Contributed Editorial: Customer Service In 2010: 5 Trends To Watch

2009 was a year fraught with risk and the kind of fears that force companies and managers to think deeply about how they run their businesses. The reality of the service environment is that no matter what is happening, the show must go on. With budget constrictions and rising consumer expectations, the big question from 2009 - “How can I do more for less and not compromise my customers?”

In fact, customer service managers thought beyond “compromising care” to improving it. Instead of seeing the economic downturn as an obstacle, industry leaders saw an opportunity to emerge stronger and provide an excellent experience while still saving money. In short, they asked - “How do I do more for less and provide more value to my customers with a profoundly better experience?”

This question underlies some of the more interesting customer service/mobile workforce trends emerging in 2010. The goal and the imperative to dramatically increase business efficiencies while keeping the core customer base satisfied is at the heart of customer service innovations, and we’ll see them come into even greater focus as we see the beginnings of a recovery taking hold.