A well-managed call center is one of the most valuable tools for relationship building. However, improperly managed call centers pose substantial risks for damaging relationships and alienating potential customers. Evaluating your workflow processes is one way to make sure your organization is capitalizing on positive potential and overcoming negative challenges across all touch points.
Here are three questions to help you find out if your call center is working to your advantage or if it’s time to reconsider your current strategies.
Are we hiring best-fit employees for our organization?
Customers expect superior service. Whether the caller has a problem with a product they have already purchased, are gathering information about your company, or interested in scheduling an appointment for service, callers expect the agent answering the phone to have solutions.
In order to provide exceptional service and deliver high-value solutions, each agent needs the knowledge and expertise to access company information across diverse technologies. Hiring skilled employees isn’t enough to solidify customer relationship, you also need to:
- Provide on-going training on emerging technology and new products.
- Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
- Create an environment that encourages creativity while maintaining the desired company culture.
- Fine-tune onboarding policies for efficiency, effectiveness and productivity.
Are we using a multichannel system?
Ideally, your business needs to connect with clients via multiple channels– Internet, social media, email, telephone, etc. Most companies, especially those with a limited online presence, traditionally develop telephone and email support strategies as their main channel. It’s critical to fine-tune your engagement processes to fit your clientele and their diverse channels.
Today, the majority of consumers use mobile devices every day. This means call centers need to optimize communication and content for mobile viewing. Whether you use drip email campaigns or have an IFTTT automated Twitter lead generation program, your agents must be familiar with your target audience’s peak engagement times. Responding to comments or inquiries promptly is instrumental for building trust and credibility.
When designing a best-fit multichannel strategy:
- Identify your target audience engagement periods.
- Enable appropriate response schedules.
- Identify your main channels and ancillary channels.
- Train agents to spot changes in online behavior; then redefine your strategies to give customers what they need, when they need it.
Are we making the most of our organization?
Each department has a unique place in your organizational structure. Closely examining how each department works individually and collectively will help you streamline your operation to better serve your customers. Your call center is the hub that connects sales, administration, customer support, production and service centers. Replacing duplicative efforts and redirecting calls away from sales to a skilled, fully trained call center agent will vastly improve inter-office and intra-office communication and improve customer satisfaction levels.
A well-oiled contact center takes pressure off other departments, enabling personnel to focus on their main job duties and not routing calls to most appropriate team members. To achieve maximum benefit from your call center, you’ll need to create a unique, specialized unit designed to help you streamline workflow throughout the company. The result? Happier employees, increased customer satisfaction and more opportunities to improve revenue potential. Contact us for a free quote today!
