2011 Forecast: Still Some Bumps in the Road Ahead for Customer Service

Dec. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- The economy doesn't seem to be in much better shape today than it was a year ago. And for those responsible for running customer service operations, that means a lot of challenging issues remain.

As part of the "Customer Service Newsletter's" annual trends report, editor Bill Keenan spoke with industry experts who identified some of the many issues service managers are facing, among them:

* Productivity. Even as the recovery takes hold, customer service staffs have been cut to the bone, and the end result, say Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest, authors of "Who's Your Gladys?," is that customer service and call center managers will have to respond to higher sales volumes with fewer people on their team to meet customer needs."

* Customer Retention. Renee Evenson, a trainer and author of "Award-Winning Customer Service," points to the challenges of customer retention in an increasingly "social" world. "We have moved into a consumer-controlled universe, thanks in part to the social media explosion. Consumers feel more in power, more in control, and are demanding better customer service. Companies that do not find new and innovative ways to satisfy customers - besides the tried and true ways - will be on the losing end of those efforts to retain customers."

* Self Service. Micah Solomon, co-author of "Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit," also cites the growing importance of offering self-service options to customers. But he warns, "Self service has to be at the customer's option, not at the option of the company - i.e., companies can't have these options become requirements."

* Staff Retention. Several experts point to issues of staff retention as the economy grows stronger. Bill Gessert, president of the International Customer Service Association puts the issue in these terms, "Turnover is a function of how businesses treat their people. So a recovery may increase turnover, but only for those businesses that aren't treating their service professionals the way they want their customers treated."

The full report, 2011 forecast: Still some bumps in the road ahead for customer service is available online at the Customer Service Group website, http://www.CustomerServiceGroup.com/csntrends.pdf.

The report includes comments from Peggy Morrow, Peggy Morrow & Associates; JoAnna Brandi, JoAnna Brandi & Company; John Goodman, TARP Worldwide; Micah Solomon, CustomerServiceGuru.com; Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest, WhosYourGladys.com; Bill Gessert, International Customer Service Association (ICSA); Renee Evenson, BullsEyePublishing.com.

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About the Customer Service Group

For more than 20 years, the Customer Service Group has helped customer service, call center and help desk managers increase productivity, improve service quality and boost customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention. The Customer Service Group publishes Customer Service Newsletter and The Customer Communicator.

Website: http://www.CustomerServiceGroup.com