Introduction
In today's fast-paced world, contact centers are at the heart of any organization’s customer experience. Whether you're looking to upgrade your current contact center infrastructure or adding new capabilities, too many organizations rely on the assumption that their investment will automatically yield the promised synergies, economies of scale, and customer satisfaction improvements. But here's the reality: without a thorough evaluation of your existing contact center operations, you’re simply gambling on the outcome.
A consulting engagement should always be the first step in any contact center procurement. This approach ensures that the solution you invest in is the right one for your organization, tailored to your unique challenges and designed to achieve measurable outcomes.
1. Start with a Consultation to Get It Right the First Time
Organizations often underestimate the complexity of contact center operations. Jumping straight into implementation without a clear understanding of current workflows, technologies, and customer experience gaps is a recipe for failure.
What’s the solution? Start with a detailed consultation. A consulting engagement should assess your current contact center operations, technology stack, and customer satisfaction levels. By doing this, both your organization and the provider gain clarity on the areas that need improvement and the specific goals the implementation should achieve.
In my experience, skipping this crucial step is one of the biggest mistakes organizations make. It’s akin to building a house without knowing the condition of the land—it might work for a while, but eventually, the cracks will show.
2. Offset the Cost of Consultation to Foster Trust and Commitment
I understand that budgets are tight, and adding a consulting phase to the project might seem like an unnecessary cost. But here’s where you can create an alignment of interests: the cost of this initial consultation should be fully or partially offset if the organization moves forward with the implementation recommendations.
This “cost credit” approach provides a no-risk entry point. If the consultation reveals that improvements are necessary and the organization moves forward with the implementation, the cost of that consultation is credited back, making it a win-win for both parties. It’s not just about diagnosing the problem; it’s about making the commitment to a tailored solution that is built to last.
Actionable Advice: Negotiate with your vendor to ensure that the consultation fee can be credited toward the full implementation if you decide to move forward with their solution. This strategy not only builds trust but ensures that both parties are equally invested in the outcome.
3. Define Key Metrics for Success—Don’t Rely on Promises
Many organizations rely on vendor promises of synergies and improvements without ever setting clear benchmarks for success. That’s a problem. Trust is important, but results are measurable. The initial consultation phase should not only uncover operational gaps but also set specific, measurable metrics that the solution must achieve.
Are you looking to improve customer satisfaction? Reduce call handling time? Cut operational costs? Whatever your goals, they must be documented and agreed upon before moving forward.
By establishing these metrics during the consultation, you eliminate ambiguity and ensure that your implementation is driven by data, not just hope.
Actionable Advice: Work with your vendor to define clear success metrics during the consultation phase. These should be agreed upon and tracked throughout the implementation to ensure you're on the path to real improvement.
4. Tie Compensation to Outcomes: Risk-Reward Models Work Best
One of the strongest ways to align your organization's goals with those of the vendor is by tying compensation to outcomes. This ensures that your investment directly reflects the value being delivered.
An outcome-based pricing model ties a portion of the implementation and consultation costs to the achievement of key metrics. This means that the vendor is just as invested in your success as you are. If the solution doesn’t meet the agreed-upon metrics, the vendor doesn’t get fully compensated. If it exceeds expectations, both parties benefit.
By implementing this risk-reward model, you reduce the likelihood of failure and encourage a collaborative approach where both sides are focused on the same goal: achieving measurable improvements.
Actionable Advice: Structure your contract with the vendor to include outcome-based pricing. By doing so, you align both parties' interests and incentivize success.
5. Continuous Monitoring and Improvement: Go-Live is Just the Beginning
Many organizations view go-live as the end of the project. But the truth is, the real work begins after implementation. A robust contact center solution needs continuous monitoring and optimization. The consultation phase should establish a framework for ongoing performance tracking to ensure that the solution continues to drive improvements over time.
By having regular performance reviews and fine-tuning the system based on real data, your organization will continue to benefit from the investment long after the implementation is complete. The goal isn’t just to meet initial expectations—it’s to continuously improve and adapt as your needs evolve.
Actionable Advice: Ensure that your contract includes provisions for continuous improvement, with regular check-ins to measure progress against key metrics. This ensures your contact center remains optimized for the long term.
Conclusion
Organizations often trust that a contact center upgrade or new implementation will deliver on the promises of synergies and efficiencies. But trust isn’t enough. By incorporating an initial consulting engagement, offsetting the cost for committed clients, defining clear metrics, and adopting an outcome-based pricing model, you can ensure that your contact center project is set up for measurable success.
In short, don’t rely on hope. Plan for success. Start with a consultation, define your goals, and hold your vendor accountable for results. Your organization—and your customers—deserve nothing less.