Call Centres Africa `99 kicked off its three-day run this morning at the MTN Sundome conference centre in Northgate.
A larger than expected crowd was easily catered for and a capacity delegation gathered for the opening remarks from Andrew Briggs of The Merchants Group.
First keynote speaker, Elizabeth Winter, president of Call Centre Consulting Connection, gave an informative talk on why customers defect. She highlighted the fact that South African businesses can no longer count on the consumer apathy that was once the norm of this country and that businesses have to address the urgent need of supplying swift and efficient customer service.
Stressing that conversion of customer loyalty into a rand value will give companies the incentive to focus on existing clients rather than constantly sourcing new clients, Winters urged call centres to do thorough and on-going research to keep abreast with consumer trends and needs.
Karl Campbell, executive director of BSW, discussed the role that customer relationship management plays in the business continuity model. Campbell re-iterated that the margin of difference in quality and price of products and service is constantly decreasing, and staying ahead of your competitors means placing customer needs at the core of your business philosophy.
The exhibition is well represented by industry players and the conference speakers carefully chosen. The event is on until Thursday, 8 July.
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