So we actually needed a study to show that it is the PEOPLE that are important to the CRM process and that it is not a purely technological approach. What’s really more important to maintaining a strong brand and customer allegience? Is it that a company has 300 interest specific choices on the customer support section of their web site or that the rep you speak with on the phone or via email/chat is actually polite, can speak clearly and knows their business? Use technology for the right reasons. Read this article from CyberAtlas:
Less Tech, More Human Predicted for CRM
By Robyn Greenspan
It may seem contrary to the technology revolution, but many companies that are investing in call centers are focusing their dollars on solutions that enable human efficiency.
A Datamonitor report that analyzed the global workforce found that two-thirds of all call center costs are directly related to the customer service agent, and the money once allocated for customer relationship management (CRM) technologies is now up for grabs.
“Companies are shifting away from obscure CRM technologies and are beginning to focus on more concrete call center solutions,” according to David Spindel, Datamonitor analyst.
The data, gleaned from interviews with 50 executives and analysis of the North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific markets, revealed that $550 million was spent last year on workforce optimization technologies, growing to nearly $1.5 billion by 2007 as companies look to leverage their existing CRM and contact center expenditures.
The technology tools, that include quality monitoring, eLearning, and agent analytics, allows contact center managers to identify agent skill gaps and helps them to correct any identified agent problem. Spindel notes that as a result of the increased attention on agents, tech vendors are racing to claim market leadership, with quality monitoring and workforce management solutions emerging as the front runners.
The CRM market is still considered a burgeoning revenue force. Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc., reported that the CRM services market is expected to rise as much as 15 percent through 2002 rising from $25.3 billion to $47 billion by 2006.
Dataquest found that the CRM sectors of significant growth are development and integration; IT management services and business management services; and business process management, including contact center outsourcing.
