In 2000, customer contact centre services generated output value of about 7 billion yuan (US$843 million) countrywide.

"Domestic companies' growing awareness that competition goes beyond price wars will create a large demand for integrated customer contact centers,'' explained Zhang Zhaoxin, general manager of Beijing Yong Xin Lian Xun Technology Development Co Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Beijing Telecom.

The demand for better customer service is also likely to be boosted by the large influx of foreign companies expected to occur after the country's accession to the World Trade Organization, he said.

Zhang's company has recently established strategic partnerships with HKT Teleservices Technology Consulting (Beijing) Ltd -- a fully-owned subsidiary of PCCW HKT managing 3,000 call centre agent positions in Asia -- to offer customer contact solutions for companies in China.

Liu Shuguang, an official with the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce, said integrated customer contact centre service, essential call centres that offer extended customer services, is in the initial development stages in China.

"Domestic companies with call centers are mainly those in sectors such as banking, insurance and telecommunications,'' he said.

According to Liu, some Chinese companies still seem confused about the function of customer contact centers and fail to distinguish them from paging companies, since both of them look the same -- rows of people sitting in front of computers and answering phone calls via earphones.

"They don't know that customer contract centers are the bridge that links enterprises with their customers, through which the ideals of customer relationship management (CRM) can be achieved,'' he said.

Statistics indicate there are about 2 million assistants working for customer service centers in the United States. In China, there are only 60,000.

Aside from general unfamiliarity with the idea of customer service, Liu said many small- and medium-sized companies shy away from it because of the high cost of installing a customer contact center, somewhere in the range of 100,000 yuan (US$12,048) each seat.

In the United States and Europe, the high setup cost and huge management burden have generated a large demand for customer service center outsourcing services, according to Chan Wing Key, general manger of HKT Teleservices Technology Consulting (Beijing) Ltd.

Corporations define their customer service objectives and marketing strategies and let outsourcing call center service providers implement and operate the contact center on their behalf, he said.

According to Chan, "more and more companies in Asia are adopting the flexibility of outsourcing their call center services.''

The outsourcing of service will be useful in helping Chinese companies increase their competitiveness, he said.

"Enterprises which have customer contact centre services enjoy 15 to 20 percent more sales compared to those that don't,'' Chan explained.

Chinese people first encountered the idea of such services several years ago when free "800'' telephone numbers made their debut in the country. But not every company can afford the cost of maintaining an "800'' number, which involves paying for calls from customers that come from other provinces, or even other countries.

(China Daily 04/17/2001)