The Contact Center Blog

Software as a service (SaaS)

It was great to see the comments on my first article “Virtualization in the Contact Center” - how it made a positive impact on your business and for others a “kick-start” for deployment.  You may have been wondering, where I disappeared to?   I have been quite busy with new deployments in summer and hope to post more consistently in the coming months.

Software has always been known as something you install with hard (CD/DVD media) or soft (downloadable) goods.  Software had a traditional way of running “installed” on the company’s infrastructure (servers/personal computers).  This now changing with software as a service (SaaS).

Many of you have heard the coined term as “Web 2.0”.   This is commonly associated with web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web.    Software company’s were quick to adapt with Web 2.0 and offer Software as a service (SaaS).    With this business model in mind, we no longer rely on local computer overhead and software licensing duplication.   Many new and existing software vendors offer a pay-per-user approach.  

What are the advantages?   To save money by not purchasing servers (low monthly obligation versus high up-front cost), instantly able to scale and be flexible to business demand, faster time to market, security (most SSL encrypted) and reliability (cloud based server clusters).  Most software as a service (SaaS) programs run directly from the web browser or may require a simple installation of Sun Microsystems JAVA (minimal administration from an IT perspective).

What are the disadvantages?  No internet - No application!  Software as a service (SaaS) is not perfect and it will not provide the same benefits to all users.   To the point, some may find it hard to give control or trust to third parties to manage their applications and data.  Certain contact centers would require industry specific business applications for which software as a service (SaaS) solutions are not available and companies without clear business objectives and defined business processes will not benefit by it.

Are you going to utilize software as a service (SaaS) this year or next year?  Do you currently use it?   Do you use Google Docs? Open Office?  Office Live?  Virtual Hosted ACD/IVR/Agent consoles?  Predictive Dialers?  Workforce Management?   CRM?    What successes/challenges have you come across?  I am looking forward to your feedback on this service.  

Technology To Uninvent

A few weeks ago, MSN.ca published the satirical article 12 bits of technology we would uninvent to outline the technologies they could simply do without.

One of them was Automated Phone Systems and that couldn’t be truer! There is nothing worse than calling a company, hoping to speak to someone as quickly as possible and then having to go through the touch-tone motions of pressing numbers to finally get the answer you want. And, even then, don’t you find yourself just jabbing at the “0” to get to customer service quickly? That’s definitely something we all do.

A human voice can go a long way in making the customer experience easier and contact centers are there for that very reason. Helping a customer get their issue sorted out is their number one priority and they do it all without the help of an automated system!

A Call for Help in Haiti

In light of the earthquake this week in Haiti, the importance of aid and emergency communication lines becomes a prevalent topic of conversation.

These are not your regular 911 calls I’m referring to, but calls in response to an emergency on such a vast scale that very few people can imagine the devastation.  It is times like these when help lines, donation lines, and phone lines for inquiry become important to aid in the relief of an entire country.

Campaigns have begun on Facebook and Twitter, text message lines set up, telephone numbers posted to donate, and much more. 

From a humanitarian perspective this tragedy is extremely devastating and it’s comforting to see the support of so many people through various donations.  From a contact center perspective, I give my thanks to those who are behind the social media campaigns, answering the calls, and organizing the emails and tweets.  This is the finest example of the ability of a contact center to ramp up on queue – and proof of the capabilities of great call centers.

* To learn more on how you can donate, visit the Mashable Social Media Guide blog at http://mashable.com, which has an extensive list of options including updates from participants.

Google Mobile AdSense

Ads and promotions are coming - will this cause an increase in traffic or customer service? Time will tell. Applications for mobile devices keep flowing. As Apple keeps reminding us, what ever we can imagine "there's an ap for that". Traffic and downloads in the mobile world are increasing, meaning more opportunity for advertising views - just not sure if they'll translate the same way as they do on a webpage.

Read more about Google’s Mobile AdSense For iPhone and Android Apps Now In Public Beta in this Tech Crunch article.

Will Internet Savvy Web 2.0'ers Lead to the Demise of the Traditional Call Center Model?

Recently, I have read that Twitter of all things is apparently the cause of significant call center layoffs. It was stated that more people than ever are taking advantage of corporate Twitter sites to ask customer service questions, which means less traditional phone call inquiries (you can read the article here ).

And what is this I am hearing about 'super users'? -people that enjoy products so much that they surf the web and online corporate communities, jumping at the chance to help their fellow users by answering customer service questions. From a recent tmcnet.com article:

Since last summer, Verizon has transferred much of the responsibility in certain divisions that require high levels of customer service to volunteers - people who have a passion for the wireless, Internet and TV technologies that Verizon peddles, and who like to feel useful. Sound strange? It is. But it's also true. They're called "super-users," and they work through online forums that are gradually developing into self-sustaining databases where customers can go to answer all their questions.

Does this all mean that the end of the traditional customer service call center is near?

I don’t think so.

Don’t get me wrong, there are great self-service companies out there like Bazaarvoiceand Lithium, and they have a place in this ecosystem, but I think people are forgetting to examine the other side of the spectrum and companies like Zappos.com- the reigning King of the customer service experience.

How does one explain Zappos.com’s success in this new self-help world? For gosh sakes they don't even set limits for how long their agents can talk to callers, and I believe the longest service call they ever had was over 5 hours.....

My current thought is that there is a middle ground, and that appropriate and tempered call deflection is the key to success.

What I mean by this is:

Companies should take advantage of these new technologies, incorporating items like robust self-help sections to their websites, and they should also use communication channels like Twitter, live chat and email (which are usually more cost effective than voice support to deploy because of concurrency). But as is the case with Zappos, there is no replacement for the service that can be achieved through voice support. The experience is unparalleled, and for more complicated support issues it is the only viable channel that can be used to adequately understand and address a customers needs.

Although a lot of startups are finding the initial cost savings of self-service tools appealing, as these companies mature, if they hope to develop a long term and re-occurring customer base they are going to have to invest in multi-channel customer service which is anchored by traditional phone support. Simply put, customer’s expectations are higher than ever, and consumers expect a multitude of contact options so they can interact in the way they feel most comfortable with a company.

To conclude, I think self-service is here to stay, and I think it works amazingly well for simple customer services issues. In these challenging economic times, the technologies discussed will also help businesses to reduce their overall customer service expenditures. With that being said, call deflection can only be taken so far. For companies that care about their brand and their overall customer experience, there will always be a need and a role for the kind and caring customer service representative who is available to speak with consumers by phone.                         

-Tim Peters