infrastructure investments that you've already made in CRM and in other analytics tools. Companies can find ROI from big data in new places that they haven't seen before."
Additionally, companies are often able to recoup their investments. As an example, Henry points out that if a company uses big data to proactively notify customers with information that saves calls coming into the contact center. "It's a lower cost to serve because there are [less] interactions, such as not having to do transfers."
There's also the loyalty chestnut that can come into play by using big data. For example, when customers come into the contact center, they might be transferred several times. Or they may enter the contact center digitally, such as through a Web site or chat, and then they may have to re-explain their issues.
"The context is lost, and that's a big driver of disloyalty," Henry says. "Trust is built over time through a consistent experience. [You can] deliver a great experience consistently that's predictive, proactive, personalized, and seamless by sharing data."
Big data can also save companies money by ferreting out what's going on behind the scenes to identify customer behavior.
"Companies are trying to reduce the overall amount of calls that they take, and it isn't always a self-service challenge," Storm says. "Sometimes it's trying to be preventative to say, 'What would prevent this customer from ever having to make this first call?' If you can find out the root cause behind some interactions, then they can be avoided."
Taking the Plunge
Many industry experts agree that it's better to start small when considering deploying a big data program.
"We recommend that companies focus on an area and then scale big because data can be collected, contained on a system, stored, and then exported to bigger data projects," Henry says.
Herrell believes that companies should undertake a big data project to solve a specific problem.
"You already know all this stuff about your customers but you may, for example, have this high turnover," she says. "If big data can help you better understand why your customers are leaving you, that would be a huge savings."
Of course, companies need to be competitive, and using big data in the call center can help enormously.
"Companies need to be ahead of the curve so that they can intelligently understand what's on their customers' minds, [leading] to better innovation and selling more products," Herrell says.
Reed echoed those thoughts. "Customers have higher expectations today," he says. "With all the competitive differentiation and in a more commoditized world, the customer experience is becoming more and more important. If data is not being used, then that company is going to fall behind. That data is there for everyone to grab. It's an imperative: use the data or perish."