There’s good reason why the old term “call centers” is being dropped in favor “contact centers.” Centers that only allow contact through legacy telephone systems are getting blown away by their smarter competitors.
New technology based on IP telephony has helped smart contact centers reduce costs while improving customer satisfaction. That gives them a competitive edge, which translates into profits.
As a new year gets under way, it’s a good time to review the changes.
Excellence is expected
When a customer can only make contact by telephone on most legacy systems, there’s no way to know who’s calling until the conversation starts. But with IP communications, CRM software can be integrated more easily than in legacy system environments to give the agent a screen pop full of client information: exactly who is calling, past purchases, trending and more.
Customers love it when companies remember who they are. That strengthens loyalty and builds sales. Studies have shown that lack of strong relationships with customers erode competitive positioning by 15 percent to 20 percent annually.
But the smart contact center goes way beyond phones. By integrating the phones with web chat, text chat, web collaboration (when one person allows another to take control of their web browser to assist them), email, and fax, companies are letting customer pick the way that’s most convenient for making contact. That cuts hold times from minutes to seconds. Companies also can route each contact to the staff members who are strongest in each area. Even though some legacy systems allow you to “bolt on” a new feature, it’s often not possible to integrate management of the various contact methods, or queue calls holistically regardless of which media the customer has initiated contact through.
If call volume spikes unexpectedly, IP communications makes it easy to tap on-call “virtual” agents who can sign on from other offices in a network, or even from home. That quick response helps prevent over- or under-staffing. Some of the savings can be reinvested in hiring only the best talent available, wherever it’s available.
Consider General Pool & Spa, a wholesale distributor of swimming pool & spa supplies, which was “drowning” in phone calls with its legacy system. One regional office might be overloaded with calls while other had staff sitting idle. With its new ‘smart’ IP telephony system, sales calls are now centrally distributed. The new system catches the rollovers and automatically looks for the next available salesperson, including in-home salespeople. In effect, General Pool & Spa has one big office spread over many miles.
Meanwhile, an integrated contact center system can keep track of how it’s being used, generating reports and alerts that help managers better deploy their resources.
Smart customers demand smart companies
Customers may not always know the technology behind excellent service, but they have come to expect that excellence. Overnight delivery of a message was once considered fast. Now we expect to be able to order merchandise online with a click of a button. Teens expect to be able to communicate through text messages. A full 70 percent of information workers consider email to be their most prevalent and preferred means of communication. As society develops, instant messaging may one day take the lead.
A contact center that doesn’t keep pace will be left choking on dust.
Multi-channel systems allow for quick adjustments
Many contact centers have old “chassis” and “card-based” systems. To expand or upgrade, the system may need a new chassis or other hardware. Today’s new multi-channel systems based on IP telephony use software-based expansion. You don’t need a new machine each time the software is improved.
New multi-channel systems pay for themselves quickly. The average call center phone call costs between $3 and $8, but an IVR or web interaction costs only pennies. Diverting the most repetitive phone interactions to one or both of those alternatives can reap huge savings with maintaining or even improving the level of customer satisfaction.
And don’t forget the value of outbound automated dialing. Some of today’s solutions have eliminated the telltale pause that makes many people hang up the phone.
One SOS non-profit client is completely funded through donations. When a donor misses a pledge date, it’s crucial to take action quickly. There’s an 80 percent chance of retaining the pledge if the non-profit contacts the donor within 30 days. Beyond 30 days, the retention rate drops to 10 percent. With only 10 agents and a dialer, this client has been able to contact all donors within 30 days of a missed pledge date. The CEO has said this is worth $100,000 a week.
Next steps
Does your contact center stack up to the demands of 2008? One way to find out is through a RealityCheck assessment.
Usually sold for $500 value, a full RealityCheck report will compare your center's performance against the rest of the industry, using 12 key performance indicators. You'll also get a 30 minute consultation with SOS to go over the performance calculations and a comparison to the industry standards.
Questions? Please call Michelle Wolting of SOS on 916-577-1711 or email etips@team-sos.com
