You might think that contact centers are something only large enterprises need, or that they are an expensive luxury which couldn’t possibly fit your company’s budget.
The reality is that when it comes to contact centers, size does NOT matter, and there are a variety of models and options to fit your company’s needs AND pocketbook.
Even if you think the old fashioned way of answering calls is working just fine for your company… it’s worth taking a moment to make sure. Why? Because times have changed. Today’s customers demand quick and easy access to what they need, and that means they want to be able to reach you on the first try and through a variety of channels. When a customer calls you, they want their call to go to the right person and not have to wait on hold, leave a voicemail, or have to repeat their story five times to each person they’re transferred to. Having intelligent call routing and access to customer account information has become a standard expectation.
This is compounded with the long list of ways that modern consumers expect to reach a business. These days people seek information, answers, help, resolution and support through more than just their phone. They use the web, social media, chat, and email to contact businesses. If they can’t easily reach you…they are likely to stop trying and go somewhere else.
Advances in technology coupled with the many ways customers expect to communicate with companies make contact centers indispensable for business of all shapes and sizes. Still not sure it’s something you need to look into?
Well, here are 3 reasons why you could be in sore need of a contact center and don’t even realize it:
- Customer Satisfaction and Retention
Challenge: Every customer wants something different….and they want it NOW!
Contact Center Solutions: Response-time monitoring, Call routing, Call Ques, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), CRM integration
Contemporary customers expect an immediate response and timely resolution.
This is number one on the list because it is number one in relation to long-term business viability. As already mentioned, we live in the microwave era of instant-gratification. How can you accommodate this, however, when call peak times vary and every call is unique? You add a contact center solution.
With this simple add-in, gone are the days when calls are missed, dropped, callers are put on hold or transferred repeatedly, or overwhelmed personnel are scrambling to find answers that aren’t readily available. Potential buyers or repeat clients end up moving on to a competitor, and the company loses revenue in the process.
When you’re able to tailor the customer contact experience based on previous calls, orders or interactions, clients get a better overall experience.
- Staff and Productivity
Challenge: Not enough staff to handle call volume at busy times, and over-staffed on slow times
Contact Center Solution: automated Work Force Management, call monitoring, call reporting
Many small companies conduct the majority of their business over the telephone; therefore, most employees are expected to answer telephone calls. The result is employee frustration. How can they be expected to interact with a customer to provide a great customer experience when they don’t have time to do their jobs? Contact centers can solve this in two ways: staff stats reports and customer data records. A supervisor will receive regular status reports on how well the calls are being handled, providing valuable insight as to how to improve use of your staff and resources. Secondly, a contact center solution gathers key client information and keeps it with their record. As quickly as you can see caller ID, you will also see their history, buying behavior, or other important historical information. This reduces call time, holds, transfers, and frustration on both ends.
Saving employee time and strategically staffing based on real data means improved productivity, reduced costs, and improved customer satisfaction.
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- Profits, profits and also….profits
Challenge: Staying in the black
Contact Center Solution: optimize your resources for reduced overhead, increased sales and greater customer reach
Implementing the right contact center solution can make all the difference in achieving sales goals. Not only will you be able to strategically address pain points through detailed tracking and reporting, but your improved customer experience will lead to increased sales and a professional company image.
In addition to happy customers, Contact center software gives managers needed information for strategic decisions. The ability to analyze call volume, case categories, case times, up-sell rates and revenue per call are just of few of the reports available to assist the management team. The tracking and reporting of these key performance indicators (KPIs) of key performance indicators (KPI) lead to accurate forecasting and enhanced employee performance.
All of this adds up to increased revenue.
How do you know what type of contact center solution is a good fit for your company? Talk to your trusted telecommunications consultant– there are many choices and most can be taken for a test drive to see how they would fit your needs and streamline your operations.
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