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From ITEXPO WEST 2011: Contact Centers of America
ITEXPO (News - Alert) is the event where service providers learn how to profitably roll out services their subscribers need. This year’s ITEXPO West was a huge success and, on top of bringing together sellers, resellers and manufacturers, TMCnet’s Erik Linask (News - Alert) had a moment to sit down with Joe Jacoboni, president and CEO of Contact Centers of America, an organization that recognizes the correlation of offshoring and impact on customer dissatisfaction. Formed specifically to bring jobs back to the United States, CCA utilizes next-generation technology platforms to provide innovative services to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Jacoboni founded Contact Centers of America in 2007 to address the critical shortcomings he observed in the contact center industry, recognizing the failures of offshoring and growing customer dissatisfaction with outsourcing.
One of CCA’s workforce solutions is home agents, or remote agents, which are remote representatives that are comprised individuals with a strong work ethic and high moral standards.
The use of home agents is a great opportunity, both for the customer and for the employer and the outsourcer. By taking out the expense of brick and mortar offices and locations, you can pass the savings onto the customer and put the jobs back into the hands of Americans and American businesses.
“We believe in the hub and spoke model,” said Jacoboni. “We believe you still have to have a call center, that it’s important to develop the culture of the company and the culture of the employees to have a focal point. So, around the call center, we will typically hire home agents within a 50 mile radius to give them an opportunity to interact with management, training, company events. We believe in creating a family-type environment.”
As customers increasingly turn to social media tools including Twitter (News - Alert) and Facebook as primary forms of communication, they expect the brands that they do business with to have an online presence as well. Social media is becoming a necessary tool for customer engagement, and that includes integrating the call center with social media.
It’s the next step for the call center industry, Jacoboni feels. It all started with VoIP and, through the 90’s, technology made leaps and bounds in the voice arena. From there, chat, SMS, and e-mail communications became dominant, leading us into the foray that is social media, and it’s a vehicle for clients and call centers alike.
“It’s not only to audit what’s being said on the Web, but being able to analyze that information, whether their customers or potential customers are positive, neutral or negative about different aspects of a product, service or a company’s basic philosophy,” said Jacoboni.
The biggest issue, notes Jacoboni, is being able to respond and engage. It is at that moment Jacoboni feels company are “missing the boat” when it comes to utilizing social media.
As a call center, it is CCA’s job to create the positive environment and give the customer a positive experience and exceed their expectations.
“Social media gives us that ability, to get ahead of that curve,” said Jacoboni.
When it comes to agents and social media, companies can either dedicate agents to social media alone or utilize all agents, a sort of “all hands on deck” approach to the workflow.
“It depends on how many postings you want to respond to,” said Jacoboni. “The great thing about social media is it can either be in real time, as when someone is tweeting, or it can be an hour or two hours later, whether it’s a Facebook (News - Alert) posting or blog.”
CCA is headquartered in Orlando, Florida, and provides customer contact management solutions to Fortune 1000 companies around the world, primarily in the communications, financial services, healthcare, technology, transportation and leisure industries.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Feb. 1-3, 2012 in Miami, Fla. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.
Michelle Amodio is a TMCnet contributor. She has helped promote companies and groups in all industries, from technology to banking to professional roller derby. She holds a bachelor's degree in Writing from Endicott College and currently works in marketing, journalism, and public relations as a freelancer.
Edited by Jennifer Russell
