Marketing vs. Customer Service vs. IT vs. Operations: Who "Owns" the Contact Center? Who Will?

The following is an excerpt from Call Center IQ's "Executive Report on the Future of the Contact Center." Driven by exclusive market research and enhanced by expert commentary, it will be made available for complimentary download this December.

We will also tackle the future of the contact center in our "Future Contact Center Open House," December 15-17. Not driven by theory and bland Powerpoint presentations, this free online event is comprised of case study success stories. Each session will reveal how an end-user organization overcame a particular contact center challenge. It will then demo the solution used to overcome that challenge. Secure your spot now!

Presented rhetorically as a pivotal business driver and in practicality as a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional source of customer engagement, the contact center nonetheless remains a customer service focus for the greatest percentage of organizations.

According to Call Center IQ’s annual survey, 48% of businesses situate their contact centers within the customer service "department." 25% do so within operations, while the deed to the contact center can be found in the C-level and marketing segments for 12% and 10% of organizations.

5% of businesses ascribe ownership to the information technology department.

On the one hand, the frequency of customer service ownership emphasizes the extent to which that function is seen as a legitimate, value item in today’s marketplace. Instead of merely looking at the contact center as an operational necessity or line of defense against the cost of customer engagement, businesses do see the merit in making a true commitment to serving customers. They see the value in allowing those attuned to customer needs to make decisions.

On the other hand, it also reflects a fairly orthodox view of today’s contact center function. An emerging notion that marketing should seize control of the contact center to better flesh out its value as an overall point of customer connectivity, for instance, has not gained notable ground in the business world.

And it will not. In fact, by the end of 2015, a greater number of contact centers will be situated in the customer service and operations departments.

51% of respondents—a majority--report that the customer service function will control the contact center at the end of 2015. 28% will instead provide sanctuary within the operations segment of the business.

To make those increases possible, the contact center will requisitely leave the clutches of the executive, marketing and information technology functions. The three will "own" the contact center in 9%, 8% and 3% of businesses, respectively.

Insofar as the contact center is due to primarily exist as a customer service or operations property, businesses will thus need to be more proactive in creating optimal unity behind the affected business segments.

Although it will not be a direct C-level task, the contact center will need representation at the proverbial table. That it will function without immediate executive oversight does not mean it is any less of a priority for—or any less responsive to—the C-suite.

Since marketing coexists with customer service under the broader customer engagement banner, barriers between the two must be completely obliterated. Marketing might not be in position to drive contact center practices for a significant portion of businesses, but mindfulness of the marketing department absolutely must serve as such a driver.

Given the lack of a surefire connection between IT objectives and contact center objectives, it is certainly not surprising that businesses will remain bearish on situating their centers within the IT function. But insofar as the systems that are often sourced and purchased—and almost always managed—by IT play a pivotal role in the customer experience, closeness remains a top priority.