Traditional call centers were both an asset and a liability to the organization as they fulfilled a need by operating as a point of contact for the customer, yet they also incurred significant cost without directly driving revenue. Over the years, the traditional telephone-based call center has morphed into the multichannel contact center, offering customers the ability to contact the center via phone, e-mail, Internet, SMS, chat, fax and even more.
With this increased use of these alternative channels, it is important for the contact center to understand how much of its traffic is flowing through these channels and how best to manage them for optimal performance.
Source: CRM Daily, http://www.crm-daily.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0020003U77EU