White Paper Argues the Importance of Establishing Key Metrics in the Contact Center

By Susan J. Campbell

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

In today’s economy, nearly all products and service have come to be classified as commodities, with little difference – if any – between the offerings of competitors. In addition, organizations such as banks, insurance companies, telecom service providers, utilities, government agencies and nonprofits have little room for substantial price advantage. As a result, many of these organizations are relying on their customer service deliverables to help them to achieve the differentiation they need in their space in order to be competitive.

 

For many of these organizations, the customer service deliverables are realized through customer interactions with the contact center. In fact, a recent market research survey found that 45 percent of executives view the contact center as a “critical” part of their company’s product and customer strategy. And, in order to successfully achieve strategic and tactical goals, the contact center must focus on the metrics that really matter.

 

In a recent white paper, Metrics That Matter, Proactively Boost Performance and Improve the Customer Experience, from the PELORUS Group, sponsored by VPI, the author Richard Bucci focuses on the importance of understanding broad corporate goals and the resultant goals and action plans of the department that includes the contact center. It is from there, Bucci believes, that specific contact center goals and individual goals can be established.

 

This white paper goes into great detail to examine the metrics that matter, contribution metrics, making the business case for integrated applications or solutions to improve performance, customer delight metrics, business intelligence metrics, defining the relevance of the metrics in achieving the goals of the organization, and how any contact center can create and execute a specific set of key metrics.

 

Establishing key metrics is essential for the survival of the contact center. Without clear direction and established goals, it is difficult for the contact center to measure performance and therefore justify its existence to the organization. As outsourcing contact center operations continues to gain popularity as a cost-effective option, in-house centers run the risk of getting shut down if their effectiveness is not recorded and proven.

 

Access the link provided above the gain better insight in to these metrics and to understand the importance of their establishment for the contact center. According to Bucci, they really can make or break the in-house contact center.

 

 

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.