Call Centers Not Optimizing the Value of CRM Investments

In the global contact center industry, estimated to be worth some USD 130 billion per year, organizations are not optimizing the value of their investments in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) practices. That’s one of the findings in the 2008 Dimension Data Contact Center Benchmarking Report, which includes survey responses from 300 contact centers in 36 countries across five continents. This year’s report confirms that only the minority of contact centers have established CRM practices and capabilities.

A key CRM indicator is the establishment of a single view of the customer. Ten years ago, 39% of participating contact centers already possessed this capability, with a further 45% of centers planning to implement a single view within the next two years. However, this year’s results show that the percentage of centers with a single customer view has decreased to 34%.

In addition, in 1997 many organizations stated their intention to deploy a more sophisticated set of customer metrics within their contact centers. These metrics included customer lifetime value and profitability. However, this year’s statistics reveal that contact centers that are able to measure or actively employ these types of metrics are in the minority. For example, less than 10% of centers surveyed have the capability to measure lifetime value, and only 18% of centers use customer profitability as a metric.

Another key CRM indicator is the deployment of ‘trigger events’ within inbound customer service contact centers. These involve the initiation of an outbound customer contact as a result of the nature or outcome of an inbound call. These trigger events usually relate to either customer dissatisfaction, retention of a customer or a policy, or new revenue generation such as an inbound inquiry about a policy surrender. According to this year’s Report, only 21% of contact centers actively engage in this type of customer management activity.
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