November 14, 2006
November 14th, 2006
Superb customer service is key to make loyal advocates out of your customers.
In this issue:
1. Investing for Efficient and Effective Customer Service
2. Review: ACT! Contact Management Software.
3. CustomerServicePoint.com Info
Investing for Efficient and Effective Customer Service
By Brett LaDove.
Service wins the game.
TONY ALESSANDRA
A plight that often affects customer service groups is that they often lack the support or investment required to achieve a satisfactory level of effectiveness and efficiency within their function.
Because service managers are often driven by a passion to provide the best customer service they can, they will often do whatever it takes to make it happen day in and day out. In a sad irony, however, this determination in some cases may actually result in a prolonged state of agony for the function and that very manager.
Because the manager is reluctant to sacrifice the customer experience for process improvement investments along the way, they end up managing a function that is largely inefficient.
Senior managers who feel that the function is generally effective but costly, then try in vain to improve cost efficiency by simply cutting costs, and hoping the manager will figure out a way to make it work.
The sad part of this, all too common story, is that the outcome of this approach is a more stressed out service function that is increasingly cost inefficient.
Achieving efficiency in any function requires investments in process refinements and technology. Service functions generally have significant elements of repetition. Even mere seconds of an inefficient processes multiplied many times can add up to significant waste.
Senior managers need to start taking a more long term perspective of customer service. Appropriate investments up front will save money and result in better service in the future.
The number of times that I hear of customer service functions that are struggling year after year, to hold their department together, is truly sad – it really doesn’t need to be this way.
About the author
Brett LaDove is a management consultant focusing on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Customer Care. He has provided insight and support to a variety of Fortune 1000 companies, and aided them in their quests to achieve customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
For additional insights on Customer Relationship Management and Customer Care, visit http://www.ladoveassociates.com.
Review: ACT! Contact Management Software
ACT! is well known as contact management software, but how good is it really? And, could you use it to keep track of their issues?
OVERALL IMPRESSION
ACT! is sales force software. Everything is built around the customer data, and all activities can easily be entered and tracked. But the main focus is on activities done by the business. This is clearly not software for the help desk (not that I say it's in any way presented as such by Sage), it's highly likely you'll need an add-on help desk function to completely fill your needs.
Having said this, I think ACT! is a robust module for keeping track of your customer's data, and see it as a very viable central module for this in small and mid-sized businesses.
**** I give ACT! contact management software 5 stars out of 5.
Read the entire review and score.
CustomerServicePoint.com Info
Random Thoughts - Customer Service Point Blog
Recent thoughts:
oktober 30, 2006 16:02 Do they want to hear me or what?
november 5, 2006 10:43 Virtuose! (Do check out the video with your speakers on! But not at work...)
November 14, 2006 14:35 Sell, no matter what...
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(C) 2006, Erwin & Marjan Steneker
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