Join Bill Durr at the CC Demo Dallas event in the InterContinental Dallas Hotel as he discusses how cross-channel analytics can help provide insight into customer behavior.  Click here for more details.

Social Media has given rise to vast amounts of data that can be used for predictive modeling.  However having access to all this data does not automatically guarantee a successful understanding of the data and required actions that need to be taken to meet the customer’s requirements.  Predictive systems can prove helpful but even they are running into trouble keeping up with current models that fit the newest data being collected.  Check out the report released by Aberdeen recently for more details.

This is a condensed interpretation of the article written by John Jordan and posted to forbes.com.  For the full article, go here.

Is making decisions based on what the numbers say the only way we can do business?  Of course not, however we are a generation of workers, managers, directors and executives who have been trained and molded to rely on reports and spread sheets to make ‘educated’ decisions.  For better or worse that’s just part of today’s reality.  We are inundated with vast quantities of data each day to ‘assist’ our decision making process.  More complicated data and processes have required the development and implementation of data analytics solutions.  Here are nine possible reasons for the increasing use and popularity of these analytical technologies.

1.  Total quality management and six sigma require the strict application of data

2.  Data intensive methodologies, originally intended for longer term decision making/planning) are now being used for daily decision activities.

3.  New tools are making it easier to create and distribute very large amounts of data. 

4.  It’s now easier, faster and more economical to store and process higher amounts of data

5.  Vendors are pushing and evolving analytics solutions to help customers deal with issues shared among many segments.

6.  There is still a factor of data not being transparent.  Vast sums of money have been spent on data warehousing, management and dashboards but some managers still cannot trust the accuracy of that data due to system short comings, data quality, interpretation lenses and timeliness.

7.  Two words: Risk Awareness

8.  How do you correlate the data from very diverse sources (GPS location, credit report, the ‘like’ button)  to make a statistically meaningful judgment and correlate that to consumer behavior.

9.  Improved visualization reinforces the trend of more sophisticated quantitative analysis.

Recent research (published on CRMBuyer.com) with the Competitive Framework, interviews with end users and analysis by Aberdeen, the success of a contact center depends on a combination of empowering technology and focused enhancement of very specific capabilities.  In brief, the follow three factors have the greatest impact:

• Knowledge management
• Technology like analytics and monitoring
• Customer satisfaction measurement

See the full article and gain clearer insight into the findings here.

As seen in the recent In Queue newsletter:

In 2010, performance management was replaced at the top of the list by desktop analytics with 33.3 percent of respondents reporting that they intend to evaluate desktop analytics for purchase in 2011. Following closely behind on the shopping list was performance management with 31.3 percent of respondents. Third place on the shopping list and making a first appearance in the top three was e-learning with 30.4 percent of respondents.

In terms of products that have already been funded for purchase in 2011, desktop analytics also tops the list followed closely by agent desktop software/CTI. We found the attention being paid to the agent desktop interesting given the way desktops have not been a top-of-mind efficiency consideration in the past. The industry appears to be waking to the potential productivity power that the agent desktop offers.

Click here to read the full newsletter.

Click here to subscribe to the In Queue newsletter.

This excerpt is pulled from the article in the NACC In Queue Newsletter.  Click here for the full text.

On September 29th, Verint® Systems introduced the Impact 360® Text Analytics™ solution for their Customer Interaction Analytics™ portfolio (Whew. Writing all those trademark symbols wears me out). This new offering is the result of a partnership between Verint and Clarabridge, Inc., a text analytics company well-known in marketing circles.

This excerpt comes from an article on ITBusinessEdge.com.  Click here for the full article.
Originally posted on ITbusinessedge.com by Michael Vizard Sep 30, 2010 10:22:53 AM

One of the bigger challenges facing business managers today is the number of customer touch points they have to manage and monitor. Besides worry about what might be happening in, for example, a store or on the phone, there are now thousands of conversations taking place on social networks that can affect the business.

To address this issue, Verint Systems is adding speech and text analytics based on its own technology and technology from Clarabridge to its suite of tools for managing customer interactions across multiple channels.

According to Daniel Ziv, vice president of customer interaction analytics for Verint Systems, businesses scramble to get in front of a customer issue before it becomes a major problem. By including analytics in its offerings, IT organizations that use the Verint software can mine data collected from social networks, call centers and sales reports to identify potential issues.

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11/3/2010 Columbus, OH Verint Creative Practices Workshop - Columbus, OH  (View Other Cities) Wednesday, November 3, 2010 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.   Westin Columbus 310 South High Street Columbus, OH   Join the Network Linked In Twitter Facebook Agenda Highlights (Download the full agenda) Verint® Creative Practices workshops are a great place to meet other contact center managers and users. At these free, half-day events you’ll learn interesting and creative best practices from industry experts. Workforce Optimization Tips and Tricks Vicki Herrell, Executive Director of the Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) and Oscar Alban, Industry Evangelist and Speaker, Verint Join industry thought leaders from the Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) and Verint as they present some of the top tips in areas including quality monitoring/recording, workforce management, analytics and contact center optimization. Customer Presentation Brynn Palmer   Extreme Workforce Optimization - How Far Can You Go? Oscar Alban, Industry Evangelist and Speaker, Verint How far can your business go with workforce optimization? Discover how you can leverage today’s technology, people and processes to drive results within the contact center and into the enterprise. Workforce Optimization Breakout Groups - (2 sessions) Workforce Management –Vicki Herrell, Society of Workforce Planning Professionals Customer Interaction Analytics –Diego Lomanto, Verint Back Office and Desktop Process Analytics – Eden Anderson, Verint

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10/21/2010 Philadelphia, PA Verint Creative Practices Workshop - Philadelphia, PA  (View Other Cities) Thursday, October 21, 2010 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.   Philadelphia Marriott West 111 Crawford Avenue West Conshohocken, PA Join the Network Linked In Twitter Facebook Agenda Highlights (Download the full agenda) Verint® Creative Practices workshops are a great place to meet other contact center managers and users. At these free, half-day events you’ll learn interesting and creative best practices from industry experts. Customer Experience Driven Operations – What Leaders Need to KNOW and DO Kathleen Peterson, PowerHouse Consulting Today’s customer experience affects tomorrow’s profit. Customer experience optimization relies on operational savvy to meet both the needs of the customer and the needs of the business. Take away seven “Need to Know’s” and work on the “What to Do’s” with others facing similar challenges. Verint Customer Presentation: Learn how a leading company is using Verint Impact 360® Workforce Optimization to gain deeper insight into its performance – and leveraging this intelligence to drive service quality and business optimization. Workforce Optimization Tips and Tricks  Vicki Herrell, Executive Director of the Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) Learn top tips in areas including quality monitoring/recording, workforce management, analytics and contact center optimization. Extreme Workforce Optimization - How Far Can You Go? Kristyn Emenecker, Verint  How far can your business go with workforce optimization? Discover how you can leverage today’s technology, people and processes to drive results within the contact center and into the enterprise. Workforce Optimization Breakout Groups - (2 sessions) Workforce Management – Vicki Herrell, Society of Workforce Planning Professionals Customer Interaction Analytics – Shannon O’Conner, Verint Back Office and Desktop Process Analytics – Steve Williams, Verint

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10/19/2010 Dallas, TX Verint Creative Practices Workshop - Dallas, TX  (View Other Cities) Tuesday, October 19, 2010 8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.   Marriott Las Colinas 223 West Las Colinas Blvd Irving, Texas Join the Network Linked In Twitter Facebook Agenda Highlights (Download the full agenda) Verint® Creative Practices workshops are a great place to meet other contact center managers and users. At these free, half-day events you’ll learn interesting and creative best practices from industry experts. Is It Time to Update the Golden Rule? Brynn Palmer, The Customer Experience Doctor In a transforming global economy, can our traditional customer service methods support consumers requirements for service? How will your organization meet the “service expectations” of today’s customer?  Delivering Great Performance with Speech Analytics Verint Customer Presentation In this case study summary, a leading provider of financial services and insurance shares it s experience using speech analytics to hone in on – and enhance – employee performance. Workforce Optimization Tips and Tricks Vicki Herrell, Executive Director of the Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) Learn top tips in areas including quality monitoring/recording, workforce management, analytics and contact center optimization. Extreme Workforce Optimization - How Far Can You Go? Oscar Alban, Industry Evangelist and Speaker, Verint How far can your business go with workforce optimization? Discover how you can leverage today’s technology, people and processes to drive results within the contact center and into the enterprise.   Workforce Optimization Breakout Groups - (2 sessions) Workforce Management –Vicki Herrell, Society of Workforce Planning Professionals Customer Interaction Analytics – David Singer, Verint Back Office and Desktop Process Analytics – Rajeev Venkat, Verint