One of the best things about customer call centers is that they can help your business grow and make it more efficient.
In fact, the only reason your organization might not benefit from a center’s services is if you’re OK with it staying the same. That means the same amount of calls from customers needing help, people wanting to know more about your business, or people interested in buying whatever product or services you’re selling. It means the phones probably aren’t going to be ringing off the hook– they simply may not be ringing at all.
Instead, a customer call center can help in all sorts of helpful ways, everything from offering extra support during busy times or it can be the support you need to allow your people to take breaks once in a while. Call centers also offer a highly trained and personable workforce. Its primary focus is to help you serve your customers even better and ultimately help your business grow.
Customer service centers are growing in popularity. But there are still company owners and managers, perhaps even in your organization, who may wonder how investing in a center can truly benefit them.
The following call center task list can offer some useful suggestions for those wondering “what’s in it for me?” when considering this type of customer service expertise.
1. Answering services
Yes, you may already have someone on staff whose job it is to answer the phones and send callers in the right direction. But in most organizations, he or she goes home at the end of a standard business day and takes breaks. But a customer call center can keep up the same level of customer care and reception service around the clock, which is something that can be appreciated by people who aren’t able to call during your business hours. This can include customers in other time zones or other countries if that’s part of your market. Call center representatives can also jump in at times when your receptionist has high volume of calls and can only answer one at a time.
2. Appointment assistance
Whether callers arrange an appointment or the customer call center staff calls customers to schedule something, it frees up your staff to focus on other services. This extra personal service can also help reduce no-shows or last-minute cancellations especially if combined with automatic reminders, another service a call center will offer.
3. Disaster relief
If the unexpected happens and you suddenly receive high call volume or employees are unable to come into work or perform their usual tasks, a customer call center can answer phones and assist callers. In some cases, the center may be located in another part of the country, so it isn’t directly affected by the disaster, but will answer the phone as if they’re right there. This provides a sense of calmness and normalcy to your customers.
4. Event registration
Signing up for an event could be a perfect way for potential customers to get to know your company and become actual customers, so it’s vital that they receive impeccable service from the first call. If the registration process goes smoothly and they don’t have to wait long to be helped, they’ll form a great first impression that can potentially lead to future business and hopefully them spreading the word to their friends about the easy process. When planning important items to include on a call center task list, this one is a must.
5. Business process outsourcing
You may prefer that your staff give priority to larger, more critical tasks during their normal days, but they may often be bogged down daily with simple duties like helping customers with the basic technical questions. However, a customer call center can easily provide assistance with these tasks, including the ability to answer incoming calls, handle routine customer service requests and assist with a variety of technical needs.
6. Bilingual Support
As the U.S. population grows, the number of non-English speakers increases, especially those who speak Spanish. There are about 52 million Spanish speakers to date. It’s increasingly important that call centers offer staff who speak English and Spanish – more than just someone in the workplace who knows a few words. Customers will appreciate being assisted in their native language and also understand the answers given.
7. Help Desk
A trained customer call center can easily provide tech support and expertise to callers. As technology continues to advance, no matter what products or services your business offers there’s bound to be customers that need additional support in understanding or operating it. Companies may not have the capacity to handle the call volume that comes their way but may appreciate outsourcing these skills – and having a call center to help support their customers.
8. Lead Generation
Besides keeping existing customers satisfied, most businesses also focus on always bringing in new customers. Capturing and generating leads and prospects is something that can be added to your call center task list. It can offer supplemental service to a different area, or even primary lead growth if your sales team doesn’t know the process.
9. Automated Services
Today’s tech-oriented customer often likes receiving automated notices, which can include texts, emails, or phone calls. It could include notices of appointment, confirmation of service or even a confirmation about an inquiry. This service makes it convenient for the customer, not to mention it streamlines the reminder process for you.
Overall, a call center can save your organization plenty of time and money. While the duties and responsibilities of your organization may grow and change over time, a call center will always provide steady, but high quality, service. The team is always highly trained and responsive as well.
If you’re looking for other reasons to seek the services of a call center, check out this helpful guide to discover how to maximize profits and help your team focus on excellence.
