In the previous Industry Insight in this series, I looked at day-to-day life in the dynamic contact centre. It offers something akin to nirvana, with happy customers, happy agents (if the one is happy, so will the other be!), and happy management as the bottom line is positively impacted.
In this, the last Industry Insight in this series for 2008, I'll look at how the dynamic contact centre saves money and helps boost revenue.
It is relatively well known that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to sell to an existing one. Given this, it makes perfect sense to maximise the relationship with existing customers to extend the number of products and services they buy. This is the concept known as up- and cross-selling.
Consider your own reaction when you receive a cold call on your cellphone, and you'll understand why research shows it is increasingly difficult for companies to win over new customers:
* Seventy-two percent of consumers report they have a "negative view of marketing".
* Fewer than one in 10 consumers can name a brand that was advertised in a commercial break, just a few minutes later, when the scheduled TV programme has resumed.
The conclusion is inescapable: it is much easier to sell to existing customers than to try and win new ones.
The four steps
Sophisticated dynamic contact centre tools give live agents deep insights into the behaviour and history of customers.
Peter Flanagan is director of Intelleca.
This finding is aligned with the best in customer management thinking, which gives us four steps we should follow in engaging with customers:
* Acquire at the right cost;
* Manage the customer relationship with the greatest efficiency, which implies interacting with customers via various channels, at the right price point and through the channel of their choice;
* Retain so as to do more business and eliminate competition; and
* Penetrate so as to sell more, as margins and, therefore, profitability are far higher.
The dynamic contact centre allows companies to up-sell and cross-sell with hugely improved success rates.
As noted in previous Insights, with the dynamic contact centre, every incoming interaction is intelligently routed to the ideal agent or other resource to boost the likelihood of conversion.
Simultaneously, sophisticated dynamic contact centre tools give live agents deep insights into the behaviour and history of customers, which allows them to target offers with laser precision.
In addition, the entire dynamic contact centre is so pleasurable and devoid of the usual friction points that customers are more likely to buy products or services on offer.
The most effective cross- and up-selling takes place when agents offer goods or services that are fully relevant to each customer. For this to work, the agent needs dynamic systems that can analyse the customer's past purchases, personal preferences and interests - and all in real-time - and suggest relevant, personalised offers for the agent to introduce into the conversation.
As an example, a cellular contact centre agent would be able to offer a 3G modem card based on the customer's previous buying history and clearly articulated requirements.
Cutting costs
It is self-evident that the dynamic contact centre helps reduce costs. However, it does so in a far more cohesive way than traditional contact centres do. In focusing on cost cutting, conventional contact centres can sacrifice service quality - and customers feel the impact.
With the dynamic contact centre, cost cutting results logically and seamlessly - and ask any CIO or CFO how important cost cutting is, especially in today's economic climate.
By boosting efficiencies across agents, optimising processes and leveraging automation technologies, the dynamic contact centre ensures costs are constantly contained, while at the same time meeting quality and revenue goals.
* In 2009, I'll continue this discussion of the dynamic contact centre.
* Peter Flanagan is director of Intelleca.
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