Customer service in the region is set to get a whole lot “friendlier” due to the emergence of social media, said the organisers of an upcoming event focusing on call centres in Dubai.

Corporate strategies and best practice to cope with the fast-evolving new business development are set to be a major theme of this year’s Middle East Call Centre 2011 (MECC ’11) set to be held from May 31 to June 1.

“Organisations must recognise that they cannot afford to ignore the impact that social media is having on customers, and thus their brands and revenues,” said Dominick Keenaghan, president of event organisers Insights.

“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.”

“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 its job properly,” he added.

“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,” Keenaghan concluded.

MECC ’11 will also include specific sessions on how to educate and present to senior managers on the call centre’s full potential and how to best execute on these innovative new value creation strategies.

The event will also feature the region’s leading call centre exhibition where many new products, services and companies will be launched and the annual Middle East Call Centre Awards Dinner to honour outstanding performance and results by the region’s top performers. – TradeArabia News Service