GEC NEWS WIRESurvey gives valuable insights into customer service experience strategies of Middle East companies
Interactive Intelligence Group Inc. has released findings of its Middle East customer service experience survey. Following a global survey done during the early part of this year, the regional survey of 121 contact centre professionals was conducted during June and July 2013.
Not surprisingly, the large majority of respondents (78.5%) rated customer experience to be extremely important while 18.2% stated it to be important. First call resolution, professionalism and a timely response are perceived to be the most valued parameters in customer interactions in that particular order. This is in line with the global survey results which reveal that a knowledgeable representative and a timely response are the most valuable components of a great service experience. Over three fourths (76%) of the survey respondents already have a customer service strategy in place, though surprisingly there were still 24% that either did not have a strategy or were not aware of such strategies. Organizations perceive the contact centre to be vital to providing excellent customer service. 66.1% stated it to be very important and 24% agreed that the contact centre was somewhat important in this regard. Not surprisingly then, the contact centre remains at the heart of most organizations’ strategies and defines the customer experience for 51.2% of respondents. Sales and Marketing departments also exert influence and 33.1% of participants stated that IT too is increasingly playing a role.
Shaheen Haque, Territory Manager, Middle East and Turkey at Interactive Intelligence said, “As a provider of business communications software for contact centers and enterprises, we were eager to understand the importance that enterprises in the region are placing on customer service and the strategies and methodologies that are currently being employed to optimize customer service interactions. The survey has thrown up some interesting results and it is encouraging to see a sizeable number of enterprises integrating the latest technology and social media into their strategy.”
