Next-Generation Contact Centers

| MCM staff

Many of us are stuck. We have talked about becoming customer-centric, value-added, mission-critical, and a lot of other hyphenated things, but we are

Managing Your Cost Per Call

| Curt Barry

The direct industry has a difficult balancing act to perform. On the one hand, we want to provide a high level of customer service

Supporting Telephone, E-mail and Chat Inquiries

| Kathryn Jackson

Can one agent handle telephone, e-mail, and chat inquries? And is that even a good idea? That depends on the communication skills you evaluated your agents on prior to hiring them and/or any additional training you have provided them since. Verbal and written communication skills are two distinct competencies, and being well-versed in one doesn’t necessarily guarantee success in the other.

Upgrading the contact center

| Greg Anderson

Businesses that want to get closer to their customers are transforming their conventional call centers into multichannel contact centers that support

TAKE TWO

| Liz Kislik

When the holidays approach, you’ve got to ramp up, even during an economic downturn. Whether you prefer to put the pedal to the metal or to sit idling

The Big App

| Jeff Morris

The minute she walked into my office, I knew she was trouble. Trouble, with a capital T, and that rhymes with C, and that stands for CRM. Before I even

Power Broker

| Karen Berman

SPECIAL SERIES FORECASTING, PART 2 Shortly after Scholastic Inc. started using new workforce management software at its Missouri-based customer contact

CRM at the crossroads

| Jeff Morris

The good news is, it’s February! OK, that may not seem like much, but think of it: This means you’ve survived the Big Holiday Shopping Season (such as

Calling All Agents

| Rama Ramaswami

Employees have hardly been at the forefront of companies’ priorities in the past year, but in at least one area, they’re receiving some recognition. Call