Article at a glance:

Getting more from call centers

Call centers are an essential part of the marketing and customer care strategy of many companies, but too many executives consider these operations a necessary expense rather than a way to generate new business. Indiscriminately moving customer traffic to a company's Web site or outsourcing call centers haphazardly can make them less rather than more effective.

The take-away

A good customer service strategy should balance costs, quality, and revenues. Companies that restructure call centers in this way can often cut their costs by up to 25 percent and boost the revenue they generate by as much as 35 percent, thereby transforming them into strategic assets that provide a competitive advantage.