From the previous article we know that contact centers serve customers, it is a front line department and its purpose is to provide solutions to customers in an effective and efficient manner. The multi-million dollar question is; contact centers are an expensive investment, how do we position the contact center to optimize its effectiveness and efficiency for the benefit of the company?

Companies spend millions in CRM technology; they spend millions in consultancy and the reorganization of processes and functions within the company to cater for the contact center. Yet ultimately many fail to optimize the contact center’s potential because they do not place sufficient emphasis on the strategic implementation of the contact center.

In many organizations, the contact center is becoming the nexus for all types of customer interactions. It services and functions offered are constantly expanding. Most contact centers start either as an inbound customer service or outbound sales function for the company. Next it expands to handle both functions and also inbound sales. This is followed by other communication mediums such as letters, emails, SMS and web chat. At the same time, depending on industry, it begins to handle technical support, logistics and even the company’s co-branded services and products. This in turn leads to all other types of functions such as marketing promotions, surveys, inquiries, event management, etc.

Taking these functions into consideration, it is only logical that the contact center should be under the responsibility of someone whose job scope includes the need to interact with customers and other external parties. Such a person should have the authority and the responsibility of overseeing marketing, sales and after sales service (customer service) of any product or service that is sold by the company. Only under such a person then can the strategic direction of the contact center be aligned and its investment optimized.

Unfortunately in most organizations such a position does not exist. Usually the sales, marketing and customer service in organizations are headed by different individuals with different objectives and little or no strategy linking these departments together. The contact center having to serve all these functions simultaneously is therefore affected by inconsistently and poorly executed strategies. Instead of performing as a coherent and solutions center it becomes otherwise.

In today’s environment, for corporate survival, a company’s ability to sell and retain customers is paramount. With the contact center becoming the main front of interaction with customers, there is a real need for companies to realign and re-strategize the compartmentalization of knowledge in marketing, sales and customer service into an integrated component. Only when this practice of segregating knowledge stops; can the company fully reap value from it’s investment in creating customer awareness, interest, sales, value and loyalty.

In the next article we will look at how we can add benefit to the company by aligning the marketing, sales and customer service of the company and making it an integral function of the contact center.