This strategy, which focuses on effective electronic communication with customers, does not come without complexity. Ninety-eight percent of managers report their call centers are taking on more responsibilities. Fifty-seven percent of respondents to a survey cited by Customer Relationship Management in January 2005 say that the amount of data they are handling is doubling or tripling each year. Eighty-three percent indicate that they have to turn to at least three separate sources of information before they can make a key decision. Customers add complexity by demanding service via multiple electronic avenues. Response Design Corporation's call center metric database, LeapFrog!®, indicates that 87.5% of customer contact comes from the phone, 2.5% from e-mail, and 10.5% from other sources such as the fax or the Internet.
Increasingly the call center is becoming a strategic business asset by supplying bottom-line critical information to other areas of the enterprise. For example, because the call center is one of the most personnel intensive areas of the business, HR may ask a call center manager to help reduce costs by comparing the center's turnover against the industry average. Simultaneously, she may be consulting with the corporate customer experience team to determine how to provide a consistent experience across all customer touch points. And, before she finishes her morning cup of coffee, she may be tackling an unexpected degradation of customer satisfaction due to high wait times. Each challenge she faces requires targeted, up-to-date information and advice.
In response to these complex needs, Response Design announces its new "Creating the Uncommon Call Center" site, located at www.responsedesign.com. This cost-effective, answers-when-you-need-them resource provides call center management a “one-stop-shop” of products and services covering a broad range of call center management topics. Its products’ step-by-step “how-to” orientation saves the management team hours of frustration caused by lack of time to develop these resources internally. This trusted site provides answers proven through research and experience.
Managers are able to choose the level of assistance they need. For example, a manager can subscribe to the free newsletter, read the research-based blog, or instantly download a single product or a product suite. Or he might choose to attend a tele-class. The tele-classes evolve into communities-of-practice in which professionals learn from Response Design experts how to successfully implement call center projects, and they interact with their peers for additional support.
There are more than 200,000 call centers estimated worldwide, with many U.S.-based companies outsourcing customer contact to off-shore centers. The health of the U.S. economy is dependent on how easily customers can do business with companies and call centers must provide customer service cost effectively. The Creating the Uncommon Call Center site stands to become a leader in helping call center management achieve these goals.
Response Design – Creating the Uncommon Call Center®.
Response Design Corporation helps professionals get more from their customer contacts. It is the how-to source for learning how to profitably manage a call center. Visitors to www.ResponseDesign.com are encouraged to explore the RDC site for comprehensive, all-under-one-roof call center solutions and to subscribe to RDC’s Uncommon blog at www.responsedesign.com/corner.html.
Contact: Kathryn Jackson, Associate, KJackson@ResponseDesign.com
