Call Center CRM

Bell Dings

July 28, 2008

Bell deserves some applause for its decision to let go old-line executives and managers rather line staff as part of its reorganization and cost cutting as part of its recent and record-breaking $35 billion+ leveraged buyout. Could this mean that Bell will emerge as a truly competitive, dynamic carrier, one that will provide leading-edge price-savvy services to contact centers, other businesses, and to consumers, and win back those it has been attriting to other companies?

Posted in Call Center CRM, VoIP

After-Hours Calls: the Next Speech Rec Killer App Opportunity?

July 24, 2008

For all the speech-rec current and in-the-pipeline candidate transactions there is one category that appears to be ready-made for this technology--but so far ignored--and that are the after-hours calls, such as for doctors, lawyers, plumbers, fuel oil dealers and furnace repairs now handled by answering services...So that got me to thinking: could a standardized speech solution be developed for these professions and businesses? One that would deliver the same as or superior service while keeping costs--and bills--down?

Posted in Call Center CRM, E-Business

IT Expo West--and IP--is Hot!

July 21, 2008

Forget about the economic cooldown: the IP solutions market is hot!

Posted in Call Center CRM, VoIP

A green contact center and CRM opportunity...

July 21, 2008

Want to 'drive' in more shoppers to your contact center and/or website? Get out the word that calling or going online saves gas (and saves the earth) compared with driving to the store.

Posted in Call Center CRM, E-Business

The saga of Talisma's RR proposal

July 18, 2008

So it is with surprise that last year that I discovered that CRM/contact center solutions vendor Talisma was involved, through its VP of Corporate and Channel marketing Jim O'Farrell, in an effort to save and revitalize a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad line on the east side of Lake Washington, on the west side of which is Seattle.

Posted in Call Center CRM

Convergys and Intervoice: Blurring The Lines?

July 16, 2008

Having worked for a teleservices firm as well as having covered/covering this industry I completely understand the rationale behind Convergys's acquisition of Intervoice. Yet is buying an app/platform firm, one whose type of product and services are no doubt used by other outsourcers, going a little too far? Isn't it blurring the lines between solutions and services?

Posted in Call Center CRM

There's No Place Like Home For Contact Centers

July 15, 2008

To learn more about home-based agents I invite you to register for and participate in a webinar on this topic that is taking place Wednesday July 16 at 2pm ET that is being sponsored by VoltDelta and Transera.

Posted in Call Center CRM

Performance Management Stats

April 29, 2008

Performance management works, is the message of a report commissioned by performance management provider Enkata. The study, conducted by Precision Marketing Group, found that organizations leveraging performance management solutions are able to markedly improve customer satisfaction, service delivery and agent retention.

Highlights from the survey:

* Organizations using performance management systems to pinpoint coaching topics and automate coaching best practices are able to expect 65 percent more coaching time from their supervisors than organizations without a PM system.
* More than 70 percent of the respondents plan to focus on initiatives to better measure and impact customer satisfaction.
* Large organizations are moving more to sales-service operations. Of companies managing more than 1,000 agents in their operations, 80 percent expect agents to sell as well as provide service.

For more information, visit www.enkata.com/2008survey.

TES