Companies turn to contact centers to drive more business value in tough economic times, according to the 2009 Datacraft/Dimension Data Global Contact Center Benchmarking Report.

Datacraft’s report has the highest level of participation over 11 years covered 554 contact centers located across 36 countries and five continents.

Of these, 26 countries are from Asia and a handful of respondent firms are from the country -- Access Worldwide Philippines, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), StarTek and Telus International Phils.

Significantly, the number of contact centers which can sell to clients during an inbound call have gone up to 22 percent, according to the study.
Yet, cost optimization remains a key concern. Call centers with strategies in place to reduce the cost of serving customers increased 9.4 per cent year on year.

Those who advised their customers about the benefits of using lower cost methods of communication, such as the web and self-service have also doubled to 36 percent this year.

“While more companies recognize the role that contact centers can play in creating value for the business, contact centers are also focused on driving costs down,” explained Datacraft Asia’s General Manager for Converged Communications and Customer Interactive Solutions Nagi Kasinadhuni.

“The report shows that 66 per- cent of centers have a strategy in place to cut costs of serving customers,” he went on. “This trend is also evident where 22.5 percent of contact centers in Asia have ranked growing the value of existing customers as their top commercial driver.”

Instead of saving on costs, more companies are now focusing on driving revenue and value.

Still, the global contact center industry is relatively young and it may take some time to get the basics of cost optimization right, Kasinadhuni acknowledged.

“We expect this transition to value creation will take the next 3-4 years to fully take hold and investment decisions will be made over the next period.”
From a technology perspective, organizations that are making this move are
integrating solutions to improve service and sales capabilities. Half of all contact centers polled reported they already have integrated business systems in place.

The fact that 36 per cent more of the organizations surveyed are telling customers about lower cost options for communicating with them is a sign that they are evolving, the Datacraft GM observed.

However, he warns that this will only benefit business if the lower cost options meet with customer expectations.

“We are also seeing evidence of a more pragmatic and practical approach to Customer Relationship Management,” he disclosed. “Much importance is being placed on this trend, with 60 percent of companies reporting they have ‘triggers’ in place to identify sales opportunities.”