Customer contact sector 'must embrace change'

The UK's customer contact sector must develop a new operating model to avoid suffering the worst of the economic downturn, it has been suggested.

According to Anne Marie Forsyth, chief executive of the Customer Contact Association (CCA), contact centres may need to act "radically" to ensure they attract new customers and retain existing ones.

Commenting on research conducted by the association, Ms Forsyth suggested that there were irreparable flaws in the customer contact strategy deployed by many firms.

A recent study conducted by the CCA indicated that 94 per cent of members believe that the industry must improve customer service levels to appease increasingly demanding consumers.

Ms Forsyth said: "CCA members are leading the way in devising innovative new ways of working. Our mission is to create the gold standard in customer service."

According to Mark King of Aspect Software, contact centres must invest in "business process changes, people development programmes, unified communications strategies and new technology resources" in order to survive the economic downturn.

Customers in the UK become frustrated by foreign call centres and lengthy call delays, according to a recent study conducted by insurance company swiftcover.com.

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