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RESEARCH REVEALS EUROPEAN BUSINESSES PAY LIP SERVICE TO CUSTOMER CARENew research reveals a focus on customer personalisation and uptake of analytic technology will lead to improved customer care and retention.LONDON, 29th November, 2001 - DataDistilleries, the leading provider of predictive, real-time analytical solutions, today announces the findings of European research into how call centres deal with customers. The results highlight a lack of personalised service and inefficiencies, particularly in the UK call centre industry, where 73 per cent of respondent call centres are measured on the number of calls per hour, whilst a surprising 62 per cent of respondents do not prioritise calls according to customer value. The research, carried out by Business Intelligence, was based on interviews with call centre managers in the UK, France, Germany and the Benelux region. The findings highlight the critical gap between call centre technology, measurement systems and effective customer service delivery. These factors often lead to unproductive and stressful working environments which, in turn, contribute to poor customer and staff retention. The overall findings suggest that call centre staff are being measured on how efficiently they handle the number of calls rather than how effectively they answer individual enquiries. Today's call centre staff are still unable to effectively personalise customer contact with each caller being treated in the same manner. This will lead to an increase in upset customers and lost business. A key finding highlighted the fact that despite 87 per cent of call centres stating that customer retention has a high priority, 44 per cent do not prioritise incoming calls. In other words, the most valuable customers join the same queue as loss-making customers - this lack of personalised service is both unnecessary and is increasingly disliked by customers. The research findings reveal: - 46 per cent of respondents see improved technology as the one change that would most improve the performance of their call centre - 80 per cent recognise the benefits that real-time technology would bring, but their IT infrastructure is the main barrier to implementation - Only 24 per cent of call centres pre-segment their customer data for personalised service. Of these, only about half then automatically adjust the scripts call center agents use to drive business - Nearly half (44 per cent) of call centres do not prioritise calls, with one third leaving it to the agents' own judgement to decide which calls have priority Despite this, 87 percent of respondents claim to place a high priority on long-term customer retention - 58 per cent of respondents have access to shared company data. - Less than half of those surveyed had full computer telephony integration (CTI) in place and only 25 per cent are web-enabled Commenting on the findings, Marcel Holsheimer, Founder and President, DataDistilleries states; "While customer satisfaction is arguably the most important performance measure, it is surprising that organisations are not developing their tools or their staff well enough to achieve sustained and repeated success. Customer centric processes and the development of predictive, real-time analysis technology from companies like DataDistilleries will give agents the ability to deliver a personalised service that reflects the value and history of each individual customer. This will result in increased customer value and employee satisfaction, leading to increased profitability." From a technological standpoint the technology that enables real-time recommendations has existed for a few years. There should be no real barriers for effective and personalised customer care." Sue Curbishley, research manager at Business Intelligence says: "This survey shatters the myth that call centers are overflowing with state-of-the-art customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Companies claim to put a high priority on long-term customer retention, but are doing little more than paying lip service to it. The findings indicate that by investing in better analytical CRM solutions, companies would not only improve customer relationships, but also keep their staff well-equipped to excel at their jobs. "Poor processes and weak technology do not make for a positive working environment and as job satisfaction is the second most important factor in staff turnover - it's not surprising that call centre agents do not enjoy their jobs if they are not given the tools and training to do them well," Sue concluded. -Ends- Note to Editors: About DataDistilleries DataDistilleries is the leading provider of predictive, real-time analytical solutions that help companies maximize the value of each customer interaction. Organisations can use the software to analyse customer data throughout the entire company to generate up-to-date customer profiles. These can then be used to personalise customer relations in real time, whether through traditional or electronic channels. The software can be integrated with any brand and any type of sales and marketing software available in the market. DataDistilleries has signed partnership agreements with CRM and e-business leaders such as Siebel Systems, BroadVision, and Accenture. The company's customer base includes such trend-setting companies as the Postbank (ING Group), Spaarbeleg (Aegon), Libertel-Vodafone, ABN AMRO and CenterParcs. Website: www.datadistilleries.com. About Business Intelligence Business Intelligence is the leading business information and research provider. It regularly conducts independent qualitative and quantitative research into user attitudes, industry trends and technology developments for a wide range of client organisations. Business Intelligence products and services provide senior decision makers with the means to address the technology and management challenges that determine organisational success. Further information can be found on www.business-intelligence.co.uk Editorial Contact: Laurie D'Elia DataDistilleries 650-344-1260 laurie@pressresults.com top of page |
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