NASHVILLE, TN– Providing customers a variety of customer service options and saving them time should be key goals of call centers moving forward, the audience was told during the opening breakfast address at the American Teleservices Association’s 16th Annual Convention here Monday.
When evaluating which of the explosion of new technologies to use to communicate with customers, “don’t think either/or, think both/and,” keynote speaker Daniel Burrus, author and president/CEO of Burrus Research Associates, told the audience.
Quoting statistics showing that telephone calls average $5, voice response messages average 50 cents and Web responses average .05 cents, he asked, “Does that mean you should always use Web response? No. You should ask yourself when Web response is most appropriate.”
Burrus challenged the audience to look at ways technology can save time not only for the company, but for its customers.
“Time is more valuable than money these days. Everyone is being asked to do more with less. That is why outbound is getting more and more of a bad name because people think it’s taking more time,” he said. “You have to look at ways to leverage time with technology.”
