For call centers, staying competitive and in sync with customer needs will determine whether or not they survive in this highly competitive marketplace. Many call centers place customer service at the top of their list of ways to make business better and remain competitive.
But as 3C Contact Services tells its partners, integrating new computer technology is another way call centers can stay ahead of their competition and better serve their clients.
Here are a few simple steps call centers can take to set themselves apart from their competitors:
Integrate the Web
One of the easiest ways for your call center to have an edge over your competition is to integrate the Internet with your solutions. Using the Internet to make phone calls and utilizing interactive voice response systems will reduce costs and increase efficiency at your company—this will give you an edge over your competition.
Cloud, or “Internet-based,” computing is also essential to your business as it allows your employees to operate software or access essential files over the Internet from any device, instead of solely accessing these resources from their desktops. This also cuts the cost of managing your own IT infrastructure as large amounts of data can be stored on the cloud.
Create Unique Strategies
If you ask a veteran call center agent what makes a business work, they will likely tell you that a business needs to be unique. Companies who want to succeed shouldn’t take a “cookie-cutter” approach to the way they do business. To that end, many call centers are creating unique strategies when it comes to product and service development, marketing, distribution, and research. Knowing what’s unique about your products and services and designing a specific strategy to develop and distribute your products and services is the key to success for many organizations.
Consider Mergers
Many of the top call centers worldwide are forming partnerships with businesses that offer similar services. Joining forces with another call center can be highly profitable—and it can also increase call center jobs because of the increased demand. Be sure to do your research first. Make sure that a merger with another organization will be a good fit.
Introduce Video Conferencing
An increasing number of call centers are integrating video conferencing with their customer service. Speaking with a call center agent over the phone, through instant messenger, or via e-mail has a cold, impersonal feel to it; but speaking to an agent via video adds a level of human interaction to the exchange. Your agents will be able to better gauge the caller’s mood and tailor the call to fit their needs.
Make It a Game
More call centers are beginning to “gamify” their marketing process. For example, customers can score points or compete with other clients. A set of rules can be created to make the process more interesting. This route encourages customer engagement with a specific product or service with the added bonus of making it more interesting for your agents.
In fact, there is also an effort underway to gamify call center jobs. If your agents are bored with making calls, they will likely seek other employment opportunities, which can lead to a high turnover rate—something that plagues many call centers. If you engage your agents, they are more likely to stay with your company.
In this rapidly growing industry, call centers that fail to take proactive steps to stay competitive run a very real risk of being left in the dust. 3C Contact Services provides professional call center solutions designed with customer service at the forefront. For more information on our contact center solutions, contact us today.
