 FEATURE WEBCAST (more) |
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"Business Value in VoIP Recording"
Greg Sherry, Director, Marketing and Business Development, Witness Systems
With the emergence of new technologies, companies are interacting with their customers in new and different ways. It's now inevitable that VoIP will be deployed in call centers of all sizes - and businesses of all types. Recording VoIP interactions is less expensive than recording interactions via traditional phone switches. More importantly, the business value of recording VoIP interactions can also be more substantial since business and workforce optimization efforts can impact customer service groups, but also sales, marketing, back office operations, services groups and other related business areas. Listen to understand the business drivers that make recording VoIP interactions a compelling proposition and discover how companies have discovered real value in VoIP interaction recording.
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TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK (more)
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Verint Systems announced the acquisition of privately-held Opus Group, a provider of performance analytics solutions for contact centers and back office operations. Verint Systems has acquired the business of Opus through the purchase of certain assets and liabilities of Opus Group LLC for $12 million cash at closing and additional earn-out payments over two years based on certain profitability targets.
Parature announced that ATI Technologies has successfully deployed Parature's Enterprise Edition to service their 6 million global customer base. ATI has implemented Parature's solution worldwide to manage their call center, email, and Web support.
Metrix announced the introduction and delivery of the newest version of its Metrix 4e software suite. Leveraging 25 years of service industry and service software development expertise, Metrix is launching Metrix 4.6, a web-based service management solution that incorporates the full eProductService lifecycle.
eGain announced that customers, partners and industry thought leaders will participate at the company's upcoming North America Customer Summit, being held at the Treasure Island Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 12th and 13th, 2005.
When Dr. David Wallace realized that more than just surgical expertise was needed to make LA Sight a success, he turned to GoldMine software from FrontRange Solutions and FrontRange Partner Relationship Automation for customization services. GoldMine not only tracks patient contacts, schedules and sales, but also serves as a valuable marketing resource by recording every step in the clinic's marketing process - from first contact to consultation to follow-up.
Selectica announced general availability of Selectica Contract Performance Management Version 2.1. Available as an on-demand service or an installed software application, the solution goes far beyond standard contract repository, authoring and workflow tools to provide a platform for managing the cost, compliance and performance of complex buy and sell side contractual relationships.
Corra Technology announces a new cost comparison calculator. The calculator compares the cost of Salesforce.com, a closed source, hosted CRM system to the Sugar Suite by SugarCRM, a new commercial open source solution. CorraTech developed this calculator as a means to evaluate the difference in Total-Cost-of-Ownership (TCO) between the two systems.
ASC will announce the latest version of its quality monitoring system, INSPIRATIONpro 7.0, at Call Centre Expo, to be held in Birmingham, England, on September 28-29.
Salesnet launched Salesnet25.com, the official preview Web site dedicated to the company's upcoming 25th Anniversary Edition. Beginning immediately, the Salesnet25.com Web site will reveal several new features each week for Salesnet customers and prospective customers to review.
RightNow Technologies announced the University of New Mexico (UNM) has successfully rolled out a major new application that uses a help desk based on RightNow Service.
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9/9/05 - Good Intentions Without Retention
Last week I asked for your stories about good-intentioned customer retention strategies that didn't go so well when implemented. I will continue to share more of your stories and the lessons learned, so keep your stories coming.
Today, I want to talk about the growth incentives that seem to ignore the value of customer retention. Specifically, I have seen many sales incentive programs that give large commissions or bonuses to sales reps that bring in a new account but ignore or greatly diminish incentives for follow-on or recurring business. The incentive programs seem to scream, "Bring in the new customers but don't spend time with the existing clients because you aren't going to get paid for growing the installed base."
I shake my head in disgust. OK, at least disbelief. Numerous studies show the sales cost per order dollar is highest for the first order from a customer so subsequent or recurring business streams usually have more profit. Why not align the sales incentives with the resulting profit contributions? Care to tell me why or why not?
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
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 Research Notes (more)
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Why Oracle CRM Is Only the 4th Choice - An Independent Survey and Perspectives from Global / China Experts on Oracle(GCCRM)
|  | | How to Complete the Customer Self-Service Picture - Enterprise Reporting has become a critical component of Customer Self-Service. This is especially true in service businesses where customers place a premium on information and online information delivery, and account management is increasingly becoming the most efficient (and desired) way to interact with and serve them. (Actuate)
| | | Optimizing Online Service to Build Effective Customer Relationships - Customer service plays an important role in the shopping decisions consumers make across sales channels. As their satisfaction with online service wanes, online buyers turn to staff-intensive, phone-based service, and will make purchasing decisions based on past service experiences. Amid elevated stakes for high-value buyers, consumers are seeking improved access to knowledgeable service staff and speedy resolution of their increasingly prevalent service issues. Consumers will continue to find phone and e-mail to be the most satisfying channels for service resolution. (ATG)
| | | Microsoft Enters the Contact Center Market - One of the biggest challenges in creating a Contact Center has been the diversity of components needed to build a center.(Ventana Research)
| | | Witness Completes Acquisition of Blue Pumpkin - Witness Systems finalized their takeover of Blue Pumpkin Software. This event is part of a consolidation and expansion trend withing the Contact Center marketplace which enables focused vendors to increase the footprint of their solutions.(Ventana Research)
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 White Papers (more)
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Montgomery Research White Paper - Defying the Limits: CRM: The Key to Superior Business Performance - In a daily ritual known to thousands of service professionals, in a wide range of industries, corporations lock themselves into a time warp by using traditional solutions - all in the hope of providing superior customer service - and while facing a tidal wave of requests. The lack of solutions that provide access and visibility into customer all interactions and integrate pre- and post-sales customer interactions - Web self-service, email, chat, telephony integration and knowledge management - for cross channel support services makes achieving superior customer service, loyalty, and retention virtually impossible.(Talisma)
| | | Application Management: Optimizing Your Contact Center Technology Investment - In the aftermath of heavy technology spending, contact center managers are no longer looking to expand their portfolio of technology investments but rather explore methods for exploiting those in which they have already invested.(DataMonitor)
| | | Hammering the Siebel Communications Server - To a Call Center agent, "Siebel" really means a desktop and everything that supports it (application servers, databases), a phone and everything that supports it (switches, routing, IVRs and telephony infrastructure), and the link between the two worlds - Computer-Telephony Interface, or CTI. CTI is not manufactured by Siebel but the perceived health of your "Siebel" application is intimately related to the health of the CTI integration.(Empirix)
| | | CRM Integration Across Marketing, Sales and Service - Many companies fail to appreciate the importance of developing specific, well-defined, and integrated business processes focused on the customer. This paper covers eleven key customer-focused processes and success factors associated with implementing process change.(Siebel)
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Your New Market Mandate: Meet the Customer - How leading companies generate revenue has evolved over the past 20 years: from managing markets to managing market segments to managing customers. This shift creates significant issues for the board of directors and the entire executive team, including the CIO. If this change in strategy hasn't affected your company and industry, you are in a distinct minority.(CIO Magazine)
| | | Optimizing CRM via Automated FTC and Basel II Compliance Protocols - Reacting to well-known FTC mandates of compliance and responsibility, financial institutions are increasingly turning to strategies of proactive management protocols in an effort to restore shareholder faith. FTC imposed time limits have pushed this faction, particularly in the banking industry, to meet or exceed base compliance requirements that force transparency, accountability, and conformity throughout the US, and in some cases, internationally. This results in banks turning to existing and typically redundant use of legacy technologies that are not predisposed to provide the level of risk management and compliance that Basel II mandates.(Teleformix)
| | | Out with Old, In with the New: New Metrics No Contact Center Manager Can Live Without - We live and die, thrive and suffer by the numbers in the contact center. Our representatives receive incentives, bonuses are handed out and recognition of the contact center throughout the organization occurs when it "meets its numbers."(Customer Relationship Metrics)
| | | Do Customers Like You? Depends on How You Ask - A recent survey by the Customer Respect Group found that only six of the 100 largest U.S. companies deliver an excellent online experience to consumers. One of the goals of this and many other surveys, whether conducted by third parties or in-house, is to pinpoint what creates repeat business. However customer satisfaction is measured, the value of the results depends on asking the right questions.(CIO Magazine)
| | | Why Inputs Just don't Equal Outputs - There has been a simple mistake. The simple mistake has been to confuse inputs such as money, time, leadership, commitment, technology and re-engineered processes with outputs such as changes in behaviors, increased customer loyalty, retention, bigger sales pipeline and improved profitability.(AMT)
| | | Don't Blame CRM When Your Customers Aren't Happy - Look at Your Processes - Enterprises need to stop trying to combat customer service issues with technology. For example, a Call Center manager approaches an IT manager and says, "We need a database" because the organization does not have a central location to keep all of a customer's information.(Ultimus)
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 Case Studies (more)
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Stellar Call Centres Improves Operational Effeciency - With Verint' ULTRA suite of Contact Center Actionable Intelligence Solutions, Stellar Call Centers increased the effectiveness of its quality management program, improved operational efficiency and enhanced the value of its offerings. This has translated into better service for customers and a sharper competitive advantage.(Verint Systems)
| | | Barrie Hydro Adds Energy to its Help Desk with LiveTime - The implementation of LiveTime Help Desk has allowed Barrie Hydro to benefit from built-in reporting.(LiveTime)
| | | Bank of America with IEX - Customer satisfaction scores have exceeded the bank associates goals as a result of using adherence scores as an incentive for identifying behavior that exceed team goals.(IEX Corporation, a Tekelec Company)
| | | Witness Helps 4 Wheel Parts - By deploying eQuality ContactStore for IP within its Cisco converged voice and data environment, 4 Wheel Parts has been able to achieve the following results * Increased agent monitoring efficiency by 30 percent * Increased sales and order volume by eight percent * Enhanced training and development program.(Witness Systems)
| | | MessageOne Improves Salesforce.com with InsideScoop - Sales users are no longer spending time to copy and paste date into Salesforce.com. Instead, they get all the research they need for companies and contacts right at their fingertips.(InsideScoop, Salesforce.com)
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Oct 26-28, 2005: Help Desk Professionals - This event is dedicated to the advancement of the Technical Support Professional. The program will feature the industry's top speakers who will share with you current trends, templates and hands-on experiences.
| | | September 18-20, 2005: Contact Center Technology Summit Information - A NEW Conference Designed for IT & Telecom Professionals Supporting Contact Centers co-locating with the Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE).
| | | September 19-21, 2005: Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE) - The Global Gathering Place for the Contact Center Industry! A MUST ATTEND for all call center executives and professionals.
| | | Sept 26-29, 2005: Loyalty World - Inspiring loyalty is more than building a rewards programme. It's about providing customers with a truly unique and interactive experience that will develop an emotional connection with your brand.
| | | Oct 26-28, 2005: Help Desk Professionals - This event is dedicated to the advancement of the Technical Support Professional. The program will feature the industry's top speakers who will share with you current trends, templates and hands-on experiences.
| | Oct 9-12, 2005: SSPA Conference - The Service & Support Professionals Association is leading the way in identifying and promoting innovative business and delivery models to help you shape the future of your service and support organization during the SSPA Conference in New Orleans. At this content-rich conference you'll find the new ideas and strategies you need to improve operational efficiency and maximize revenue. Keynotes presented by Cisco Systems, IBM and HP offer insider's view of the service and support models of these industry leading companies. The breakout session speakers include service and support executives from McAfee, ADP, Cognos, Computer Associates, EMC, SpikeSource, Xerox who also share innovative approaches to meeting customer needs in this ever changing industry.
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| CRMAdvocate Stock Index |
| CRMSI | 40.45 |  | 1.36% |
| Dow Jones | 10,595.93 |  | -0.35% |
| Nasdaq | 2,166.03 | | -0.28% |
| S&P 500 | 1,231.67 | | -0.38% |
| Top Gainers |
| Verint | 40.14 | | 2.12 |
| West Tel | 39.7 | | 1.01 |
| salesforce.com | 21.7 | | 0.85 |
| Top Losers |
| NCR | 32.99 | | -0.41 |
| SAP | 43.86 | | -0.28 |
| Interv Brite | 9.13 | | -0.28 |
| Complete Stock Index |
| As of close 09/08/05 | |
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