This handbook is part three of ICMI's comprehensive, four-part series on call center management, which includes people management, operations management, customer relationship management, and leadership and business management. Topics in Customer Relationship Management include:

• Key principles of customer relationship management
• The value of customer satisfaction and loyalty
• The call center's role in customer relationship management
• Defining and segmenting customers
• Measuring customer satisfaction
• Creating effective strategies
• Establishing effective objectives
• Building cross-functional processes
• Providing enabling technologies
• Establishing supporting processes

Well-organized and thoughtfully arranged for easy study and reference, these guides include comprehensive content, a self-assessment tool, exercises, a glossary of terms, and lists of references. This series belongs on the desk of any director, manager or analyst responsible for call center (contact center, help desk) strategy or management.

ICMI's Handbooks and Study Guides are also excellent preparation for industry-recognized CIAC Certification.

Customer satisfaction and loyalty have become key objectives for organizations as they recognize that long-term customers cost less to service and are more likely to spend more with the organization. The call center is the place where many of these objectives are carried out - one contact at a time.

The Call Center Customer Relationship Management Handbook and Study Guide provides call center professionals with the information they need to build customer relationships effectively. It begins by exploring key customer relationship management principles, including the value of customer satisfaction and loyalty, and customer segmentation. Measuring customer satisfaction is the focus of the second section of the guide as it provides practical information on measurement methodologies and contributors to customer satisfaction. The guide then transitions into establishing strategies that support organization wide objectives and align people, processes and technologies with these goals. The fourth section of the guide highlights the importance of a cross-functional approach to customer relationship management and places the responsibility for initiating this involvement squarely on the shoulders of the call center professional. The study guide's final section includes actionable guidance on supporting customer relationship management with innovative technology, effective processes and essential employee development.