Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

April 26, 2007

Survey Reveals Customer Service is Critical to Profitability

By Susan J. Campbell


Customer service is one of those unusual phrases that can have several different meanings. Simply referring to customer service doesn’t always imply that the customer was given good service or that they were satisfied. The level of customer service in the call center is becoming more of a point of focus for the organization as this is often the only point of contact that the customer has with the client and as a result, the service level must be higher than that of the competition in order to protect the base.
 
Fortunately for the call center industry, 61 percent of consumers see call centers as doing a better job than three years ago. The results of an international survey of more than 4,300 consumers revealed that, despite some areas of continued frustration, 23 percent of all consumers found their experience “significantly better” and an additional 38 percent felt it was “somewhat better” while only 12 percent thought it was worse.
 
The survey also indicated that customer service is a critical driver of profitability and satisfaction, with more than 75 percent of consumers indicating that they would give more business to a company based on a great contact center experience. A poor customer service experience was partially or completely to blame for 50 percent of consumers who stopped doing business with a company.
 
The survey, which measures consumer likes, dislikes and frustrations with contact centers and automated customer service systems, was commissioned by Genesys (News - Alert) Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., an Alcatel-Lucent company. The survey revealed that although investments in technology and self-service are starting to pay off, consumers are increasingly demanding better multi-channel service, through SMS, e-mail and other new media.

There are many things that cause frustration for a customer when dealing with the contact center. Over the past four years, customers have been most frustrated with long hold times as 67 percent of consumers report this frustration and 88 percent would prefer to receive a call-back in 10 minutes instead of being on hold that long.
Frustration was also generated for customers when dealing with poor automation. In fact, 57 percent of consumers are frustrated by IVRs with too many or incorrect options and 75 percent of consumers reported that they feel that companies are pushing them to use self-service instead of talking to live people. This area is also closely connected to repetition as 52 percent of consumers were frustrated by having to repeat information that they have already provided.

"Given the direct impact of contact center performance on customer loyalty," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO of Genesys in a statement, "successful companies must take every opportunity to connect with their customers to create a positive experience.
 
“Customer service is improving, but the expectations of consumers are going up as well. As the world market becomes more competitive, the most successful companies are ones that make the best use of every channel and every interaction. Companies should engage their customers with a well- planned and executed contact center strategy."

Survey respondents did indicate that a good way to create a positive experience was to address consumers’ basic frustrations. The results of the survey suggest that companies can eliminate long hold times by including a call-back option in their IVR systems.
 
Such studies can provide a wealth of information that the contact center can use to improve their offerings in order to ensure that the customer experience is exceeding the consumer’s expectations.
 
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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