As almost any businessperson will attest, elevation and prioritization of the customer has been the primary focus of many corporate strategies over the last several years.
Correspondingly, the market for customer relationship management (CRM)-related services has experienced substantial growth. New research from IDC reveals that the worldwide CRM services market will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6% to reach $45.5 billion in 2006.
The U.S. CRM services market is expected to total over $18 billion in 2006, a growth rate well above that of the overall U.S. IT services market.
One area of CRM that has experienced particularly strong growth is the market for outsourced customer care services. In almost all cases, a diverse array of players with varying niche or generalized offerings have been able to capitalize on this burgeoning market opportunity in the customer care services space. IDC research indicates that the worldwide customer care services market, consisting of customer care outsourcing and CRM consulting services, represented a $34.9 billion opportunity in 2001. IDC forecasts this market to reach $90.3 billion by 2006
"In the coming years, we expect this market opportunity to continue its path of expansion and growth into new arenas of service," said Brian Bingham, program manager of IDC's CRM and Customer Care Services research program. "As a result, service providers can expect to see a furtherance in the revenue opportunities from clients in search of CRM strategy consultation and outsourced customer care services over the next five years."
IDC's top recommendations for CRM service firms and customer care service providers include: advocate an incremental approach to CRM, but within a long-term vision; use the diversity of the CRM services ecosystem to advantage; consider a blended "design and build" plus "operate" approach to CRM services; focus on delivering value to clients'; expand vertical-industry expertise; and be receptive to partnering.
The research in this release comes from two new studies published by IDC's CRM and Customer Care Services research program.