Social networking boom drives call center evolution

Evolution appears to have come to the contact center business, driven by the popularity of social networking sites which have been tapped by enterprises for various marketing purposes.

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As a result, many companies are now thinking of ways to connect their key customer service resource--the contact center--to social networks, according to online research firm Datamonitor.

In its latest report entitled: "The Rise of Social Networking and Emerging Channels in Customer Service," Datamonitor examines the potential market for customer service provided through online social networking and how that might be expanded to formal contact centers.

Ian Jacobs, senior analyst for customer interaction technologies at Datamonitor, explained that corporate presence on social networks has led to service interactions between companies and customers, noting enterprises of different types have started to look for ways to market their brands in social networks.

"Given the boom in popularity of social networks, enterprises of all stripes have started to look for ways to market their brands to potential customers through these services," Jacobs said. "Whether it is through online contests, coupon and discount offers, or just an extended presence to shine positive light on brands, social networking has become a darling of the marketing world,"

Jacobs reported the increased corporate presence on social networks has also led to service interactions between company and customer, wherein some of these interactions result from a direct contact from a customer to a company (akin to a phone call into a contact center).

But Jacobs added that with new social media monitoring tools, companies have also begun to inject themselves into customer conversations. If, for example, a customer complains to the world at large about poor service, the company being complained about proactively reaches out to the customer to try to solve the issue.

"When done properly, social network-based customer service interactions drive increased intimacy between company and customer," Jacobs said. "Customers feel that the company listens to, understands and cares about their preferences."

The executive said opportunity exists for customer interaction technology providers to create solutions that provide scalability for social networking support operations.

"Essentially all of the customer service and support being performed today on online social networks comes from social media specialists within companies. These staffers have the latitude required to understand both the written and unwritten rules of social networking and can imbue the service interactions with some personality," he said.

However, Jacobs said such model cannot scale to meet the exponential growth which online social networking services are experiencing since there is a clear opportunity for customer interaction technology providers to create solutions that provide scalability for these support operations, primarily by allowing formal contact center environments to handle some or all of these interactions.

"Social networks will not be a flash-in-the-pan craze and will not simply disappear or burn themselves out," he said. "Companies that choose to simply ignore this trend will relegate themselves to the outdated, fuddy-duddy camp--an important distinction depending on a company's desired demographic--and more worryingly, maybe even to obsolescence."

Some of the key points included in Jacob's report are: "The explosive growth in online social networking; Upending the model of interaction between customer and company; The ways in which companies have started using social networking to provide customer service; Social media-driven service provided through contact centers; and The types of technology providers that will enter this market."