Thursday, May 03, 2012
Any organization hoping to provide top-level customer service must focus on the phone. While email, social media, text messaging, and several other channels have grown in popularity, the phone remains the most popular means for customers to contact companies with questions, comments, and requests for help.
According to Magellan-Solutions, a recent Forrester Research study found that 68 percent of participants had used the telephone for customer service in the past year. Another Forrester Research survey found that the telephone also offered the highest level of customer satisfaction.
Considering its importance in providing customer support, it is crucial that companies maintain highly functioning contact centers. However, this can be an expensive prospect for companies with limited budgets.
To reduce costs without compromising service, Jeff Valentine recently recommended that organizations consider implementing hosted technology. Writing for Mashable, Valentine estimates that a 50-agent hosted contact center may be as much as 70 percent less expensive than an on-premises solution.
Additionally, a hosted contact center allows for cross-trained workers to act as agents on demand, rather than being dedicated solely to helping customers. As a result, a company can increase its overall efficiency.
