Selecting The Right Service Agency To Handle Your Customer Care Needs.

As the customer care marketplace changes at an unprecedented pace, more and more companies are outsourcing their customer care functions. Combine ever-changing technology with a more knowledgeable and demanding customer base, and It's easy to understand this trend and its anticipated growth.

It has become clear that many companies are unprepared to meet customer needs -- especially on the Internet. A recent study [1] found that 17 percent of 100 sites surveyed do not offer e-mail capabilities. Of those that do, more than half take longer than two business days to respond to customers' inquiries. Another study [2] showed that more than 46 percent of high-traffic sites take longer than five days to respond to an e-mail message, and many never respond at all. This is interesting in light of forecasts that predict customer contact via e-mail will grow to 50 percent by the end of 2001. [3]

In addition, chat/VoIP, self-service and live-help modules are on the way. The Internet and customer relationship management (CRM) -- on which companies are expected to spend $90 billion per year by 2003 [4] -- will continue to encourage direct customer intervention.

Despite all of these advancements, technology will not replace the need for human interaction. Relationships will remain key to business growth and customer loyalty, and service will continue to make the difference. Customers will demand multiple options for contact, immediacy and ease. They'll be most impressed by front-line personnel who have the skills, training and attitude to provide the highest level of service possible and interactions that are empathetic, consultative and solution-driven.

All these issues help make the case for outsourcing, which relieves organizations of the need to develop and maintain all of these resources in-house.

Tying The Knot

Partnering with a service agency is like a marriage -- picking the best partner is critical to the success of the relationship. How do you go about selecting that outsourcing company? Here are some tips to help you identify the right mate.

1) Analyze your company's current situation. Outline your corporate philosophy, company direction and the role customer service and customer relationship management play in your organization. Assess where you are now and

where you would like to be in the future.

2) Investigate service agencies that are recommended by your peers, companies that outsource or trade organizations. Conduct initial research that provides a feel for each prospective partner's focus and core competency, organizational structure, corporate culture and ideals, operating methodology, customer service philosophy, affinity for building one-to-one relationships with customers and nurturing long-term loyalty, professional team and ability to add experience and industry expertise to your program.

3) Issue a "Request for Proposals" (RFP). The RFP is a valuable resource that, when written properly to elicit consistent responses, helps executives compare "apples to apples" in the evaluation of potential partners. It also helps reduce the number of vendors who warrant more detailed investigation and consideration.

Be sure to establish a required format for responses so the information you receive is comparable. Ask targeted questions that yield information on each agency's history, services, organization and team, financial stability, technology, CRM philosophy, hiring, training, monitoring processes, quality control procedures, reporting, fulfillment, startup and ongoing operating costs.

Visit The Service Agency's Facilities

Conduct site visits. While you will learn a lot about each vendor from responses to your RFP, site visits are the most telling. By visiting a service agency's corporate headquarters as well as the location that will house your program, you'll be able to get a feel for the cultural match. You'll also be able to validate claims about resources and technology.

Tour the facilities. Get a feel for the work environment, the existing programs and the prevailing work ethic. Meet with program supervisors and the management team. Sit in on a training session. Monitor calls. Listen to the way customer service representatives communicate with customers. Do they simply answer the question at hand, or do they offer additional information, pose questions that generate good data, cross-sell, upsell and build long-term relationships?

Experience the technology firsthand. Is the vendor equipped to handle customer contacts through all of the multimedia channels available today? Does the service agency offer the latest in CRM systems and Internet technologies?

Secure a list of client references. Ask for names of clients that have products and programs that employ skill sets similar to those required by your program. Contact these companies, and strive to get a good understanding for their areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the service agency. Call the clients' toll-free numbers to determine how customer transactions are handled. Access their Web sites to experience firsthand the Internet technologies that are being employed.

After you have completed all of these steps and discussed your specific needs with each remaining contestant, select the service agency most suited to your program and the one that is most likely to add value to your organization. Then, tie the knot, and spend the time and energy required to craft a successful partnership. It will be well worth the return when your program positively impacts your customers as well as your company's bottom line.

(1.) Servicesoft Inc, 2000.

(2.) Jupiter Communications, 2000.

(3.) Mustang Software citing Forrester Research, 1998.

(4.) IDC, 1999.

Ron Abel is executive vice president at Telerx (www.telerx.com), an agency that specializes in customer care. Telerx's teams of trained customer service representatives help companies interact with their customers via toll-free numbers, e-mail, the Internet, mall and fax.