Virtual call centers for small businesses are the next innovative method of providing excellent customer service to your domestic and international clients. This business model involves hiring virtual call center agents who have the option of either working from remote locations such as the comfort of their own homes or being situated in small-scale call centers amongst a select group of their peers. It’s a cost-effective and intelligent business move for startup companies, new entrepreneurs, and freelance workers because this setup opens up your business to a much wider range of customers from all over the world.
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What Is a Virtual Call Center?
As mentioned, virtual call centers offer employees the option of working from remote locations and providing exceptional and convenient customer service solutions to your clients whenever they need it. Employees are allowed to make their own hours, which is great for international customers who are on a different time zone.
Through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) software connections, agents can stay in contact with the main server that’s provided by your company from anywhere in the world. That way, if a caller needs to be connected to another agent or an employee in a managing position, the agent can easily transfer the call immediately. Employees should be given access to all company information and databases so that they can conveniently access customer information as needed and adhere to proper security protocols.
How Do Virtual Call Centers Work?
Virtual call centers are operated by central VoIP software that allows all your agents to stay connected to the main network in case they need to offer support to one another. While most experienced call center agents are perfectly capable of handling their own affairs and providing solutions to customer problems, they’ll still need support from their coworkers or upper management from time to time.
Internationally based virtual call centers also allow small businesses to manage higher call volumes than ever before. This is a huge perk if you find that your business is growing at a much faster pace than you anticipated or if you’re managing multiple businesses simultaneously.
In fact, more often than not, virtual call center employees are tasked with representing multiple companies at the same time. When calls come in from phone lines that are associated with various companies, the caller ID display will showcase the name of the company the customer is calling for as well as the call source. That way, the chances of mixing up companies or using the wrong greeting are very minimal. Seasoned employees know to double check the caller ID and circumvent the potential for confusion.
Furthermore, since employees are able to set their working hours, there’s a lot more flexibility involved than if they had to commute to a physical building for work that operates within specified hours of operation.
What Are the Benefits of Virtual Call Centers for Small Businesses?
As with any type of business model, virtual offices come with a unique set of benefits and some challenges. Before making a decision based on this information, however, it’s important that you take the time to consider the needs of your business and whether this is a feasible route for you to take. Do you anticipate that your business is going to see enough growth in the near future to warrant implementing the use of virtual call centers or are you planning on staying local for the foreseeable future?
This is an important question to ask yourself because it could determine whether or not you need to have employees working in dispersed locations.
Once you’ve considered all of that, it’s time to think about the advantages and disadvantages your business stands to face should you decide to move forward with virtual call centers.
One of the main advantages is the fact that this business model gives your customer service agents the coveted opportunity to work from home. Single parents, people with limited mobility, or even those who are simply looking to supplement their main source of income can choose to work part-time or full-time hours depending on their capabilities.
Another advantage is that virtual call centers have been proven to significantly minimize employee turnover rates for companies because of the convenience they offer. Employees are generally more motivated to supply top notch customer service when they’re working in a stress-free environment and don’t have to commute to work. Physical call centers can sometimes be loud and rife with distractions, especially during peak hours when call volumes are particularly high.
Offering reward incentives to high-performing agents is also a great way to keep them motivated to constantly improve upon their customer service efforts. For instance, presenting your best employees with desirable rewards not only demonstrates how much you appreciate them, but it also gives their coworkers something to aspire to and pushes them to work harder to succeed.
There are a few disadvantages to this business model as well, but they’re easily surmountable. The main concern is that employees that work from home typically have to rely on their own electrical and Internet connections, which means if a storm hits in their area, they could be cut off from the main network for an indeterminate amount of time. Another potential con is the lack of face-to-face contact your team will have with one another.
There’s a simple solution to both of these problems. Hosting weekly or biweekly meetings and get-togethers can help your team remain in contact with one another and maintain a cohesive working relationship amongst colleagues.
Your search for “best call center companies” ends with 3C Contact Services. As one of the leading communications and customer service providers in North America, we’ve helped numerous small businesses expand their customer bases and maintain strong relationships with their existing customers. Contact us today to learn more about how our virtual call center for small businesses can help you grow your business.
