Companies Across the Globe Lack Proper CEM
June 26, 2008
The total experience of the customer should be a key focus for the contact center as it is often the only point of interaction between the company and the customer. If the contact center does not view customer service as a priority, the customer experience will suffer, as will the health of the customer base.
Cincom Synchrony recently sponsored an in-depth Ventana Research benchmark, “Customer Expereince Management: (CEM) Improving the Consistency and Quality of Customer Interactions” to assess what is happening in markets throughout the world.
According to this research, only 12 percent of organizations provide optimal CEM, leaving angry and frustrated customers in the majority. More than 253 worldwide companies from all major industries participated in the benchmark that focuses on the maturity and direction of business throughout the world.
The other 88 percent of organizations should be looking for ways and tools that will help to improve consistency and quality with customer interaction, primary factors that impact agent/customer communication and reasons why innovative companies are relying on “smart desktop” technologies to improve agent performance and the customer experience and key performance indicators (KPIs) for CEM driven companies.
"Today's customers may be one annoying phone conversation or frustrating experience at a poorly functioning website away from defecting to a competitor," said Richard Snow, Ventana Research's vice president of customer performance management research, in a company statement.
"To rise to this challenge, businesses need to practice customer experience management (CEM), addressing issues involving people, processes, information and technology that influence customers' experiences and behavior at every point they touch the business."
Too often, organizations view the contact center as a drain of resources that is in place merely to provide a contact point for customers. While it is true that it should be a contact point, it also needs to be noted that it can make the difference between keeping and losing a customer.
Consumers are more likely to rate a company based on their interaction with them, rather than on the product that the company delivers. In other words, the company cannot survive on brand name alone. It must ensure that customers equate quality with their brand, not only in the product, but in the service that is delivered to the customer.
Proper CEM solutions help to ensure that the company is protecting its most valuable asset – its customer base. A company that fails to effectively manage customer interactions will spend most of its time and resources to attract new customers as it lacks the necessary tools to protect its base.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC and has also written for Market Drive News. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.
