

IV. Measuring Success in an Internet Environment
Impact of the Internet on the way the call center measures its:
- productivity,
- customer satisfaction,
- value,
- reps productivity,
- reps responsiveness,
- overall cost savings (ROI), and
- reps ability to satisfy customers.

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