Social Media to 'revolutionalize' Customer Service

Customer Service in the region, the bane of many a disgruntled buyer, is set to get a whole lot “friendlier” due to the emergence of social media. Corporate strategies and best practice to cope with the fast-evolving new business development are set to be a major theme of this years annual Middle East Call Centre 2011 event (MECC ’11), slated for Dubai on May 31 - June 1.

According to Dominick Keenaghan, president of event organizers Insights, “Organisations must recognize that they cannot afford to ignore the impact that social media is having on customers, and thus their brands and revenues. Although it’s new territory for most companies, the innovative approaches being implemented are literally transforming businesses and corporate culture. At MECC ’11, up-to-date guidance will be provided to help delegates bridge the gap between Social Media and Customer Service and, in particular, how to integrate Social Media into the Contact Centre”.

Keenaghan continued, “The annual MECC event is renowned for highlighting and exploring the key issues that regional call centres contend with on a daily basis. So, for example, corporate PR likes to talk about “putting customers first” but, in fact, the real challenge for many is an under-investment in people development and processes at the call centre in order for it to be able to do it’s job properly. Similarly, most call centre managers recognize that customer satisfaction as a strategic metric by itself is no longer sufficient to retain customers these days. The bar has been raised and customers now expect a higher quality of interaction every time they make contact in order for them to remain loyal. The corresponding pickup in customer advocacy rates when this is done well is invaluable. Therefore, MECC ’11 will also include specific sessions on how to educate and present to senior man agers on the call centre’s full potential and how to best execute on these innovative new value creation strategies.

The 2011 version of the annual Middle East Call Centre 2011 show (MECC ’11) takes place May 31 - June 1. Held in Dubai, it offers the region’s top call centre professionals a unique, expert-led forum to get up-to-date with the industry’s latest trends and developments, discuss common issues, test-drive new technology and re-invigorate their current development plans.

The MECC ‘11 show is organized by Insights, and is recognized as the premier regional call centre event for the region. MECC ’11 also features the region’s leading call centre exhibition where many new products, services and companies are launched and the annual Middle East Call Centre Awards Dinner to honour outstanding performance and results by the region’s top performers. Networking, quality and inspiration are bywords for the MECC experience, one that is clearly appreciated by the large number of repeat attendees from one year to the next. For more information, please visit: www.insights- me.com/callcentre.