Technology is not the answer to customer relationship management (CRM) in call centres, according to Shaun Smith, a keynote speaker at Dimension Data`s CIS Forum, which ended yesterday in Fancourt.
Call centre staff and their knowledge of the brand is the driving force behind effective CRM, said Smith, the head of Shaun Smith and Company, a UK-based customer relationship consultancy.
Several key themes in the contact centre industry were identified and discussed by the more than 300 attending call centre managers and stakeholders.
Most speakers highlighted that human intervention is of higher importance than technological advances.
"Badly implemented technology impedes the process in the first place," Smith said.
"Sony estimates a technological advantage of only six weeks. There is no sustainable competitive advantage technologically," said Simon Rancoroni, founder of Simon Rancoroni Consulting.
"It`s about trust and mutual customer advantage. It`s not about hi-tech, it`s about hi-touch," said Rancoroni.
Increasing mobility
Another theme to emerge was that of mobility.
"Everyone`s workforce is getting to be more mobile, since customers want more mobility," noted James Smith, VP of Avaya.
"Mobility enables new business models. Fifty-eight percent of global companies consider theirs to be a virtual workplace today," he added, referring to Avaya`s interpretation of data from a recent Computerworld survey.
"By 2008, 72% of us globally will be able to work remotely," he said, drawing from the survey. "The next turn of technology will cater for this."
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