The customer care and support industry is going through quite a transformation. In this decade, we have seen a number of disruptive technologies that have changed how contact center managers and leaders work.
These innovations have not only galvanized the industry but also improved user experience and convenience. Gone are the days of linear telemarketing and simple emails. Manual call distributions have also become a thing of the past.
The wide distribution of smart phones, growth and popularity of social media, digitization of traditional contact center processes, development of unified communication technologies, innovative software applications (support), cloud computing and the affordability and rise of big data have disrupted and revolutionized the communication industry beyond recognition.
How modern technology is changing human behavior
These new-age technologies have also changed human behavior. People have new expectations from contact centers now. A millennial wants ultra-fast service delivery and personalized interactions. They want to be empowered and also prefer social media interactions over voice calls.
In this changing social landscape, a handful of visionary analysts and modern thinkers have committed themselves to the cause of identifying areas of growth and threats for the customer care industry. Through their research and contributions to technological developments, they have changed the face of communication and customer service.
Here is a list of contact center experts who deserve your attention.
Sandra M Gustavsen has close to two decades of experience in the telecommunications industry. She has added a wealth of knowledge and value to the industry through her high quality research of telephony products and technologies. Study of IP-PBX applications is a recurrent subject in her research.
She is currently an analyst working with G Business Systems LLC and she has also contributed valuable articles to well known industry journals and magazines like PHONE+ Magazine, The Voice Report, TMCnet Publications and many others.
Her previous experience includes working in AT&T in the capacity of a researcher studying international voice networks. She has also previously worked with the T3i group.
Her Twitter handle is @smgustavsen she frequently airs her opinion on recent technological developments in the industry and also shares snippets from her own research papers.
Here is link to her latest article.
Sheila McGee-Smith is a luminary in the sphere of telecommunications and she has made seminal research contributions in communication solutions, sales strategies and services.
Her thought provoking inputs equip her clients from the communications industry to provide superior customer experience and enjoy customer confidence in return. She also works on new product developments and scalable technologies.
She is also considered an expert on CRM software. She is the founder of McGee-Smith Analytics and has worked with famous companies like AT&T and Dun & Bradstreet in the past. Her illustrious career spans over 30 years.
Her twitter handle is @McGeeSmith where she discusses industry related news and shares incisive analytical notes.
Here is a link to her latest article.
Dan Miller is the founder and lead analyst of Opus Research, started in the year 1985. Dan is a pioneer in the telecom and conversational communication marketplace. He has authored research and analysis papers, newsletters and advisories in journals and magazines and has helped shape the commercial customer service space.
He has also had a profound influence on the software application development and marketing industry. Dan gained wide recognition as the publisher and editor of a newsletter called Telemedia which posted updates on intelligent network services and voice processing. Dan has also served previously as the editor-in-chief of the highly acclaimed Kelsey Report.
You can follow him on Twitter @dnm54.
Here is a link to his latest post.
Keith Dawson is considered the foremost expert in the field of call center processes, services, infrastructure and software. He is a keen follower of recent developments and emerging trends in the niche field of customer experience. He has developed models and advocates methods that contact centers can use to leverage to their advantage.
He is currently Practice Leader, customer engagement at Ovum. Keith is also a follower of intuitive customer delivery services like proactive outbound tools and speech analytics. His previous experience includes working as an analyst and director at Frost & Sullivan where he conducted primary research on predictive outbound dialers, inbound IVR technologies cum ACDs and hosted services.
He also has vast experience of analyzing customer satisfaction results across various verticals and creating prescient guidelines for the predictive analytics software industry.
His twitter handle is @keithdawson.
Some of the other notable analysts and strategic thinkers whose blog posts and social media posts you should follow regularly are Ian Jacobs, Aphrodite Brinsmead, Kate Leggett and Paul Greenberg.
These people have changed the 21st-century contact center and service delivery industry through their innovation and disruptive thinking. If you are a contact center manager or service provider, try to follow and implement the ideas of these leading analysts. It will keep you informed of the latest industry developments and best practices and give you an edge over your competitors.
