Call centers are often called the ‘face of the company’. A quality call center is a valuable asset for any business. Apart from acting as point-of-contact for customers, call centers are a platform for businesses to engage in building customer relationships.
Over the years, there has been a lot of talk about how call centers need to evolve to meet the expectations of customers. With the innovations in information technology, customers are looking at quick resolutions of their queries. Along with the conventional option of calling a contact center, people are looking at other avenues, such as email, social media, video downloads/chats, etc., to seek redressal of their grievances.
It is important for a call center director to be abreast with the changes in the customer service industry landscape. Adapting to the shifting trends is a crucial part of any business, and call centers are no different. You need to be on the lookout for how you can incorporate the emerging trends in your organization while ensuring that customer service is not hampered. Let us try to understand what customers expect from call centers in the current times.
· Easy Access to Agents
In a bid to make more customers self-serve, call centers are putting more and more options on the IVR, but a downside of this is that it has become tedious for an average customer to speak to a customer service rep. While introducing self-service options is a good thing, call centers should also keep in mind that many callers are more comfortable with the option of an agent doing things for them. Therefore, having a default number that directly connects a customer to a rep can be beneficial.
Accurately forecasting how many calls your center will receive is another step in providing quick customer rep access to customers. Making a customer wait on the line for long periods can be detrimental for the reputation of your brand. Customers today are more expressive than before, and they are increasingly using social media sites to vent their frustration about a bad call center experience. Therefore, you need to ensure that you have enough staff to cater to the call volume even at peak hours.
· Quick Redressal of Problems
Customers want to get their problems solved quickly. In today’s world, nobody has the time to deal with an agent who is not adept at solving customer issues. Therefore, it becomes important for call centers to invest the time and effort in providing adequate training to their agents before they start taking live calls. This is especially important for those agents who work in the technical department. Agents need to have the know-how about the issues and they should try to solve it in the first call itself.
· No Language Barriers
While outsourcing is great for the business economically, you also need to ensure that your customer service levels are not being impacted by this. Most customers today complain about the difficulty in talking to someone who doesn’t have a good command over English, or with someone who has a heavy accent. A lot of companies have had to bring their call centers back after numerous complaints of language barriers.
Again, it all comes down to the training that is provided to offshore reps. Companies that spend a lot of time imparting high-quality voice & accent training to their reps have a definite edge over others who think that such programs are a ‘waste of time’.
Another way to deal with this issue is by having a small domestic call center which will provide training and assistance to offshore workers. This center can also help in dealing with those cases where a customer is adamant that he wants to speak to a compatriot.
· Multiple Avenues of Customer Services
As we discussed previously, the innovations in information technology has brought in a sea change in the way customers seek information. A lot of people have the latest apps on their smartphones which helps them in getting latest updates while they are on the go. Therefore, it is important that call center service take these changing trends into account and leverage them for providing an enhanced customer service experience. Dedicated apps, email chats, instructional videos, etc., all these can help in providing better services to your consumers. This can also help to deal with the language barrier issues as most offshore workers are proficient in writing.
These were few things that consumers accept from their call center experience. It is important that companies pay attention to the needs of their consumers and address their issues. Spending millions of dollars on marketing should be complemented with seamless customer service experience so you deliver on what you promise in your advertisements. Concluding, we hope that this article is beneficial to you.
