6 - Building customer relationships with call centers

Abstract

This chapter describes the importance of the interrelationships between call/contact centers and the stages of developing and implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy. CRM is defined as a corporate-wide approach to maintain the understanding of customer behavior through continuous relevant communication and developing long-term relationships to enhance customer loyalty, acquisition, retention, and profitability. The center is the first point of customer contact and is, therefore, the first parameter for establishing and maintaining long-term customer relationships. CRM is a logical step in the series of the major commercial and information technology (IT) initiatives that have been implemented since the 1980s, beginning with downsizing. Most of these early initiatives had a cost-cutting focus on the internal workings of the business— concentrating on employees, working methods, or technology. Increased profitability was the desired result that was to be engineered through cost savings. All of these initiatives were based on decreasing costs through increasing efficiency that is one of the key benefits of a successful CRM strategy, in addition to its significant impact on the customer.