Call Centers Weather Shifting Sands Of New Economy (page 2) -- Site Selection magazine, January 2001

Call Centers Weather Shifting Sands Of New Economy (cover)

Call Center Growth
on the Rise

New Economy =
New Facilities?

India Emerges
as Hot Spot

European Growth
Goes Exponential

Canada: North
America's Sweetheart

New US
Markets Emerge

Request Information

A SITE SELECTION SPECIAL FEATURE FROM JANUARY 2001

Call Center
Growth on the Rise

The whole concept of e-business and the Internet, however, is to take steps and people out of the process and to link the customer more directly with the products and services they want. So does the ever-growing use of the Internet mean the end of call centers? Potentially, the Internet has that ability. For now, however, the Internet and its self-help offerings have not in the least lessened the need for call center operations. In fact, e-commerce may actually be resulting in more call centers.

Integrating the Internet into call center operations could
result in millions of dollars of new revenue for companies.

"We've got so much [call center] activity right now, so I think it's on everyone's agenda as much as it ever has been," says White, "especially with the e-commerce trends. And with the new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) strategies, companies want to understand their customers better."
Datamonitor reports that the online customer support market will grow from 1998's $150 million to $2 billion in 2003. Research firm Frost & Sullivan reports in its "U.S. Web-Enabled Call Center Markets" study that "new e-commerce technology and the need for firms to retain customer loyalty are driving market growth." Customer satisfaction will become a critical differentiating factor among similar businesses.

TOP OF PAGE

| Call Centers Weather Shifting Sands | Site Selection Online | SiteNet |