Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

April 19, 2007

Contact Center Study Finds Improvement in Customer Interactions

By Susan J. Campbell


In all of the monitoring and measuring that takes place in the contact center environment, the one area that should be of primary focus is that of the customer interaction. Traditionally, this area of the contact center operation was not monitored as closely and often the contact center’s perception of the customer’s satisfaction level was quite different from reality.
 
According to the 2007 Aspect Contact Center Satisfaction Index – North America, year-over-year improvements are bring made in customer interactions. Completed by Aspect Software (News - Alert) and Leo J. Shapiro and Associates, a market research company, the study examined consumer experience versus expectations of contact center interactions in North America.
 
This study found that consumers who have an exceptional contact center interaction experience several things in common, such as an agent or center quickly responding to inquiries or issues, providing accurate and detailed product and service information, setting expectations for what will transpire after an interaction and transferring knowledge to customer so they are qualified to make informed decisions.

For this years Aspect Index, we felt it was important to identify examples of exceptional customer experiences to help contact centers understand how such experiences may impact a company’s top line,” said Margaret Mueller, Sr. Research Analyst, Leo J. Shapiro & Associates, in a Thursday statement.
“The survey results show that customers can be won or lost over the course of a single interaction. We hope that by calling out the criteria or actions that appear to create a pleasant experience, we can help contact centers determine what specific actions to take to satisfy their customers and grow their business,” Mueller added.
 
Results from the study indicated that consumers that have an exceptional experience are a third as likely to do more business with that company in the future. The study also found that nearly 75 percent of consumers who had a bad experience say they will do less business with a company and 60 percent of those say they will do much less business.

”These are some pretty powerful statistics,” said Mike Sheridan, senior vice president of strategy at Aspect Software, in Thursday’s statement. “And, this is the kind of information that should really prompt companies to take a close look at how they can improve the overall experience they are delivering to their customers and prospects.”
 
The survey took into consideration 25 attributes across three categories. First, it considered empathy and advocacy or the human aspect of customer interactions, such as patience, knowledge professionalism and friendliness. Second, the survey considered efficiency or the overall quality and speed of the experience including being able to quickly speak with an agent, authority to resolve issues and clear connection. The survey also considered automation by exploring ease-of-use of technologies like automated menus, multiple contact choices and access of contact information from the Web site.

Join us tomorrow as we look further into this Aspect Index and determine how contact centers in North America perform overall.

Want to learn more about contact centers? Then be sure to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. The papers are authored by industry leaders, who, in turn, receive qualified sales leads from interested parties. Check here for the latest in CRM information.
 
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMC (News - Alert) and has also written for eastbiz.com. To see more of her articles, please visit Susan J. Campbell’s columnist page.
 
 


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