The Customer Service Survey
VocaLabs' weblog providing news and commentary on the challenges of providing good customer service.
The End of Call Center Magazine
Wednesday - September 05, 2007 03:41 PM in
This is somewhat old news now, but Call Center Magazine is closing its doors. In its place will be an online-only publication, Customer Management Insight.
I don't have any special insight into this decision, though I'm a little skeptical about this initiative given how halfhearted their blog was (not updated often enough, too hard to find, and they apparently fired their best blogger back in July).
In any event, it points out a fascinating paradox of the customer service business: even though companies collectively spend hundreds of billions of dollars answering the phone each year, the call center industry is astonishingly fragmented. There is no single event, organization, publication, or professional certification which reaches even 1% of the people who work in call centers in this country. There's not even a channel which reaches that many of the managers, who are presumably motivated to seek out professional organizations and support.
I think this reflects the fact that customer service is often the unloved stepchild of American commerce. Customer service is often viewed as a necessary expense, like rent or electricity, rather than a key strategic conduit to the customer. Very few companies think of themselves as "customer service companies," even when customer service is a substantial fraction of their expenses and a big driver of repeat business. There's no MBA track in "customer service management" and very few people start their careers with the intent of becoming a call center manager.
This seems odd, since customer service (and customer service management) is just as challenging and rewarding (and just as critical to an enterprise's success) as other specialties like IT, accounting, and building management--all of which have their own professional organizations, identities, and credentials.
Indeed, I would argue that customer service really ought to be on par with sales and marketing in the corporate hierarchy of strategic importance. Sales and marketing bring new customers through the door, but customer service keeps them coming back.
Posted by Peter Leppik
In any event, it points out a fascinating paradox of the customer service business: even though companies collectively spend hundreds of billions of dollars answering the phone each year, the call center industry is astonishingly fragmented. There is no single event, organization, publication, or professional certification which reaches even 1% of the people who work in call centers in this country. There's not even a channel which reaches that many of the managers, who are presumably motivated to seek out professional organizations and support.
I think this reflects the fact that customer service is often the unloved stepchild of American commerce. Customer service is often viewed as a necessary expense, like rent or electricity, rather than a key strategic conduit to the customer. Very few companies think of themselves as "customer service companies," even when customer service is a substantial fraction of their expenses and a big driver of repeat business. There's no MBA track in "customer service management" and very few people start their careers with the intent of becoming a call center manager.
This seems odd, since customer service (and customer service management) is just as challenging and rewarding (and just as critical to an enterprise's success) as other specialties like IT, accounting, and building management--all of which have their own professional organizations, identities, and credentials.
Indeed, I would argue that customer service really ought to be on par with sales and marketing in the corporate hierarchy of strategic importance. Sales and marketing bring new customers through the door, but customer service keeps them coming back.
Posted by Peter Leppik
Posted at 03:41 PM by | | | |