LONDON, October 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
The golden age of customer service delivered crowds of senior-level buyers to Olympia London for the 14th annual Customer Contact Expo, last week. From the moment the doors opened, the exhibition aisles and conference halls were full, and initial results from visitor analysis show that attendee numbers were in the region of 5,000 (exact numbers to follow once audit is complete). But not only were the aisles full, on the stands real business was being conducted. Over half of the visitors were actively looking to buy (an increase of 5% on last year), and 26% of the attendees were wielding budgets in excess of £500,000. 47% of the visitors were Head of Department level or above, showing that the key decision-makers recognise Customer Contact Expo as the event to do business at.
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Omni-channel, smart headsets, video customer service - there is no denying that this industry is being driven by the cutting edge of mobile applications that the public are consuming fervently. The resulting innovation coming from the industry suppliers is inspirational as they devise solutions that can handle masses of customers with the personal touch that the modern customer demands.
Networking, learning and purchasing were all top of the agenda with a huge variety of sectors represented including retail, travel, utilities, housing, and public sector.
Helen Curl, Exhibition Director, UBM Live said:
"We've changed the name and we've changed the proposition of the show. Modern day customer service delivery means multiple channels, integrated with social media, with apps, with web self-service, with all the standard customer channels through an omni-channel experience. We have so many solutions available here, from cloud to analytics and staff training, to help companies with delivering that 21st century customer experience."
Keeping the content fresh has always been top of the agenda. This year, the Customer Contact Conference was made free to attend, which ran alongside the other free educational sessions in the Solutions Theatres and Customer Service Excellence Arena. This ensured the halls remained packed throughout the two days, with visitors hungry to hear thought-leadership and share best practice with their peers.
"Excellent speakers with knowledge across various channels. (I 'm) looking forward to next year's event already." Senior Analyst, Allianz SE.
Industry leaders including: Interactive Intelligence, Cisco, Plantronics, Salesforce, New Voice Media, Sennheiser (UK) plus more, demonstrated their latest solutions to the high level customer service professionals attending. A record breaking sign up rate of 83% to the 2015 show demonstrates that there is huge confidence in the market and in the future of the Expo.
Commenting on the event, Dave Paulding, Regional Sales Director, UK, Middle East, Interactive Intelligence, who were headline sponsors for the event said:
"What we've seen at this event is how cloud is still high on the agenda for a substantial number of companies in the sector, and it's clear that the outstanding benefits are particularly suited to the growing demands of today's contact centres. Cloud, or Communications as a Service (CaaS), presents incredible opportunities in terms of growth, scalability and flexibility and the expo provided the perfect platform for us to pass on our experience in the contact centre arena and demonstrate our innovative offerings to existing and potential customers."
Another exhibitor, Bill Alexander, Red Letter Days, said "The economy is clearly driving a lot of this activity. We see businesses across the country very confident in purchasing and spending. We believe that the economy will remain strong for the coming years and we'll definitely be coming back to Customer Contact Expo."
The event will be running once again at the Olympia London on 30 September and 1 October 2015. For more information, please visit: http://live.callcentre.co.uk/expo
About Customer Contact Expo:
Customer Contact Expo brings together the entire customer service and contact centre industry under one roof each year at Olympia London. It is a must-attend event for anyone who works in customer service or customer contact, with leading technology suppliers showcasing innovation and an extensive educational programme.
About UBM Live:
UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets. Through premier brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, Facilities Show, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.
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