With the customer experience reigning as a top business priority and businesses continuing to transform their customer service operations into omni-channel customer engagement centers, 2013 was an important yet for customer management.
Naturally, it was also a big year for Call Center IQ.
As that year comes to an end, join us in taking a look back at the most popular articles from each of 2013’s twelve months:
January
18 "Make or Break" Metrics for the Call Center
Call center performance is about more than "efficiency" vs. "customer-centricity." Here are eighteen metrics that address the big picture of call center management.
February
5 Essential Call Center Changes You Can Make Right Now
Even if you truly believe your C-level is bottlenecking the call center function, fear not! Here are 5 essential contact center strategies you can employ without costly new investments.
March
Why General Motors is Doing Away with its Call Center
The fact that millions of customers rely on telephone support is not enough to refute the fact that the call center is dead. Learn how General Motors is responding.
April
Zappos vs. Electrolux vs. General Mills vs. Fenwal: How Do You Keep Agents Engaged?
When on the record, there is nary a business leader in existence who does not espouse his undying commitment to that philosophy. When tasked with executing on that commitment, records of success are far less universal. We ask customer-centric leaders from Zappos, General Mills and more how *THEY* succeed at employee engagement.
May
6 Reasons Agents are Leaving Your Contact Center
"Why is morale so low," "Why can’t we hang on to our best agents," "Why do we lose so many new-hires during or right after initial training?" If you often find yourself asking one or more of the above questions, it’s likely due to one or more of the following issues.
June
15 Captivating Customer Service Stats
Every time I see someone tweeting the old chestnut , "Satisfied customers tell only 3 people about their experience, while dissatisfied customers tell 8-10 people" (or some variation of this), a part of my soul dies. I even wept a little just now while typing that stat.
July
Q&A: Disney Destinations on How to Create "Magical (Customer) Experiences"
A VP from Disney Destinations answers questions related to creating a "magical" experience in today's era of customer management.
August
Verizon Forgets What Customer Service is All About; Ignores 5 Keys to a Great Experience
When, in response to a request, one of the customer service representatives says, "sure, that would help you, but it doesn’t work for us," you know you are not receiving a customer-centric experience.
September
10 Things I Hate About Your Call Center
I think we need to talk...
October
AT&T – The 10 Ways You Failed Me
From an impersonal IVR, to reactive (not proactive) service, to scripted resolution suggestions to odd survey design, here are the ways AT&T failed in a recent service interaction.
November
4 Options for Handling Rude Customers
Suggesting the universe conspired to make me regret saying a customer’s demeanor should not impact the quality of service he receives, two of the most obnoxious, impatient, rude customers were introduced to my world Monday.
December
6 Things That Scare Call Center Leaders
Forget about witches, ghosts and goblins – here are some things that are really scary if you manage a contact center!