Ask the Experts

Ask the Experts

• Using a call center staffing calculator to determine staffing needs

  Correct call center staffing requirements cannot be determined by the number of agents and occupancy. Find out the best way to determine the number of call center agents you need.  Continue Reading

• Three options for creating Microsoft CRM surveys

  Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 does not provide survey questionnaire functionality out of the box, but here are three options for creating Microsoft CRM surveys.  Continue Reading

• Three management tips for overseeing call center agents on night shift

  There are psychological and medical challenges for call center agents working the night shift. Hear management tips from Donna Fluss for managing night shift call center agents.  Continue Reading

• Performance measurement analyst role and responsibilities

  Learn about the role of the performance measurement analyst and their responsibilities, including establishing the right metrics to measure the customer experience, in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• Managing customer conversations in the call center

  Get tips for managing customer conversations in the call center and find out how call center agents can deal with chatty or emotional customers.  Continue Reading

• Can you explain Salesforce.com integration capabilities?

  According to some experts, Salesforce.com integration capabilities are top notch. Find out how Salesforce.com integrates with other business applications.  Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of using a pay-per-call service in the call center

  Learn the pros and cons of using a pay-per-call service in the call center. Discover other call center pricing schemes, such as pay-per-minute.  Continue Reading

• Examining call center cell phone regulations

  Find out why most call centers don't allow cell phones or other personal items inside. Learn about call center regulations set by the PCI and FCC.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft CRM performance issues and possible solutions

  Get help debugging Microsoft CRM performance issues and get tips for dealing with slow screen load times in Dynamics CRM 4.0 in this expert Q&A.  Continue Reading

• Three ways to build customer trust as a car salesman

  Find three ways to build customer trust as a car salesman and hear Don Pepper's tips for car dealerships to change sales commissions to improve trust.  Continue Reading

• Tips for converting a lead to a contact in Microsoft CRM

  Learn to use Microsoft CRM to convert leads, including two ways to covert a lead to a contact and how to map CRM data from lead fields to a contact form.  Continue Reading

• Are luxury retail loyalty programs necessary?

  Find out if luxury retail stores should offer loyalty programs for their customers in this tip. Learn how some luxury retail brands build loyal customers.  Continue Reading

• The benefits of a customer trust index and measuring the trust of customers

  Learn what a customer trust index is and get tips for measuring and building customer trust and uncovering customer complaints, feedback and opinions.  Continue Reading

• How to develop a new customer strategy

  Find out how a new business should go about developing a new customer strategy for the first time. Learn the importance of establishing customer worth.  Continue Reading

• Does hot seating in the call center affect agent morale?

  Learn about hot seating in the call center and find out how it can have a positive and negative impact on agent morale and productivity in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• How to conduct successful IVR surveys

  Find tips for getting customers to take IVR surveys and learn the pros and cons of written surveys, outbound call surveys and SMS surveys in this Q&A.  Continue Reading

• How can we reduce customer defection rates when changing our products?

  Learn what companies can do to reduce the risk of customer defection and keep customer defection rates low when making major changes to a product.  Continue Reading

• Creating work-at-home agent agreements for call center employees

  Learn what to include in work-at-home agent agreements and get a list of categories the agent agreement should address in this expert tip from Donna Fluss.  Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of developing CRM in-house

  Discover the pros and cons of developing CRM in-house in this expert tip. Learn which type of company would benefit from a CRM system developed in-house.  Continue Reading

• What custom WFM reports should we have developed for our new system?

  Learn what WFM reports are most important in a workforce management system. Key call center reports will measure shrinkage, talk time and more.  Continue Reading

• Four tips for downgrading customer status

  Learn four steps to take when downgrading customer status and altering the customer tier, including offers that might build customer loyalty again.  Continue Reading

• What's the best way to manage unprofitable customers?

  Learn tips for turning unprofitable customers into profitable customers in this tip. Find out who in the organization should manage unprofitable customers.  Continue Reading

• Top 10 CRM implementation pitfalls

  Get the top 10 CRM implementation pitfalls and learn what organizations should avoid when implementing a CRM system in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Forecasting call volume for a customer service call center

  Learn tips and techniques for forecasting and calculating customer service call volume for a customer service call center in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• Nine necessary call center functions and technology for inbound call centers

  Expert Lori Bocklund lists the nine main call center functions necessary to run a successful inbound call center operation in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Three ways to track customer complaints and feedback

  Expert Don Peppers names three ways companies can track customer complaints and obtain customer feedback in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Ten ways to re-energize and motivate call center agents

  Expert Donna Fluss lists 10 techniques call center managers can use to refresh and motivate call center agents during the day.  Continue Reading

• What is an acceptable amount of call center break time?

  Lori Bocklund gives advice on how much call center break time and auxiliary time to allow depending on call center shifts and other factors in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Tips for calculating maximum occupancy in the call center

  Expert Lori Bocklund defines maximum occupancy in the call center and explains the maximum occupancy formula in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of auto-response software in the call center

  Auto-response software often gets mixed reviews from both call center professionals and customers. Learn the pros and cons of using auto-answer and auto-response software in the call center from expert Donna Fluss.  Continue Reading

• Managing call center stress: Three stress management training courses for agents

  In order to deal with the tension of emotional calls, call center agents often require stress management training. Expert Donna Fluss names three companies who have developed stress management courses for call center agents in this tip.  Continue Reading

• How should a B2B company build customer value and customer trust?

  According to Don Peppers, B2B organizations should keep these seven principles in mind when creating customer value and building trust with B2B customers.  Continue Reading

• Using call center quality metrics to measure email, chat and phone interactions

  Expert Lori Bocklund explains which call center quality metrics should be used to measure customer interactions in a mutli-channel call center.  Continue Reading

• Measuring chat session average handle time (AHT)

  It is possible to measure average handle time (AHT) for online chat sessions, says Lori Bocklund. Lori explains how to go about measuring AHT online in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• CRM failure: The top six reasons CRM programs fail

  Lior Arussy gives the top six reasons CRM programs fail in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• How do cross-selling and up-selling impact customer satisfaction?

  Cross-selling and up-selling are great ways to build customer profitability, but how do they impact customer satisfaction? Martha Rogers gives tips for up-selling in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• Call center rules and regulations: Why are they so strict?

  Learn the purpose of call center rules and regulations in this tip from Donna Fluss, including how and why call center managers control the number of scheduled agents according to the forecasted call volume, using workforce management (WFM) ...  Continue Reading

• Identifying customer needs to create customer value

  Understanding and identifying customer needs is a complex but necessary process for creating value for your company. Expert Don Peppers gives tips for understanding and acting on customer needs in the expert response.  Continue Reading

• Customer complaints handling in the call center

  Expert Don Peppers suggests three books call center managers can use to train agents on customer complaints handling in the call center.  Continue Reading

• What CRM architecture is similar to Vantive software?

  Expert Paul Greenberg answers a reader's question about migrating to a CRM architecture that is similar to Vantive software.  Continue Reading

• Phone sales techniques: Keeping customers on the line

  Many outbound call center agents struggle with keeping customers on the phone. Donna Fluss explains some phone sales techniques in this expert Q&A.  Continue Reading

• What's the best ratio of employees to supervisor in the call center?

  Lori Bocklund discusses the best ratio of employees to supervisor in a large call center.  Continue Reading

• Converting and linking leads in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

  Expert Richard Smith explains the process of converting and linking leads in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.  Continue Reading

• Why do call centers use courtesy calls?

  Learn the three types of courtesy calls and why call centers use them in this expert response.  Continue Reading

• Call center forecasting: How can we predict call volume?

  In this expert resonse, Lori Bocklund gives tips for predicting call volume in a new call center.  Continue Reading

• When is call blocking acceptable in the call center?

  Expert Lori Bocklund explains when call blocking is acceptable and gives examples of how some call centers use blocking.  Continue Reading

• Training for quality assurance analysts: What topics should we cover?

  Expert Donna Fluss answers a question about training for quality assurance analysts and gives tips for topics to cover.  Continue Reading

• Service level in the call center: How does it impact utilization and costs?

  Expert Lori Bocklund explains sevice level in the call center and its effect on utilization and costs.  Continue Reading

• What are the basic needs of customers?

  Lior Arussy explains the basic needs of customers in this expert response.  Continue Reading

• Customer worth and customer lifetime value: What's the difference?

  Expert Martha Rogers defines customer worth and customer lifetime value and explains how they are different.  Continue Reading

• When opening a 24-hour call center, how should we handle scheduling?

  Expert Donna Fluss discusses how to handle scheduling and shift creation when opening a 24-hour call center.  Continue Reading

• Call monitoring best practices: Is there any industry standard?

  Learn the best approach to monitoring call center agent's calls with expert Lori Bocklund.  Continue Reading

• How to increase market share and maintain customer trust

  Experts Don Peppers and Martha Rogers give tips for increasing market share while maintaining customer trust and putting out high quality products and services.  Continue Reading

• Estimating Microsoft CRM customization or configuration costs

  Expert Richard Smith gives tips for estimating the cost of a Microsoft CRM customization.  Continue Reading

• How are current trends affecting marketing strategies?

  Expert Lior Arussy discusses how businesses are adapting their marketing strategies to meet their customer's changing expectations.  Continue Reading

• Calculating risks and measuring return on CRM software with IRR and NPV

  Read Tom Pisello's advice on calculating risks and measuring return on CRM, including advice on IRR and NPV in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Is your call center team leader ready for a management position? 10 ways to tell

  It can be difficult to evaluate a team leader's potential for a higher-level call center management position. Read 10 tips from Donna Fluss to determine whether your call center team leader is ready to be a call center manager.  Continue Reading

• What's the difference between speech recognition software and voice tags?

  Wondering about how voice recognition or speech recognition and voice tags differ? Read definitions from Donna Fluss in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Call center agent log in times: Is there an industry standard?

  Expert Lori Bocklund answers a question about industry standards for call center agent log in times.  Continue Reading

• Transferring data from ECC 6.0 to SAP CRM 5.0

  Expert Srini Katta explains to a reader how to transfer employee data to SAP CRM 5.0.  Continue Reading

• Creative marketing ideas for difficult-to-market products

  Learn how creative marketing ideas like working with partners can help attract attention for products that are difficult to market in this tip from Martha Rogers.  Continue Reading

• Pay-for-performance for call center agents

  Donna Fluss explains to a reader how a pay-for-performance system in the call center encourages strong agent performance.  Continue Reading

• Call center employee incentive programs

  Expert Lori Bocklund advises a reader on how to set up a call center employee incentive program and which metrics to use as a base.  Continue Reading

• How to monitor quality for call center emails

  Lori Bocklund offers advice on how call centers should use quality monitoring with emails and which metrics to include.  Continue Reading

• Call center scheduling: How to manage Auxiliary or unavailable time

  Expert Lori Bocklund advises a reader on managing a call center agent's Auxiliary or unavailable time.  Continue Reading

• Empathy and customer service: Call center agent training or scripting?

  Expert Donna Fluss offers advice on empathy in the call center and whether agent scripting or call center agent training is the best way to encourage empathy with customers.  Continue Reading

• Using the customer database to provide good customer experiences

  Expert Lior Arussy offers advice on how to use a company's customer database to provide positive customer experiences.  Continue Reading

• B2B and B2C CRM: An overview of the differences

  Don Peppers gives an expert overview of the differences between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) CRM in this reader response.  Continue Reading

• Conducting a CRM system and process audit

  Expert Paul Greenberg offers advice on conducting an audit of CRM systems and processes.  Continue Reading

• Should profitable customers be the top priority for our customer service efforts?

  Experts Peppers and Rogers offer advice on whether companies should focus their customer service efforts on only their most profitable customers.  Continue Reading

• How to evaluate call center quality analyst performance

  Expert Donna Fluss provides some guidelines for evaluating the performance of a call center's quality coach, and offers suggestions on training a quality coach.  Continue Reading

• Calculating the call center agent seat utilization ratio

  Lori Bocklund explains how to calculate the seat utilization ratio for a call center with a formula using call center agents and number of call center seats.  Continue Reading

• Reporting a combined service level from several call centers

  Lori Bocklund gives a formula to use to calculate a combined service level from several different call centers, as well as what to consider to get the most accurate call center numbers.  Continue Reading

• Call center utilization (occupancy) -- tips on using and calculating

  Expert Lori Bocklund gives tips on how to calculate call center utilization, or occupancy, and how to best use and interpret this metric.  Continue Reading

• Help desk supervisor goals for providing service and support

  Expert Donna Fluss gives advice on the role of help desk supervisors, offers tips for best providing service and support and explains their relationship with call center management.  Continue Reading

• Customer satisfaction and retention -- what's the correlation?

  Expert Lior Arussy explains why customer satisfaction is not necessarily the best indicator of customer retention; companies should look at purchases and other actions rather than complaints handled.  Continue Reading

• Five ways to improve customer satisfaction in a call center

  Expert Lior Arussy offers five tips on improving customer satisfaction through the call center.  Continue Reading

• Calculate average speed of answer (ASA) with workforce management

  Call center expert Lori Bocklund offers tips on using workforce management tools to calculate average speed of answer (ASA) and other call center metrics.  Continue Reading

• Call center error rate: Is there an industry standard?

  How can call centers measure their error rates, and how should they set metrics accordingly? Call center expert Lori Bocklund answers this reader's question.  Continue Reading

• Analyzing consolidated vs. decentralized customer service

  Will the centralization of call centers really cut costs? Read Donna Fluss's advice here.  Continue Reading

• How will Oracle Fusion bring together Oracle CRM, Siebel CRM and PeopleSoft CRM?

  Oracle's Fusion project can be confusing. Bill Band answers a question concerning what products and functionality will be maintained moving forward in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• Working the call center night shift -- tips for agents

  The trick to working the call center night shift is to get into a routine, says Donna Fluss in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• How should we define customer equity in the short-term and the long-term?

  Wondering how to define customer equity? According to Peppers and Rogers, it is virtually the same number as the "going concern" value of your business.  Continue Reading

• Should I use a combination of IRR, NPV and payback for capital budgeting?

  What method -- internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV) or payback -- is the best method to use for capital budgeting purposes? Read advice here.  Continue Reading

• What's the testing process for an SAP CRM implementation?

  Learn the testing process for an SAP CRM implementation in this expert tip from Srini Katta.  Continue Reading

• Call center training and other ways to occupy agents during off-peak hours

  Donna Fluss provides suggestions for a call center manager looking to increase productivity with call center training during off-peak hours in this tip.  Continue Reading

• How can understanding customer value lead to successful marketing?

  According to Lior Arussy, understanding customer value can lead to successful marketing if you target those customers with the highest potential value, not just those with the highest actual value.  Continue Reading

• Service-level agreement template to prepare for call center outsourcing

  Donna Fluss offers this service-level agreement (SLA) template for a reader looking to get started with preparing an SLA and an outsourcing contract.  Continue Reading

• Who is ultimately responsible for call center quality assurance?

  Read Donna Fluss's advice on call center quality assurance, including how to implement a quality monitoring program and who should run it.  Continue Reading

• Calculating customer defection and customer retention rates

  Learn how calculating customer defection rates and customer retention can vary by organization or industry in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• Building a call center for an online travel company

  Read advice from Donna Fluss on starting a call center for an online travel company, including what call center software to acquire and how to best design the call center to meet the organization's needs.  Continue Reading

• Call center training for communication skills in sensitive customer situations

  Donna Fluss offers advice on call center training programs for dealing with all types of customer situations in this call center tip.  Continue Reading

• How can I calculate internal rate of return (IRR)?

  Internal rate of return (IRR) is a valuable calculation because it generates a projected return that can be directly compared to the company's hurdle rate. Learn how to calculate IRR in this expert tip from Tom Pisello.  Continue Reading

• Where can I purchase call center lists?

  Purchasing lists for an outbound call center is easy, says Donna Fluss, but it's important to learn which calling lists are valuable and have current and accurate prospect information. Learn where to purchase lists in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• Comparing on-demand CRM and on-premise CRM fees, architecture, functionality

  Evaluating on-demand CRM? This expert tip from Paul Greenberg outlines architecture, costs and functionality of on-demand CRM versus traditional on-premise CRM.  Continue Reading

• New call center agents -- top 10 pitfalls

  Common areas of call center agent weakness are largely due to inexperience in handling live (and sometimes frustrated and nasty) customers, and a lack of in-depth knowledge of systems, products, policies and procedures. Most of these areas can be ...  Continue Reading

• Developing a quality assurance form for evaluating call center agents

  Call center expert Donna Fluss provides best practices for developing a quality assurance (QA) program in this expert tip.  Continue Reading

• Comparing ROI for multiple business initiatives

  Trying to compare multiple projects requiring different investments? Use this formula from CRM ROI expert Tom Pisello.  Continue Reading

• Using subject matter experts (SME) to develop call center managers

  Learn the benefits of promoting star agents to subject matter expert positions (SME) where they work under the call center supervisor.  Continue Reading

• Agent performance management for the help desk

  Call center expert Lori Bocklund answers a reader question about the best ways to score help desk agents and which metrics to use for a fair assessment. She suggests service levels, quality and customer satisfaction to start, with varying metrics ...  Continue Reading