Contact centers are often viewed by businesses are a necessary expense. No matter how quickly technology advances, situations will always arise where customers need to speak one-on-one with a representative. It’s easy for companies to fall into the habit of treating their call centers only as a numbers game, measuring success by the number of calls answered or the number of tickets resolved. While striving to meet these benchmarks is important, it’s also crucial that call centers take advantage of each customer contact and treat it as a potential business opportunity. When implemented correctly businesses can use contact centers as a part of their marketing strategy, and to drive profits.
The “Unreachables”
Contact centers can be a great way to reach out to customers that have opted out of traditional contact methods, such as email. When one of these customers calls, agents have the opportunity to forge a business-client relationship, as well as cross-sell products or convince them to opt back in to contact lists (email or phone). This also provides your business with a chance to connect with customers that are less computer-savvy.
Inspiring Brand Ambassadors
Instead of tracking the success of a contact center by how many phone calls were answered, the focus should be shifted to more complex metrics. For example, agents should be rewarded, not punished, if a particular customer interaction took a long time, but the agent was able to sell a complimentary product to that customer during the call. Determining a away to track conversion rates among agents can be a great way to measure profit. But first, an agent must be trained to be a steward of the company’s mission, and knowledgeable of its products and practices.
By rethinking contact centers as not just an expense, but rather as a profit center – a chance to make a profitable connection with your customer base, you provide your business with an additional marketing avenue at no added cost. Investing in the message your agents send to your customers is an under-utilized way to capture business – make sure you are taking advantage of it!