WELCOME TO UNIT 7
Customer Service MT 221
Marilyn Radu, Instructor
Tonight’s Agenda
Tonight I am going to review the
following topic with you:
• The Impact of Globalization on Customer
Service
Do you feel that outsourcing is
good for American consumers
and should increase in usage?
• Yes
• No
When you have a customer
service question, is your
preference to find the answer on
the company’s website (FAQs,
etc.) or to address someone in
the customer contact center via
e-mail or phone?
1. Self-serve at the
company’s website
2. Access a CSR in the
customer contact center
Unit 7
The Impact of Globalization on
Customer Service
Objectives
•
Understand the impact globalization has had on the world
economy and call center hiring trends
•
Discuss the reasons globalization of customer service has
shifted from an offshore to a homeshore environment
•
Describe the extent to which online services are growing and the
challenges facing companies involved in
e-commerce on the Internet
•
List the multichannel communication methods used by online
shoppers
Globalization and
Outsourcing of Ecommerce
• Globalization initiatives ensure that customers
around the world have appropriate and useful
experiences as they communicate, collaborate,
and transact online—regardless of location,
language, culture, or business practices.
• Outsourcing is the purchase of labor from a
source outside the company rather than using
the company’s own staff.
Homeshoring
• A work-style trend that companies are using is
hiring U.S. home-based call agents as an
alternative to more expensive in-house
operators or less-qualified offshore call centers.
• According to data from IDC, home-based
phone representatives in the U.S. will grow to
300,000 by 2010.
Providing Customer
Service on the Internet
• Business advantages of e-commerce
– The global market is open 24/7
– Customers can conduct price comparisons easily
– Feedback to queries regarding the status of orders
can be immediate
– FAQ pages provide easy access to self-help
customer support
– Companies can gather customer information, analyze
it, and react on the basis of current data
– Distribution costs for information are reduced or
eliminated
Online Shopping
Preferences
• Effective search tools, express ordering, and
highlighted specials
• Assurance of on-time order fulfillment
• Order status information or the ability to securely track
their own orders
• The ability to exchange items purchased online at any
of the chain’s physical stores
• The ability to buy merchandise 24/7
Relationships with
Online Customers
•
Five rules to follow when building strong
relationships with online customers
1. Excel at each stage of the customer buying cycle
2. Empower customers to help themselves
3. Help customers succeed by empowering them to
be in control of the buying situation
4. Protect the privacy of consumers
5. Offer several types of free technical support
Customer Relationship
Management (CRM)
• CRM is a business strategy that integrates the
functions of sales, marketing and customer
service using technology and wide-ranging
databases of information.
• Elements of CRM
– Knowledge management
– Database consolidation
– Integration of channels and systems
Recognizing Online
Customer Service Issues
• In response to growing customer complaints,
many e-commerce companies are trying to
make technological “fixes” to the customer
service problems by investing in software and
technology-based systems.
• Specifically, they are
– Evolving into multichannel customer interaction
centers
– Hiring and training e-reps or an online CSR
Multichannel
Communication Centers
• A traditional call center mainly uses the
telephone to contact customers dealing with
routine concerns.
• However, the evolving customer contact center
is a technology driven area where customers
want to talk to a CSR only if they cannot
successfully address their situations
electronically themselves.
– Many e-customers are seeking to avoid human
contact.
Any Questions?
Thank you for attending!
See you next week.