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Technology

14 May 2012
CRM solutions to transform customer service
CRM solutions will help to build a strong affinity with the customer if they are used effectively to understand customer behaviour and intent.
09 May 2012
SMS for customer service
It is easy to overlook the untapped power of the simple SMS text message for customer service. Used in the right way, SMS can be an important ally.
08 May 2012
Coping with unstructured demand on customer service
The proliferation of multi-channel software and hardware has meant it is no longer possible for organisation to dictate how customers get in touch.
01 May 2012
Phone remains at the heart of retail financial services
The phone still plays a crucial role in delivering services to consumers, across the UK, Germany, Spain and the USA. This is despite the huge growth in the popularity of digital channels. For consumers, it seems that the power of the phone lies in its ability to resolve more complicated service issues. But the provider sees benefits too, says Steven Satchwell , as it offers an emotional connection with customers and, importantly, the ability to cross and up-sell.
24 April 2012
Has social media made customer feedback programmes redundant?
Social media is now infiltrating the customer service strategies of most companies – and you don’t need to go far to find out just what customers are thinking and saying about brands. With this source of information at our fingertips, what is the point of a customer feedback programme, asks Carolyn Hall .
19 April 2012
3 reasons to use self-help video for customer service
Many customer contact centres are now looking to build an effective social media strategy. But while Twitter and Facebook spring to mind as obvious social media channels, self-help videos are often not considered as part of the mix. However, using a visual help guide can have a huge impact on call volumes, as Ginette Lytton explains.
30 March 2012
10 reasons why video chat is better than email or the phone
The rise in the number of customers buying products and services online has seen a huge growth in the use of web chat. And now we are seeing growth in the emerging technology of video chat, offering a face-toface interaction. But what are the business benefits? Matthew Silverstone offers his top ten advantages of video chat.
29 March 2012
Protect your customers from credit card fraud
Recent data from Financial Fraud Action UK showed that, while credit card fraud has hit a ten-year low, fraud involving telephone transactions has actually increased by almost a third. Simon Cutler discusses the various technologies that can help contact centre managers prevent card-not-present fraud.
22 March 2012
Successful B2B social media: quality not quantity
They say you’re a serious player if you have 500+ LinkedIn contacts and Twitter followers. Maybe. But surely it’s more important how you engage with your online contacts than how many you have? Michael Gray investigates the effectiveness of truly engaging with your online audience by putting his theories to the test.
21 March 2012
6 tips to manage a multi-channel customer service crisis
The contact centre is often at the heart of the action when there is a customer service crisis. And the challenge of keeping customers informed is now compounded by the many channels that they can use to demand a response and the speed at which bad news travels. Together these factors make addressing a crisis much more complex and fraught with difficulty than in the past. Dee Roche offers 6 tips to manage a multi-channel customer service crisis.
20 March 2012
Web self-service boosts the effectiveness of the contact centre
We’re all familiar with the virtual self-help assistants that we see on customer facing websites. On the surface they’re a more personalised, engaging way to help customers with routine questions and aim to offset a certain volume of incoming enquiries to the contact centre. However to see them purely as a call deflection mechanism is missing a trick, says Davin Yap .
15 March 2012
Why technology isn’t improving customer satisfaction
The use of technology has infiltrated everything we do with the aim, and frequently the successful outcome, of making our lives easier. Contact centres included. But the central metric of all – customer satisfaction – remains stubbornly low in many areas. So why is technology not helping contact centres, asks Gordon Young , who is to blame and what should we do about it?
09 March 2012
Is CCM the new CRM?
Every business aims to offer the best products and services and to be as customer-centric as possible, but with budgets and resources tight it can be challenging to find the time to really get to know the customer and give them information they actually want. Tony Beynsberger discusses customer communications management (CCM) software as an easy and cost-effective way to communicate with your customers across multiple channels.
02 March 2012
CRM integration made easy
Telephony and software integration has long been a bugbear in contact centres. Integrating customer relationship management (CRM) with social media and other important corporate systems has long been the domain of the IT department. Adrian Sparks considers how cloud-based solutions allow one-time integration often without reference to IT.
16 February 2012
What does social customer service mean?
Less than 20% of what is now called ‘social customer service’ is actually run by customer service departments. ‘Social’ topics such as ‘peer to peer customer support’, ‘social media monitoring’ and ‘triage management’ are yet to be widely understood processes and competencies within call centre communities around the world. Instead these are issues that marketing teams have been driving for the last few years. Martin Hill Wilson questions whether marketing is the right function to take operational control of customer service issues when they arrive via a social channel.
15 February 2012
Can web chat revolutionise the customer experience?
Since the broadband roll out back in 2003, the evolution of technology has continued to enhance online two-way communication, leading many sectors to reach out to customers in different ways. There are countless commentators who have claimed that web chat and video will revolutionise the customer experience. But are we ready for it, asks James Eyre , and where could it be used most effectively?
13 February 2012
Cloud hosting finds its sweet spot
In the late 90s it was common to hear friends and colleagues asking “what’s your dot.com idea?” as if a rudimentary knowledge of technology and a tad of creative thinking were the only requirements for online success. Sadly, and as many dot.coms subsequently found to their cost, that’s not the case. Fifteen years on and all the talk is of Cloud. Michael Gray wonders if history is repeating itself.
09 February 2012
Don't be a twit: Twitter for customer service
Brands find themselves under great scrutiny for customer service through the instantaneous and unregulated nature of social media, in particular Twitter. How can organisations cope with an increasing onslaught of customer contact through the publicly visible social media channels? Heidi Coles , discusses how to strike the balance when it comes to managing social media, corporate reputation and customer satisfaction.
07 February 2012
Benefits and pitfalls of voice recognition for customer service
Voice recognition software will never be 100% perfect because of the huge variations in accent, tone and pitch of people’s voices. But automation applications are becoming increasingly sophisticated and speech scientists are able to tweak the systems to achieve higher levels of customer service. Mark Pritchard discusses how to apply the software to the best of its ability.
02 February 2012
Complaints procedure – making a bad situation better
Dealing with complaints is one of the most contentious topics in the customer service sphere. Without an effective complaints procedure you risk making a bad situation much worse. What is more, improper handling of complaints does not just damage reputations but can also incur stiff financial penalties. Martin Scovell examines how complaints handling software can improve the management of complaint handling in your organisation.
30 January 2012
In the next 4 minutes you'll have reached your destination
Efficiency and effectiveness should not be odds with each other and can exist harmoniously. The reward for achieving this balance, says Craig Pumphrey , is a contact centre where average handle time is reduced, first call resolution is improved, cross-sell and up-sell is increased, customer loyalty is strengthened and process compliance is adhered to.
25 January 2012
The true cost of un-integrated desktop systems
There are few more frustrating phrases than “could you give me your account number again please” and “sorry but I can’t access your details right now, they’re on another system”. It’s no wonder people get so frustrated with call centre service. Carl Adkins discusses poorly integrated desktop systems and the benefits of a speedier and more efficient CRM.
23 January 2012
Advantages of cloud computing in the contact centre
Now no longer just hype, cloud-based communication is the new hot topic driving cloud computing. Voice applications, such as Unified Communications, VoIP and also contact centre solutions, are being transferred to external data centres. Kathryn Penn takes a look at the advantages of cloud-based solutions in the contact centre.
19 January 2012
10 secrets to curing CRM problems
While the occasional CRM headache is likely to be ignored, persistent symptoms and other aches and pains must be examined and treated. Businesses can experience key symptoms in specific areas which individually may seem small, but combine to reduce overall performance and customer satisfaction. Darron Walton presents his ten secrets to keeping your CRM system in rude health.
10 January 2012
Email customer service: the forgotten channel?
As a channel, email accounts for over 10% of all customer contacts. So why do many customer contact operators pay so little attention to it asks Michael Gray.
05 January 2012
Inbound marketing for contact centres
As direct marketing ‘opt-out’ and ‘do-not-call’ restrictions grow, smart organisations are aiming to capitalise on inbound marketing opportunities that lie within the contact centre. Neil Skilling explains how each customer interaction can be leveraged as a chance to better understand customers and drive up-sell opportunities.
28 November 2011
10 call centre technology trends for 2012
Successful customer service organisations will be looking to technology to help optimise their contact centre performance during 2012. Stuart Dorman , believes that the best way to do this is by adopting a phased approach where the benefits achieved from one deployment roll forward to help fund the next stage of the project. Here are Stuart’s top ten tech trends for next year.
24 November 2011
Improve customer service by freeing the agent desktop
Susannah Richardson argues that the key to effective customer service is making life easier for agents by liberating them from the tyranny of complex databases . The agent desktop, she insists, can make the difference between happy customers and customers who are kept waiting on the line.
16 November 2011
How to improve customer satisfaction
The right helpdesk software for your customer service management endeavours can go a long way to improving customer satisfaction. In turn, customer service teams and businesses will benefit from enhanced systems. We’ve all heard the mantra “the customer is king”, says Geoff Rees . So it’s puzzling to see so many organisations shoehorning inappropriate software to manage business critical tasks that impact customer service.
11 November 2011
3 secrets of call analysis
Building a meaningful relationship with callers can drive customer loyalty and improve brand reputation, but how can you make sure you’re hearing what your customers are telling you?

Helen Murray reveals five secrets for making sure you get the best business insight from call analysis.
07 November 2011
What is augmented service? Part two
Despite huge technology advances, the customer contact industry is still very much about people.

In ' What is augmented service? Part one ' Michael Gray explained AR Technology and the impact it will have on the sales and marketing industry. In part 2 he examines the role of AR Technology within the service industry.
04 November 2011
What is augmented service? Part one
Despite huge technology advances, the customer contact industry is still very much about people. 79% of all contacts involve a person speaking to another person on the phone according to ContactBabel .

In the first of a series about customer contact technology , Michael Gray explains AR technology and the impact it has had on the sales and marketing industry.
03 November 2011
What is social media? Making sense of social media for businesses
Social media has become a mainstream communications tool for consumers. The results of Convergys’ 2011 UK Customer Scorecard Research found that 57 per cent of UK consumers have Facebook or Twitter accounts, if not their own blog, and 42 per cent of UK consumers have a smartphone with a data plan.
01 November 2011
Online customer service: live chat support
With the news that more companies are now adopting web chat as an effective way of communicating with customers, Emily Millar examines the benefits of this tool and the things to consider when implementing an online chat facility. Important considerations include remembering that web chat involves quite a different skill set to handling calls, and keeping your communications true to both the channel and the brand.
28 October 2011
Social media content: top writing tips
The growth of social media means that more and more customer service agents are now monitoring and replying to customer queries via these channels. But the skills needed to write an email and those needed to write a tweet can be quite different. So what makes for good social media writing? Neil Martin offers his five top tips…
19 October 2011
The role of telephony in the digital age
Stuart Gray examines how the telephone channel works in targeting new customers and retaining them by building good relationships and brand loyalty – and asks how telephony can fit into a modern multi-channel strategy . In an age where the deployment of mass digital marketing campaigns continues to evolve, does telephony still have a role to play?
12 October 2011
Debunking the myths of cloud based solutions
Rufus Grig , CTO, Azzurri, debunked some myths at his session on cloud based solutions at the Call Centre Focus Conference on Tuesday.

First of all came a shock for everyone still waiting for the arrival of cloud computing. "The cloud is already everywhere"
20 September 2011
What is 'the cloud'?
Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of talk about ‘the cloud’ and among its claimed benefits are increased efficiency and productivity, as well as reduced cost – all for little or no capital expenditure.

So, what’s the catch? Just what is ‘the cloud’, and is it really possible to realise these benefits by using the cloud in the contact centre? Read more...
02 September 2011
Making automation feel more caring
In these austere times, it’s easy to understand why more businesses might turn to self-service to handle simple tasks. However, it’s not always the most popular option with consumers because it makes them feel the company doesn’t care about their custom.

So how can companies make customers feel valued, while efficiently routing calls and promoting self-service? Ovum’s Daniel Hong and Ryan Joe investigate...
16 August 2011
Joined-up customer thinking
How many times have companies given you a loyalty bonus – or marked the anniversary of you becoming a customer?

And how many times has a company’s debt collection department held off chasing a slightly late payment, aware that you are in the middle of buying additional products or services? Carl Adkins discusses the symptoms of a lack of joined-up thinking within most contact centres.
09 August 2011
Banking on a solution for customer complaints
Handling customer complaints is one of the most sensitive areas of interaction with the customer and one of the decisive factors for maintaining customer loyalty.

According to James Clark , financial institutions are faced with increased regulatory scrutiny and need to comply with a clear set of regulations for handling complaints.
12 July 2011
Are predictive diallers turning unpredictable?
For many years, Ofcom has been trying to clampdown on the misuse of automated calling systems or predictive diallers by some call centres.

Their work centres on the dreaded silent call. Trevor Richer says users of predictive diallers should take their responsibilities more seriously.
26 May 2011
Waking up to the social media challenge
Growing numbers of customers are turning to the internet and social media to vent their frustrations with products or services. There is a perception that customer service departments are difficult to reach and often ill-equipped to deal with enquiries.

Chris Hall tells why it is vital for business to simultaneously address their knowledge strategy to make their investments successful.
20 October 2010
Peter Rogers - The skys the limit
Cloud technology has revolutionised the world of shared services, software and information within computer networks. Cloud-hosted systems such as Amazon, Google Mail and Google Docs have been running successfully for years - in fact, by 2011 Merrill Lynch says the cloud computing market will reach £100billion.

Cloud-based storage has also eradicated capacity issues and opened up data storage, download and sharing capability for enterprises.

Both cloud-hosted technology and cloud storage provide more possibilities for businesses to use speech analytics, so do they hold the key to widespread adoption by companies great and small?
11 August 2010
To build or to buy
When it comes to software, should you build or buy? It can be hard to justify the cost of building systems, but the inflexibility of a packaged product could hinder your company's ability to change. So, asks Haseet Sanghraika, what's the alternativ