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5 Easy Steps to Build a Successful Customer Support Team

A functional customer support team is essential to the success of your business. Many customers view the support team as the face of the company, and an unpleasant customer service experience can leave them with a bad feeling about the company as a whole and create detractors you don’t need. To avoid this, you must have the right team and customer support services in place from the start. In today’s competitive environment this can and should be the differentiator, especially for a call center team. Here are a few steps that can be taken to build and maintain a successful team. Implement Effective Support Techniques Having the right support techniques in place can help to ensure that clients receive uniformed, quality care every time they contact or are contacted by the company. All techniques should promote treating the customer as the highest priority and must ensure that the interaction is as pleasant as possible. If it is feasible, it can be beneficial to implement outbound customer service practices where the representatives contact the customers on a regular basis to ensure that they are not having any issues. This proactive approach can set you apart and such actions go a long way in the customer’s mind. Utilize Data in Decision-Making You pay for data to be collected on calls and you should get your money’s worth. The collected data can be very helpful during the decision-making process. Things like rings before call is picked up, length of call, hold time, common complaints, FAQ can help you design and maintain the right type of techniques. You must review frequently as customer’s priorities can change, and you must be prepared to change with them. Knowing, tracking and comparing such data can help you to make proper decisions as far as what techniques may need to be deployed, improved, or in some cases removed. Encourage a Team Mindset Customer service practices are most effective when everyone is on-board with the process. No matter who the customer reaches everyone should and must be on the same page. Implement and encourage an “all-hands on deck” mindset. As all team members support everyone, not only will it help to boost customer satisfaction, but it can also create comradery within the group as they can all take pride in receiving positive reviews, high NPS, and in turn build confidence and boost moral within the group. Create a Reward System Everyone enjoys being rewarded and acknowledged for hard work. A reward system is not only a great way to show appreciation, but it also helps to make your customer support team feel valued. Studies show that employees who feel valued tend to be happier and loyal to their companies. You should always reward your team for great work! Set up weekly, monthly, and quarterly recognition that employees can look forward to and strive to achieve. Automate Wisely There are a number of customer support services available that your company can take advantage of. However, you must be mindful to only deploy automated services that make sense and provide the image you want to display. Many customers find too much automation to be impersonal which can leave them with a bad impression. It is important to find the right balance between automation and your customer support team. Research, do focus groups, and be prepared to change what must be changed as often as it needs to be changed as you go through the process of what works and what doesn’t. As you strive to implement or improve your customer service tactics, consider following these steps. Not only can they help you to enhance your customer satisfaction rating, but they may also lead to a more efficient and productive support team that will ultimately lead to more customers.

3 Smart Strategies to Achieve Sales Success in an Inbound World

It’s no secret that the sales market has made a massive shift. Rather than salespeople going to the customer, the customer is now going to the salesperson. Your inbound call center is perfectly positioned to increase your sales and do so in a way that benefits both your company and the customer. Learn three effective strategies for boosting your sales success and customer satisfaction. Get Proactive About Engaging Potential Customers The internet is one of the most powerful shopping and research tools for the modern consumer, which you’ve likely noticed. You can use this trend to improve your inbound sales by starting and joining a conversation with current customers and potential customers whenever they visit your whitepapers, blog or social network profiles. Customers are there for a reason, so you might as well use the opportunity to make a sale. The best way to do this is to make sure the customer gets the information he or she needs. With the right incentive and product or service details, the individual is likely to reach the conclusion that only your company’s products will do. Utilize the Power of Inbound Calls Customers who call your company are likely already intrigued by whatever you have to offer. With the right analytics, you already have a solid idea of the specific products in which the customer is interested, making it that much easier to supply them with exactly what they want. Just remember when you engage inbound customer that she or he is likely just as well informed about your services or products as you are, which means you and your customer service representatives and marketing team will need to work together to make a sale while taking proper care of the customer. Keep Your Sales Team Fully Captivated The lines are now a bit blurred when it comes to differentiating marketing from sales, which is why your sales team should cross-train with the marketing department. This could mean participating on the company’s social media pages, writing an occasional article or doing something else a salesperson may not consider part of her or his normal job responsibilities. This cross-pollination approach to sales is a great way to keep your sales team engaged by allowing them to better understand the services or products your company offers, which allows them to speak more intelligently about those services or products to the well-informed customer or caller. Something else to think about is the fact that keeping your sales team captivated can allow them to learn new sales techniques, some of which may shorten their normal sales cycle, which boosts their numbers. The old sales methods simply don’t work in the new sales and customer model. The faster your sales team realizes this, the more proficient they’ll be at their jobs. Now that you have the proper foundation for your inbound sales strategy, you and your sales, marketing and customer service teams are better positioned to take advantage of the new sales method. Put these tips to good use and watch your numbers soar. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Want to Captivate your Customers? Learn Storytelling

When it comes to customer acquisition, telemarketing services face an uphill battle. The overall perception of telesales campaigns among the public is generally on a downturn, and it takes innovation to keep people interested and listening. That is why storytelling has become such an essential tool for telemarketers looking to pitch people successfully, regardless of the product they are selling. Why It Works Narratives give people ways to identify with and dramatize the events of everyday life, and because of that, they allow for meaning to be constructed and shared between the listener and the storyteller. This narrative empathy is key to the reason why people find the stories they do particularly compelling, and learning to adapt in order to reach the listener is a prime skill that storytellers develop. By empowering your agents to become storytellers for your brand, you give them the opportunity to close the relationship gap between the brand and themselves. This makes it easier for them to identify with it, and it opens up a range of indirect lifestyle pitches. Ways of Constructing Stories Around Your Brand There are four main ways to construct stories around your brand: Allow agents leeway to recount their personal histories Tell the history of the product Tell the history of the firm and its background Tell the stories of other customers. By making room for these four techniques in your telesales campaign, you can empower your agents to perform better and close sales more quickly. Here is how. Personal Stories Allowing agents leeway to develop whatever personal stories they find fitting means taking a risk, that’s true. It also means inviting them to make earnest appeals to the customer based on their own experience with the company or the product, though. When your employees are happy and well adjusted, and when they have the right experience with your products, this can be a powerful way to connect to the listener by connecting the pitch to their needs on a more intimate level. Product Histories For products that represent a clear innovation or that have an interesting developmental backstory, giving the history of that product is another way that brands can get ahead. A product history gives customers an appreciation for the work that has gone into developing and refining the product, and it also answers practical questions like “Why do I need this?” without engaging with the formal pitches that customers have become resistant to. Your Company or Firm’s Story For brands whose marketing is intensely tied in to their brand personality, a firm history is another great way to connect to readers. Telling the story of how your company developed and why its employees are dedicated to the product in question gives readers a sense that this product represents the culmination of a longer-term goal. Other Customers’ Stories Last but not least, sharing reviews and feedback from other customers is a great way to let people know who your product appeals to and what they see in it, making it even easier for customers to imagine how they would use it in their own lives. Cultivating any of these approaches has benefits, but the strongest program for customer acquisition will involve folding all four techniques together and using them each to appeal to customers with a variety of needs and mindsets. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Think Beyond Telemarketing with Outbound Call Centers

When outbound marketing is used in a tactical way, it strengthens customer relationships and heightens engagement. Progressive companies are looking beyond the idea of telemarketing to the unique opportunity to build a relationship with customers and work to fully establish a brand with the current customer base. Outbound calling is a vital part of customer care, but must be used in the right way in order to engage customers and provide a pleasant experience. We have several core tasks that should be used to turn outbound sales into more of an attempt at building a relationship with the customer that is positive. With these three basic steps, the customer becomes more engaged and invested in a product or brand. New Customer Welcome First impressions are important, and how you greet your new customers plays directly into how they feel about your brand. Welcoming your new customers can create a memorable impression – either positive or negative. While it may be faster to outsource customer service or welcome new customers through email, you create a personal, friendly, warm vibe when you connect with new customers through a phone call. A personal call placed at the perfect time can set you off on the right foot with every customer. Your outbound call center agents should be offering assistance to those who are buying for the first time, explaining promos and perks and introducing any services the customer may be entitled to. Taking the Pressure Off Inbound The goal of an outbound agent is to anticipate what the customer will need and reach out to them before they have a chance to dial an inbound center. When done correctly, this removes a large amount of strain from the inbound call center, and provides a positive customer service experience for the consumer. In order to meet their goals, outbound agents must have a unique skill set and a close relationship with inbound agents. Data analytics should be used for outbound agents to connect current customer with the correct services and products. Insights are extracted through previous transactions to determine exactly which services can be helpful to a customer. Calling Triggered by Events Your outbound agents are essentially looking to connect with the customer at just the right time. In this sense, they are telemarketers that know when to make the call. Special occasions, anniversaries and birthdays are ideal times to reach out to customers and offer them a special promotion or product. If you know what is happening in your customer’s lives, then your agents are likely to get the timing just right with a phone call. Be Proactive About Customer Care Free up your inbound agents with an outbound call center that functions correctly. Your agents should be using proactive activities in order to take the pressure off your inbound center and provide exceptional customer service. Start the process with a simple welcome to new customers, and gather data about how customers respond to your efforts. Once you’ve identified your target market and how they respond to your changes, you can design additional programs that match their needs.

Communication is Key in Successful Vendor Management Programs

If you have a call center, then your success often relies on how well you can communicate and build solid relationships with your vendors. By no means do you want to have a strained relationship or lack of trust between you and those that are vital for your success. If you want to make long term relationships with your vendors, communication is the key. To make the best out of your business, follow these four tips. Communicate Expectations Make sure that your expectations are outlined and clear for your vendors to understand. Make sure that you set up meetings with all of the right people so that they know how they’re contributing to your goal & plan. The foundation needs to be clear and solid between you and vendors. Communicate Proactively Call center vendor management programs tend to do their worst when there isn’t consistent communication. If you aren’t in constant contact with your vendors, the relationship may begin to slip. Weekly meetings can help make sure that there is trust established between both parties. Communicate Plans One of the biggest mistakes that call center managers can make is to keep their goals and plans secret. It’s better to be open about them. Keep the line of communication open so that the vendor understands the kind of success your business is seeking. Additionally, if anything changes, you want to make sure that you relay it to your vendors. They should always be up to date with current information. Communicate with Key Vendors If some of your vendor managers offer a skill or service that is particularly critical to your success, you want to make sure to bring them to the table. Invite them to meetings where you’re going to be discussing key strategies. In many businesses, collaboration is really a building block of succeeding. Keep those lines of communication open and invite relevant vendors to your meetings. Communicate Rewards If your vendors are performing well, make sure that they know it. It’s imperative that you recognize those that are doing the best so that they might be able to motivate others. Monthly reviews can also help boost morale when it comes to those that are doing well. Recognition and rewards can attract vendors to you. At the end of the day, when you work in call center; vendor management is important. One of the vital components of your success, however, is your relationship with your vendors. The best way to be successful is to keep your communication strong.

Leveraging Your Live Chat: A QA-Based Approach

Live web chat is one of the most advanced channels in customer contact centers, and is a critical medium to provide unparalleled levels of customer service. While traditional nonverbal cues such as tone of voice, pauses in speech and other aspects are missing from these types of interactions, developing unique quality standards for live agents is a must. And for that reason, quality monitoring live chat interactions is vital. Personalization Is Key Scripted responses are useful in any contact center, but agents must be permitted to be personable and to tool their chats uniquely to the needs and sensibilities of each client. It’s alright for an initial acknowledgement of the customer’s presence to be pre-written, but allowing the rest of the communication to flow naturally and be extemporaneous is more likely to make clients feel valued. Offer Other Channels as Alternatives Live chat is incredibly convenient for many people. However, the agent should trust his or her judgement in cases when the request is complex, lengthy or involved. Other contact methods should be offered if this is the case. Listening Applies to Text-Based Interactions, Too In the quality monitoring process for live chat, it’s imperative to observe a representative’s listening skills. True, conversations are not being exchanged through an auditory medium. However, bringing an interaction to life with interpersonal exchanges, as well as empathizing with the client, are key tools for an agent to build rapport and trust. Paying attention here is crucial. Go Beyond the Metrics While speed to answer, length of interaction, and first call resolution statistics are useful for web-based contact, be careful not to fall prey to “tunnel vision.” The ultimate priority is customer satisfaction. Double-checking to make sure the inquiry has been answered is vital, and providing the client with additional information in case further support is needed is helpful. Equip Your Agents While professional writing skills should always be a priority, it’s even truer for live chat representatives. Agents must clearly communicate with the written word, and proper spelling, punctuation and grammar; uphold a professional image. Also, staff should be trained to quickly determine what the customers need and resolve the problem promptly, while maintaining a warm rapport. Quality Assurance for Continuous Improvement All of these practices work to improve live chat sessions. Meanwhile, it’s helpful to think of the quality monitoring process not only as a diagnostic but as a tool for crafting the interactions. Watching how clients respond in a text-based environment provides a lot of information on how to create standards, train staff, and focus on improvement. The end goal is a personalized, positive experience for customers. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Top Tips to Boost Your Tech Support Team

Good tech support with proper diagnosis and response is critical to customer satisfaction and a driving factor in achieving first call resolution. Make sure that you can provide the best tech support possible by implementing these six tips that will boost your tech support team and enhance their capability. Do not Jump to Conclusions. Listen Carefully and Evaluate the Problem Depending upon various factors, there could be a number of issues and causes associated with a technical problem. Therefore, it is important that the technician takes the time to ask all necessary questions. To aid in keeping customers calm, it can be helpful for technicians to explain why they must ask certain questions as they continue the troubleshooting process. This keeps the customer engaged by including them in the progression and assures them that the technician is working to address their issue. Gauge the Customer’s Technical Abilities I can’t tell you how many times I have been on the line with technical support and have repeated the same steps over and over not only myself, but with different tiers. This can become very frustrating to the user. When a tech support team member engages a customer on a reported problem, a technician may gauge a customer’s level of technical capability based on responses to specific questions. If a technician becomes aware that a customer may not be very familiar with the functionality of the equipment and/or software, it may help them in pinpointing a potential underlying issue with usage and allow the tech to respond accordingly by addressing the correct subject and not walking a user to unneeded troubleshooting procedures. On the other hand, those clients that seem quite proficient technically will need to be handled differently. Before support walks them through a seemingly endless list of procedures, it may prove beneficial to simply ask what steps they have already taken and go from there. Utilize Support Ticketing System Tickets are an important aspect of monitoring technical support and can be very useful in quickly addressing issues, especially if the customer has experienced similar instances in the past. Tickets will also provide a knowledgebase of information for future problems. In such cases, a clear support ticketing system can help a technician walk the customer through the same steps or suggest a new path, if the previous solution did not work. A proper support ticket should briefly describe: System and/or Software being used The Actual Issue Being Experienced History (If any) Date/Time Reported Contact Information Technician Assigned Known Changes (if any) Immediately Prior to Issue Once Closed (Include) Date/Time Closed Resolution Narrative Suggest Self-Service Solutions Many customers prefer the ability to find and implement solutions on their own or at their own pace. Therefore, the right self-service solutions can prove very beneficial to your technical support setup. An efficient self-service mechanism should provide solutions to common problems that customers have frequently faced in the past. Video tutorials and Knowledgebase are two of the most common self-service tools. Either way, it is a good idea to provide an a la cart format that allows individuals to narrow their search down to particular subjects, then comb through common issues and solutions associated with that topic. There should also be an option for customers to escalate to a technician should they not be able to solve the issue themselves. Going back to item (2), the technician can take the steps the customer has already taken into consideration when troubleshooting the problem. Simplify the Process Everyone loves short and sweet! Make sure the technical support process is well defined and understood by the technicians responsible for using it. It is usually best to avoid being too technical when providing solutions to customers. Whether it is self-service or technician lead, try to keep solution steps simple and to the point, and only provide step-by-step information when necessary or requested. Gathering feedback on the solutions offered is also critical to ensure their effectiveness. Feedback should come from the customers as well as the technicians themselves. Know When to Escalate It is important that technicians who serve as the first point of contact (Tier One) know when to escalate an issue to another team member or a higher tier. This is important to keep handle times down, ensure a higher percentage of First Call Resolved transactions, and drive up Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSAT). It also ensures traffic continues to flow smoothly and there is no backlog buildup. As you look to advance your tech support team, consider these tips. Not only will they help to keep your customers satisfied, but they may also help to ensure that your team runs smoothly and efficiently.

5 Ideas to Influence the Spirit of Your Contact Center

The happier your employees are, the more productive they become. You don’t want your call center employees to fall into the all too common trap of thinking that their job is boring or monotonous. Happily, there are some things you can do to influence the spirit of your contact center and turn it into an energetic and positive environment. Here are five surprisingly simple ideas: Create a Suggestion Box Your agents may have a lot on their minds, but do they feel free to express their opinions? A suggestion box gives employees an easy way to submit their thoughts. You can even make the box anonymous, which will encourage agents to be frank. Hold regular meetings to discuss which suggestions you may be able to implement into the workplace. Rotate Roles There is nothing like a fresh perspective to help your agents feel energized. Begin training employees to take on multiple roles. When they feel like they are learning something, job satisfaction will increase, and boredom will be less of an issue. This strategy can also boost retention, meaning that you spend fewer resources on juggling a revolving door of employees. Smile! It may be tough for your agents to maintain a positive outlook, particularly when they deal with irate customers. Give them a reason to smile. You can do this by printing out over sized, goofy photos. Each agent can keep one or two of these pictures at their desk so they can look up at any time and find a reason to chuckle. You can also try things like sending out funny emails and always having something encouraging to say. Use Automated Call-Backs When your call center gets busy, this can drive hold times into the stratosphere. When customers finally get to talk to an agent, they are frustrated, and the agent will have to deal with that negativity. When you use automated call-backs, hold times become a thing of the past, meaning that every conversation can begin on a positive note. Automated call-backs are also a great way to help meet the contact center’s service goals. Play Sports Boost off-site team-building by creating a few sports teams that your employees can join. Choose sports that are accessible for every level of athleticism. You’ll feel closer to your team and learn things about them that you never knew before! These fresh ideas will boost the spirit in your contact center and make your inbound & outbound call center operations as effective as possible. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Guarantee Outbound Sales Success with Metrics

On the surface, your call center is functioning just how it should. Your agents are regularly making calls, your employees are engaged with each other and they seem to be invested in the company. While it may appear that everything is going well, the only way to really judge your success with outbound sales is with metrics. Metrics are the cold, hard pieces of information that tell you exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Call center metrics help you evaluate the value of leads, the strength of the call script, how every agent is performing, and the speed of the technology your agents are using. All of this is valuable information when it comes to making your outbound customer service calls more successful. Call Attempts and Contacts If you want to know if your team is on track, the first place to start is with the rate of calls going out per agent, per campaign and per team. This is called attempts. Once you have your data and numbers in place, you have a comparison point for future campaigns. Now look at contacts from attempts. Looking at the call contacts can help you determine which teams/agents are struggling and which are being successful. Once you’ve pinpointed which are functioning correctly, look to them to figure out how to make your other teams successful. Is it the intro they are using? Is it the technology or agent behavior like dispositioning? Is it a combination of several different things? Once you have a grasp on the data, you can implement new practices that will increase your sucess. Conversion You can make a thousand calls, but unless they turn into actual sales, your campaign will go nowhere. It’s vital that you are measuring outcomes for each lead: Not a real number or invalid Don’t call again or not interested Interested, but needs more time Not the right person to call or unqualified Successful lead converted to sale When you can compartmentalize every connection you make, you can determine if you need to improve your scripting, dialing window, offers, etc. Call Time Your agents should be spending their call time asking the correct questions, fleshing out the main points and coming up with the right solutions. While a script is important to your campaign, you must also be able to let the conversation naturally flow. Keep your agents on point and on message even as they build a relationship with the customer. The amount of time actually spent on a call can directly affect your leads that turn into real sales. Power dialing, CRMs, automation and screen pop ups help save time, but your agent needs to know how to manage their time on the phone. Metrics Forecasting Used correctly, metrics can help you forecast how your campaign will go, and give you an idea of which trends work and which don’t. Using metrics allows you to determine if you are using the right dialing systems, sales techniques, lists and call scripts. You can also set goals that are more realistic for future campaigns or jobs. Metrics can also be used to help you forecast which times of the day are busy and which are less successful. The Template Application Over time, as you pay attention to call center metrics, you can build a template that works for your call center. Adapt this template to each campaign, and your chances of success increase greatly.

Three Techniques to Take Back Control of Your Job

Self-motivation in the workplace is hard. It takes knowing yourself: your strengths and weaknesses, desires and character. Then, you have to turn that awareness into action. It takes discipline to be a self-leader. If you find yourself getting off track, a self assessment might be necessary. Ask yourself these three questions to help realign yourself with the job at hand. What Do I Want From My Job? It is important to know what you are hoping to get out of your job. Maybe you are looking for good working conditions, interesting work and promotion to a leadership position. Remember that not everyone has the same desires. Communicate with your supervisor. Tell them what you want from your job. If your immediate manager is unwilling to help, try to think of other people that might provide assistance in achieving your goals. Take control of the outcome. Now that you know what you want, focus on what it takes to get there. Do I Have Assumed Constraints? Sometimes our work environment creates constraints and sometimes we do. It is easy to become complacent. If you do the same thing over and over with the same result, you can become dejected. Don’t let these assumed constraints hold you back. Try something new. Think outside the box. Sometimes a new perspective is all you need to get past a plateau. Don’t let you be the thing that is holding you back. Am I Being a Leader in My One on One Meetings? Come to one on one meetings prepared to lead. Have an agenda prepared in advance with discussion points already laid out. Show up prepared with recommendations and solutions to problems. Take control of the meeting by leading the conversation. Don’t be content with letting the other person constantly talk over you. On the other hand, taking control and being prepared don’t mean you have to monopolize the conference. Direct the meeting in a professional manner. Listen to your colleague and respond accordingly. Having a conversation where you make your presence known without bulldozing the other person goes a long way in directing your career path without burning bridges along the way. Follow this guide to regain control of the reins. Once you know what you want and can see places you are holding yourself back, it is easier to approach each day and each circumstance with confidence and poise. Leadership requires balance in pursuing your goals. Make people want to follow you on this new path to a more successful you.

How to optimize Customer Service with Quality Monitoring Technology

Any business leader knows that maintaining good relationships with customers is critical to the success and growth of any organization. If customers are happy, they’ll continue using the services you provide. If they’re not satisfied, they’ll go elsewhere. While no business leaders or employee can completely control a customer’s actions, there are steps you can take to optimize customer service and keep clients coming back. Ensuring employees are well trained to provide excellent service will go a long way toward making customers happy. Good customer service is as important in a call center as it is anywhere else. It takes skill for agents to respond to concerns and provide answers customers are looking for. One way to train employees to perform this work effectively is to identify areas where they can improve and steps they can take to make adjustments. Call monitoring technology is available for organizations to review all calls and work with employees to get them to the levels where you need them. With monitoring software, you can record all phone interactions between customers and employees. Then you can meet with the agents one on one and go through every second of the call. By doing this, the employee can hear what mistakes they might have made as well as areas in which they excelled in taking the call. Call monitoring technology allows the employee to understand how they can ask better questions, if they need to change the tone of their voice and how their attitudes and responses can optimize customer service. I f you run a call center, you probably have firmly established protocols on how long calls should take for certain issues and what topics should be covered and avoided. Call center quality assurance is significantly enhanced when you use monitoring software. The use of call monitoring technology helps all parties involved in the call. It benefits the customer because it increases the likelihood they’ll be speaking with a better-trained agent who has learned from mistakes and gained more confidence. The customer will have a better experience and will therefore leave more satisfied. Employees will be equipped with more information and tools to make better decisions for each call. This will help them feel more comfortable in their role and will go a long way in building job satisfaction. Each phone call your call center agents take is important. Make the most of each interaction and use monitoring technology to optimize customer service in each instance. For more advice on creating a Quality Monitoring Solution that helps improve CX or if you would like to learn more about Etech, feel free to contact us at info@etechgs.com. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Want to Avoid Revenue Loss? Outsource Inbound Call Centers

While every company thirsts for growth, that increase in business could leave your revenue parched. It makes sense that you and your team want to handle every aspect of your booming business, but taking on too much in one area could leave other areas neglected. To balance your revenue with your business growth, consider outsourcing inbound call center services. The Truth About Call Center Services While answering the phones are considered a typical part of operating a business, employees who already have full plates may not devote as much time and attention as they should to taking care of callers. If those callers feel their needs aren’t being met, or that they’re being rushed off of the phone in order that your employees can work on something else, they may take their calls and business to your competitors. By outsourcing your inbound call center, you and your employees don’t have to hit the pause button to answer the phone. Thoroughness Consumers often feel as if they’re treated more like nuisances and less like customers whenever they call a business. While you and your employees may not mean to be brusque over the phone, a hurried tone can easily come off this way. With outsource call center services, you can be sure customers are treated with patience in order that they get the information and time they need to know your company cares. More Than Answering Questions Another great thing about outsourcing your call center is that customer service representatives can do more than just answer questions, they can also upsell and recommend your products and services as well a gather information regarding customer buying habits. Now you’re taking full care of your customers while increasing your revenue even further. Focused Employees While the phone has to be answered, some of your team members may wish to focus solely on the job for which you hired them. Their expertise may not be in customer service, and their lack of knowledge in this area can cost you business. Once their time is freed up by not having to answer the phone, they can put the entirety of their focus on their regular duties, ensuring their responsibilities don’t fall to the wayside. An Improved Order Process Call center staff members are specifically trained to take superior care of customers and their needs. Their talents go a long way in expediting the order process for the customer, making it as efficient as possible. Once your customers realize how quick and easy it is to order from you, they’re bound to keep coming back for more. Reduced Stress Depending on how many phone calls your business gets a day, your employees can easily feel stressed and burned out attempting to juggle phone calls and take care of their other duties. This often results in poor work performance and compromised job satisfaction. With outsourcing, you take care of both your customers and your employees. You have much more to gain than just revenue by outsourcing inbound call center services. Try it for yourself to explore the full range of benefits.

Moving Beyond Intrinsic Motivation

For years, the leading theory in motivation has involved extoling the virtues of intrinsic motivation over extrinsic motivation. However, the latest research indicates that even intrinsic motivation is not enough to gain optimal performance in the workplace. The newest results of research points out the legitimacy of moving beyond intrinsic motivation and assigning value to the work they do. As many people know, extrinsic motivation is based on tangible rewards that a person receives. This type of motivation occurs outside of the individual and can include fiduciary rewards such as money or emotional rewards, such as favoritism or an alteration of behavior based on what is received. Research has always pointed to the failings of extrinsic motivation as a temporary measure that cannot be sustained long term. The reason for these failings are two-fold: motivation will lag once the reward is removed or increasingly larger rewards have to be granted in order to sustain motivation. Another threat to extrinsic motivation is that the individual will start to feel overwhelmed by the work. Traditional studies on motivation point to intrinsic motivation as long-term and sustainable. Intrinsic motivation theory relies on the fact that good feeling of accomplishment. Intrinsic motivation is internalized to the individual and relies on the principle that work is its own reward. Therefore, it is considered more sustainable and long term. However, modern research suggests that while intrinsic motivation is important, it is not the end of the motivational spectrum. Modern leadership theory holds that in order for a person to truly remain motivated, that a sense of ownership must be involved. This increased sense of ownership creates three sets of optimal performance: Alignment, where an individual’s goals are in synchronization with that of the company. With alignment, ownership is implied because the person strives to what is in the best interest of the company and sees that as the same interest he or she holds. Integration, where implied ownership exists because the person sees an organizations goals as meaningful and purposeful. Inherent, where the company’s goals follow instinctual goals of the individual. Ownership is apparent because the goals of the company fall in line with the individual’s sense of self. In terms of employee motivation, moving beyond intrinsic motivation involves the positive influence of encouraging workers to take ownership of their work. In many ways, this ownership can be likened to that of any ownership relationship versus that of leasing. Owners tend to invest more time and care into something that belongs to them, assigning it value based on that stock that they have. Employees who value their product and see it as an extension of themselves will produce more in less time and of better quality.

Canned Responses: an Important Tool for Live Support

There’s no question that live chat is a robust channel for customer engagement and resolution. Besides training staff to handle each contact in a professional and personable manner, it’s important to consider that some common interactions may benefit from pre-written scripts designed for rapid answers. For example, a live chat quick response may be appropriate if it’s a simple question about return policies, bill payment methods or refunds. During a session, it’s vital to give agents access to a bank of these responses to aid them in speedy yet complete resolution. Ready When Your Agents Are A “canned response” is a short script written ahead of time with enough details to assist the customer with an inquiry. If a live chat platform supports an in-application database of these scripts, this is especially useful. With some simple navigation, representatives can import the text into their chat sessions. Shorting response times and reducing the probability of errors and typos are just a couple of the benefits. Know When to Use Them A mix of personal interaction with a live chat quick response is ideal. The experience is still built around the needs of the client, while offering the benefits of speed and accuracy to both customer and representative. Then, live chat support becomes a powerful resource and medium, and is best positioned to serve customers. When drafting your pre-written scripts, craft greetings to be short, simple and professional. Also, include some appropriate replies for common situations, such as: Finding more information Admitting a mistake — and offering to correct it Telling a customer that he or she is unable to comply with the request and Involving other staff to obtain a resolution. Also, draft text to address typically questions — for example, items that might be found in a business’ frequently asked questions (FAQ) file. Don’t forget that a simple yet cordial wrap-up is also needed. Ideally, the text should encourage the client to reach out to the company again if additional support is required. A Bit of Discretion It’s vital for agents to understand appropriate scenarios in which a live chat quick response should be used. Everyday questions are fine, but for more complex situations, it’s best to rely on more customized personal responses. Not everything can be handled with a scripted reply, and it’s important for representatives to remember this. Live chat support is one of the most powerful tools in a contact center. In addition to providing a speedy and convenient channel for customers to reach a business, it’s also an opportunity to build rapport with them. As one of the many resources in web chat, canned responses are key time-saving items that add to positive customer-business relationships. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

Five Steps to Qualify for a Job Interview

There is no doubt that interviewing for a job is a stressful experience. It can feel like you are being judged, and, in a way, you are. Remember that your interviewer is a person too. Most hiring managers are looking for a qualified employee who can be trusted to do the job well. Stand strong behind your qualifications, and present yourself in a confident and trustworthy manner. There are some basics of interviewing that will help you build that trust in an interview. Proofread Your Resume There is no excuse for spelling errors or grammatical mistakes in your resume. Take the time to thoroughly proofread it before sending it to prospective employers. Careless mistakes on a resume reflect poorly on your attention to detail and cast doubt on your work quality. Go beyond spellcheck and grammar check on your word processor. Take the time to read your resume out loud. Have another person review it; they are more likely to catch mistakes you have looked over. Take advantage of tools like grammarly.com, and start out on the right foot. Research the Company Do your research. There is a lot to be said for a candidate that cares enough to know the company he or she is interviewing for. Scan over the LinkedIn profiles of your interviews. This simple step goes a long way to build trust. Educating yourself on an organization also gives you the confidence to answer questions in a way that relates back to the company and its goals and objectives. Be Humbly Confident You are there to show off your expertise, but do it in a gregarious and professional fashion. Assuming you know more than your interviewer and bashing them over the head with your knowledge will get you nowhere. Focus on using “we” language instead of “me” language. Tell about your group projects and collaborating with team members. Give credit where credit is due. Be Honest and Transparent Be honest about your skills. Do not be able to shine a little light on your weaknesses as well as your strengths. A certain level of vulnerability comes across as genuine and authentic. But don’t be afraid to explain how the awareness of weaknesses has actually strengthened you. Send a Thank You Note Thank you notes are not a thing of the past. Follow-up quickly with an electronic note. It doesn’t hurt to send a handwritten note soon after as well. This solidifies you in your interviewer’s mind and shows you truly care. This gesture goes a long way in this fast paced world. These trust-boosting behaviors will leave your prospective employer confident in your abilities. Enter your next interview with your head held high because you have followed these simple tips.

Four Things to Know Before Merging AI to CX

Before you make the switch to utilizing bots which can be more cost effective and less frustrating to deal with, it is vital to keep in mind that they are a means to an end. Implementing them into your current strategy can be advantageous, but keep the following things in mind before merging artificial intelligence in customer service to CX. Not all customers will be satisfied One thing to keep in mind is that introducing bots into your strategy is not for everyone. It is true that now is the time for implementation and some people are open to the idea of dealing with bots, however, not all people are not convinced. Some prefer to deal with humans and will not be satisfied solely communicating with robots. Keep in mind also that despite your belief that the customers will not be able to tell, this is not true and it is wise to have a human being ready to take over for a customer who is frustrated with a robot. It is crucial to script your bot correctly If the bots are not set up properly, the customers will more likely become frustrated. Bots run mainly on scripts because they are not as sophisticated as Al-driven machines. If the script of a bot takes a customer astray, they will become even more frustrated and this can have detrimental effects on your business and reputation. In some cases, customers may even start to migrate to alternative companies and spread the work that their experience on the phone was frustrating. Bots are an agent’s best friend When a bot is capable of taking care of part of the call such as confirming an order or resetting a password, this helps avoid wasting the agents time and keeps them available to answer more specific customer questions or concerns. Bots are not able to provide care to customers Despite common beliefs, it is not possible to form relationships with bots and customers may miss the experience of connecting with a human being on the phone. When there is only one person, the emotional element of the conversation is missing and this can affect the customer’s overall experience. It is undeniable that people appreciate the value of human interactions. Carefully implementing bots into your current strategy can be beneficial to both your profits and the company as a whole. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the value of human interactions is priceless and delivering a high quality customer experience should be a top priority.

6 Strategies to Optimize Call Center Quality Assurance

Quality assurance involves maintaining a desired level of quality and it is crucial for your call center to be aware of the ways to do this. In order to optimize call center quality assurance, take advantage of these six strategies. Focus on quality as a behavior One strategy to utilize is to evaluate the quality of your agents during training. Keeping them informed about the call selection process and telling them how well they are doing will keep them more engaged with the calls and more willing to improve. QA evaluations also allow you to measure the performance of your agents. Use analytics Another strategy is to use analytics to your advantage to find higher value calls. A few examples of higher value calls include calls that were tagged by an agent, called that were placed multiple times, calls which involved transfers, calls that were extremely long or short and calls that were directed to specific numbers within a small time frame. When you are able to pinpoint high value calls, you can detect issues you’re having and correct them accordingly. Automate QA workflow Something else to consider is to classify calls and collect data which can help determine criteria for quality monitoring. An automated QA workflow helps monitor calls with long handle times and identifies specific causes. Once again, you can pinpoint issues and decipher where the main problem lies. It can also help monitor calls with a lot of transfers and help you determine if customers are even calling the right numbers. Increase agent feedback Another strategy to consider is to speed up the feedback you give to agents. A few ways to do this is to make QA evaluations more frequent, allow the agent to have time before the call to review some information, provide call reviews on a regular basis, implement peer to peer coaching or even rotate the coaches to keep your agents from getting bored or comfortable with the same supervisor. Frequent calibration sessions A fifth way to optimize call center quality assurance is to schedule calibration sessions more frequently. This can eliminate the differences between supervisors on how they view various skills and agents may be less likely to object their ratings based on specific supervisors. Auto-scoring Lastly, you can use a speech analytics tool to use auto-scoring. Speech analytics software allows for you to set up buckets for various categories such as greeting, call recording disclaimer, contact terms and more. Utilizing these six strategies and focusing on improving call center quality monitoring can improve your call center and enhance the excellence of your agents as well as improve your customers’ experiences on the phone. This blog was first published on LinkedIn.

5 Steps to Increase Efficiency and Effectiveness in Your Quality Monitoring System

When quality monitoring for a call center is only focused on problem detection and resolution, it falls short of its full potential. A methodology that also identifies opportunities for building customer loyalty is essential for supervisors, upper management and strategic planners. These advanced, robust technologies should not forgo the “personal touch” — in fact, they are ideal opportunities to better incorporate it. These suggestions will aid anyone seeking to successfully fine-tune a call center quality assurance system. Make Sure Basic Protocols Are Followed Quality monitoring is a vital tool for ensuring that best practices in a contact center are observed. Placing new agents — as well as continuous improvement for current representatives — involves follow-up to determine if additional training is required. It is important to make sure agents get the basic protocols for call handling right, such as greeting, putting callers on hold, engaging the caller while researching information, and closing the call. With observation, it is easier to catch undesirable practices before they stick. Use Metrics Effectively Information does no good unless it is actually applied. Once gathered, it should be leveraged in order to train and develop agents as well as improve overall center performance. Call length, speed of answer, first time resolution percentage rates and other data can also be used to set performance standards, which can be evaluated and retooled as needed. Create Systems Gradually It is tempting to jump in feet first, but this can lead to being easily overwhelmed and decreases changes of meaningful application from a quality monitoring approach. Staring with simple monitoring is always a good start, and it assists with creating the building blocks for a future call center quality assurance plan. Make Data and Feedback Available Information and training intersect well when performance statistics are not only shared, but used to improve agent performance and motivate representatives who already demonstrate high levels of call handling and resolution skills. Group sessions are great for sharing best practices, and individual metrics can be used in performance reviews as well as awarding incentives. Build a Specialized QA Team Assembling a quality management team is crucial for operations. Once it is in place, these individuals must be given the necessary training and support. Identifying internal staff for this team or hiring externally based on needed skillsets are both options. Implementing call center quality assurance can often be a challenge. However, a properly executed system provides a host of benefits. Ensuring basic protocols are followed, using metrics effectively, building gradually, using the data and building a QA team are all keys in a successful plan.

Getting Smart With: Project Implementation

When project managers plot out a course for a project, they all too often take missteps that ultimately result in a project’s failure. Managers may have to deal with an unrealistic outlook, limited resources, a budget that is less than ideal, and other factors that can sabotage a project’s success. With so many obstacles in front of a project, whether that project is call center campaign implementation or anything else, how can a manager set up his or her team for success? These five best practices may help: Objectively Analyze Issues All aspects of the project should be analyzed objectively, without emotion and with a focus on clarity. This means that the project manager needs to always consider the interests of third-party vendors, stakeholders, and everyone else who is involved. This process should continue throughout the project’s duration. Create a Realistic Schedule Call center management is a delicate balancing act; you want to be optimistic about reaching objectives, but you don’t want to be so optimistic that you set yourself up for failure. Take into account the project’s limitations and potential roadblocks so you can draft a production schedule that aligns with your goals and does not put undue pressure on you. Keep a close eye on the project’s progress, and regularly discuss key dates in the project with your team. Use Real Time Monitoring Unless you constantly stay on top of a project’s progress, you may think that all is well when it is really not. How have things gone so far? Are all the pieces in place for the next phase of the project? Use metrics and other indicators so you have a clear view of both the project’s past and future. Set and Manage Expectations Avoid setting your heart on overly optimistic deployment dates and unrealistic goals for deliverables. Don’t put on your rose-colored glasses. From the get-go, set practical goals for each stage of the project, and make sure that everyone involves understands these goals and keeps them in mind. You don’t want your team to get bogged down by everyday details and forget the project’s overall objective. Take Advantage of External Audits Getting a fresh perspective from someone outside the project can help you objectively monitor its progress. You can also get new ideas on how to improve implementation, and you may get the reassurance you need to set aside any doubts and misgivings you have. Try to find a true implementation expert to help with these audits. Project success is never a given, but the above best practices can make it more likely that you’ll reach your goals.

5 Call Center Vendor Management Best Practices

As the call center vendor manager, you have a company’s success balanced on your shoulders. While the business has its share of risks, you want to make sure to minimize those risks as much as possible. After all, not only is the business at stake but so is your reputation. Here are five practices that will help you succeed. Assess Compatibility of Values When it comes down to talking to a vendor, you need to make sure that the vendor’s values align with the company’s. The best way to check this out is to take a look at their website and find out what their mission is. Look into their social media and get a feel for the organization. The more information that you can learn about the company, the more you’ll understand what’s important to them. This can help with communication and trust in the future. Establish Prices Right Away If a vendor is secretive about the price of their services, this is a big red flag. During those first conversations, you want everything to be laid out on the table. Their prices and agendas shouldn’t come as a surprise later on. You should also follow this advice and be completely transparent. If a vendor is honest, what do they have to hide? Push Boundaries and Ask Questions Have you ever been in a conversation and thought to yourself: this is too good to be true? It’s important for you to look at your potential vendor’s critically. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Even if they seem to be saying all of the right things and don’t have any flaws, you need to push those limits. Ask the hard questions so that you can see their true colors. Track Quality and Set Goals One of the keys to call center vendor management is to make sure that you know what goals your vendor has. It’s hard to get anything accomplished without a plan as to where you might be going. Talk to your vendors regularly, track their progress, quality and make sure that you’re all on the same side. Discuss Vendor Time Commitments Time management is critical to success. As a call center vendor manager you should stay on top of your vendors. Make sure that they follow through with their goals and time commitments. This will keep productivity rolling. When it comes to vendor management, it’s important that you keep success at the forefront of your mind. Hopefully, with these five practices, you will be able to meet your goals alongside your vendors.

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