If shoppers got the same kind of experience in real-world stores that they've come to expect online, sales floors would soon become a sea of empty shopping carts - and, despite fuel prices, customers would be pulling out of parking lots in droves to head for the competition. 24 Jun 2008
"The next evolution [in online advertising] will be behavioral targeting, compared with contextual targeting. Right now, throwing up an ad from a financial service company, for instance, next to an article about banking is primitive, really. What these companies who advertise really want to know is who these people are who are reading the articles and how can they target them," said Jeff Bates, cofounder of Slashdot. 23 Jun 2008
Local online retailers hope for a windfall after Amazon take action following thefts. 19 Jun 2008
Contact centre pricing and attrition levels are worrying outsourcing providers globally. 19 Jun 2008
Global Mobile Yellow Pages launched in Cape Town. 11 Jun 2008
Game recently contracted Primedia@Home's Intersect Direct team to aid the launch of two new stores in Richards Bay and Potchefstroom and create an awareness of the retail chain's opening specials. 10 Jun 2008
There is a level of excitement in the call centre space I haven't witnessed since VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) began transforming the call centre into the contact centre. Over the years, we have seen technology after technology change the way contact centres work, and we are at the point today where IP communications affords us the opportunity to distribute call centres and agents at will. 9 Jun 2008
Dynamic growth is being predicted for both the number of contact centres and customer service agent* positions in Asia Pacific. 6 Jun 2008
The retailer's financial services division is making friends with the group's customers to help them through the current flood of rising prices and interest rates that promise to trap the unwary. 5 Jun 2008
It's all about image in the fashion world. An apparel or accessory designer's brick-and-mortar stores must appear ever so alluring to the passerby, and its magazine ads should leave readers pining for the latest fashions. Then there's its online store, which visitors expect to be faultless and continually impress them with eye-catching design, an endless inventory and top-notch security. 27 May 2008
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on Tuesday, 13 May 2008, opened a global call centre that will service customers for the oil multinational, Royal Dutch Shell, and improve economic growth in the country. 14 May 2008
The Software as a Service (SaaS) trend is revolutionising the call centre industry, as companies of all sizes are now discovering the advantages of going with hosted versus on-premise solutions. With SaaS for the call centre, applications such as integrated voice recognition, automatic call dialing, predictive dialing, workforce management and CRM are hosted on a shared platform in a data centre and delivered to the agents via the Internet or dedicated network. 12 May 2008
E-commerce firms are turning to Web services to streamline operations. A web service, for instance, could carry out payment validation by taking details from one system and initiate a request for other information, such as a credit card account number or expiration date. 12 May 2008
US - Traditionally, the contact centre has been a cost centre. However, with the contact centre transforming into a profit centre, the selling of products and services has emerged as an opportunity for the contact centre to improve agent and customer interaction. Yet the challenge will be balancing customer satisfaction goals and driving profits. 9 May 2008
When the going gets rough, customer retention becomes even more important. By that logic, continued sluggishness in the overall economy could have little to no dampening effect on the CRM sector, which is on a roll. 30 Apr 2008
User-generated reviews and social navigation are examples of the Internet providing an experience unavailable offline: aggregating the wisdom of the crowds. A few retailers who are leading the way in these areas are Zagat, Petco and Newegg. 24 Apr 2008
When it comes to customer service, young consumers often get no respect. 22 Apr 2008
USA - A new fashion shopping site from Florida boutique La Ti Da is banking on personalised service to set it apart. 21 Apr 2008
A shortage of pharmacists hampers grocery chains' dispensary plans. 14 Apr 2008
Handling online complaints about customer service can be tricky. You want to address the issue and assure people you're responsive to their needs, but you don't want it to appear as if you're bullying customers. It's a delicate balance, and sometimes the best answer is to hire a professional. 14 Apr 2008
