Financial services companies experience a 65% turnover in customers because of poor service provided by call centers, according to the market research firm Cutting Edge Information, based in Research Triangle Park, NC.
The firm profiled more than 50 firms in the financial services sector to compile a 114-page report that includes data on why customers switch companies. The report highlights practices at companies such as Merrill Lynch, Fidelity Investments, Citigroup, Capital One, Allstate, Wachovia and MetLife.
Companies can expect to become more profitable by asking customers what they need or want, rather than just telling customers about what new promotion is being offered, said Elio Evangelista, senior analyst at Cutting Edge.
Total call center spending reached $1.6 billion in 2003, up from $717 million in 1998, according to Cutting Edge.
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