Online Customer Care: Applying Today's Technology To ... (ISBN 0873893832)

When the customer calls...:
I began with the assignment to recommend software support for an pending Help Desk. I asked around amongst my colleagues, and was told by one of them that perhaps a Call Centre would be more appropriate. Another of my co-workers advised my not to choose any software until I had clarified both my Sponsor and my User Requirements. Some suggested a pilot project of limited scope -- others wanted full service right across the company. Eventually I seemed to have views from every point on the compass. I like being accommodating, and I believe in stakeholder input, but I did need some guidance. I was referred to Michael Cusack's book, and that was very fortunate. Cusack frames ALL of the issues of "customer care", not just telephone tactics. Besides answering telephone calls, there may be e-mails, faxes, and "snail mail" to handle. Each mode of communication should mesh with the rest, and all should reflect the company's policy on the concerns of the customer. Before I was getting isolated suggestions, and trying to create a list of responses. Cusack allowed me to survey the entire problem, and map the available options. As Cusack explains it, the three essential components of customer care are: Customer Satisfaction Cost Reduction, and Market Intelligence If interaction with the customer is planned so that the initial call fulfills the requirements, the customer will go away satisfied AND not call back to continue seeking assistance on an unresolved issue. THAT will lead to cost reduction, because the investment in getting it right the first time is still cheaper than having to deal with return calls as the dissatisfied customer comes back again and again. Furthermore, EVERY question provides intelligence on who has problems, what their concerns are, and what therefore could be re-designed to provide even more value to customers. It really does all fit together into a strategy. And as Cusack reminds us, that strategy is the basis of quality in customer care.

CRM and Customer care:
This book is a good reference for any CRM guru. The book is mentioning the importance of call center by focusing on three major titles these are: Customer satisfaction, market intelligence and reduced costs. The flow charts explain the flow of the data within a call center.

Valuable:
Cusack's book is a detailed view of call centre operations from a process viewpoint. With detailed diagrams of processes and options, it says a lot more about technology and systems than it does about customers, but what it does say is valuable.

Must reading for anyone concerned with customer lock-in:
Online Customer Care is a rich compendium of important insights into people, technologies, and trends affecting businesses who recognize that it costs us 10 times more to win new customers than to retain the ones we already have. Cusack writes clearly, and from experience. His careful analysis of the myriad technologies, human-factors, and trends affecting an organization's ability to automate relationships through quick and relevant solutions should be on the desktop of every CEO who understands "it's where the revenue comes from."

Must reading for anyone concerned with customer lock-in:
Online Customer Care is a rich compendium of important insights into people, technologies, and trends affecting businesses who recognize that it costs us 10 times more to win new customers than to retain the ones we already have. Cusack writes clearly, and from experience. His careful analysis of the myriad technologies, human-factors, and trends affecting an organization's ability to automate relationships through quick and relevant solutions should be on the desktop of every CEO who understands "it's where the revenue comes from."