Many call centers prefer to be called a “customer relationship center”. Beyond the novelty, the term is rather well chosen: any relationship (or part) with its customers can be outsourced to a competent call center.We will focus on phone calls that are made by customers or prospects. Generally, it is for a request for information following a previous call or email. Or for after-sales, which constitutes an important part of the activity.
What can a call center do for you?
A distinction is traditionally made between outgoing calls (which leave the center in the direction of prospects) and incoming calls (it is the prospect or customer who calls the center).Outgoing calls most often correspond to prospecting or customer solicitation campaigns. It is a high value-added activity, which produces a measurable turnover.In terms of organization, and when they are not managed on the platform, incoming calls are often more difficult to manage than outgoing calls because they are “disturbing” (for the company) and are often taken care of by a receptionist who must also manage customers or visitors face to face. Waiting times can therefore be long and there can be many abandonments that are detrimental to the image and the activity. We cannot therefore measure this activity in terms of additional turnover (as for prospecting), but rather of improving the quality of its image, and therefore of building loyalty.
Take the example of banking groups
Most banking groups have chosen to outsource telephone reception to a call center. As confidence grew, the centers were able to cover other services, including:For these groups have thousands of employees: it therefore seems quite possible that they manage the customer relationship themselves, without needing to subcontract it. Especially since this relationship is the essence of their value, since banking services are (after all) fairly commonplace. Here are the main reasons:Call centers offer flexibility that employees do not have. You can decide in a few days to open a hotline on Sundays (for example), whereas with your employees it would take months of negotiation, with no guarantee of the result.Call centers specialize in customer relations, while the employees of a banking group have skills in banking technology. Faced with the multiplicity of offers and services, turning to experts is always a winnerThe service can be reintegrated internally, the reverse not being true. More generally, a commercial contract is much more flexible than an employment contract.
What are the advantages of entrusting your calls to a contact center?
The handling of all or part of the calls means that the customer does not have to wait. A call center can add 1 person to the switchboard, and if more is needed, it organizes itself.The answer is always professional, never improvised. It’s always frightening to call a company and hear on the hook: “yes? » (Without saying hello, nor welcoming words, etc…). Certainly, it was an employee who was passing by, and who thought he was doing the right thing by answering the phone. This may be a very important prospect, who will immediately catalog the company in the “amateur” category.The company has a real vision, with reliable indicators: number of calls, number of waiting rings, quality survey, etc.
