Contact Center Challenges in a Tough Economy

A declining economy affects how contact centers operate. Inside an organization, the competition for resources pits the labor-intensive customer care operation against other profit centers. In past recessions, contact centers have fared badly, because they've been seen as easy places to make cuts in headcount and to defer infrastructure spending. This time, though contact centers are just as vulnerable, they should be able to make a better case for their value, and for the value of investing in them.

Historically, the contact center is one of the first, and easiest places to make cuts when the economy sours. As we head into what may become a major, long-lasting decline, the progress that the industry has made is clearly at risk. Evidence suggests that there is already a reversion to the traditional stance of using the contact center to contain costs.

When facing a resource crunch, decision-makers need to factor more variables into their thinking. They need to consider the potential for revenue generation from the contact center, and whether it makes sense to neglect that for short-term budgeting. They need to consider the relative costs of customer retention versus customer acquisition.