This week, October 4-8, marks the 12th Annual “National Customer Service Week,” first established in 1988 by the International Customer Service Association. Always the first full week in October, it became a national event as proclaimed by the U.S. Congress in 1992. Its goal is to recognize the importance of customer service and honor those on the front lines of the profession: the customer sales/service representatives (CSRs) that interact with and support consumers on a daily basis.
“In today’s store fronts, call centers and across self-service channels, CSRs hold extremely demanding and critically important positions. One of the often unsung heroes is the contact center CSR that consumers call when they have a product, service, billing or other question,” observes Oscar Alban, principal, market consultant for Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS), a global provider of performance optimization software and services.
“CSRs are a group that represents the backbone of any company. They’re on the front line, with direct access to the ‘voice of the customer’,” he adds. As the bridge between the customer and the company, they hear what is really happening in the marketplace on a daily basis. Today, forward-thinking companies are forming an enterprise quality assurance group that listens to the voice of the customer and passes on this important information to the executive suite, enabling them to make solid decisions based on actual customer information.
Highlights of the industry and essential CSR:
• 80 percent of the U.S. economy is service based.
• In 2005, there will be approximately 2.9 million CSRs handling customer inquiries in the U.S.
• Companies have many branding opportunities, and CSRs are instrumental in supporting and building those brands.
• More people will interact with a CSR than see a company’s advertising in a single day.
Increasingly, companies recognize the contact center as a hub of customer intelligence and an extremely valuable resource to the organization. “CSRs are revenue generators. That fact is important to companies and their bottom lines, but also valuable to consumers. If CSRs are knowledgeable and in tune with customer needs, they can cross-sell complementary offerings, as well as upsell when other solutions better suit their requirements,” explains Alban. That’s why more and more, companies are investing in this area, including everything from coaching and training, to automated solutions that help CSRs navigate their systems better and access data faster, to incentive and reward programs that recognize top performers.
“Join us as we salute CSRs for their commitment to service and excellence. Consumers value their time – and have many choices in the marketplace. They want first-call resolution, and service that’s quick and easy. Workforce optimization software and service from companies, such as Witness Systems, help organizations realize their full potential. The roles CSRs play can make a huge difference in today’s service-driven economy,” concludes Alban.
About Witness Systems
Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS) provides the contact center industry’s first integrated performance optimization software suite to help global enterprises capture customer intelligence and optimize workforce performance. The browser-based eQuality® software is comprised of compliance, high-volume and business-driven recording solutions for customer contact centers and IP telephony, as well as performance analysis and e-learning applications. The closed-loop suite enables companies to capture and retrieve, learn and train, and report and analyze customer interactions and back office transactions to develop staff, increase revenue, reduce costs, and achieve greater customer retention and loyalty. An integrated business consulting, implementation and training methodology enables organizations to maximize their return on investment. For additional information about Witness Systems and its eQuality software suite, visit www.witness.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this release that involves Witness Systems’ expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. They are identified by words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions. These statements are based upon information available to Witness Systems as of the date of this release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements believed true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Some of the factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include fluctuations in customer demand and the timing of orders; the company’s ability to manage its growth; the risk of new product introductions and customer acceptance of new products; the rapid technological change which characterizes the company’s markets; the risks associated with international sales as the company expands its markets, including the risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations; the ability of the company to complete and integrate successfully any acquisitions or investments it may make; and the ability of the company to compete successfully in the future, as well as other risks identified under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ending June 30, 2004, and any other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Witness, eQuality and the Witness logo are United States registered trademarks of Witness Systems, Inc., protected by laws of the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
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