Call center businesses have the unique opportunity to connect with vast numbers of customers one-on-one. Regardless of what you offer and who you’re offering your goods or services to, you’ll find that growing your call center business can be done by focusing on a few factors. Our team has compiled a guide to growing your call center business to help you do just that!
1. Focus on Employee Retention and a Positive Work Environment
Your employees determine the success of your call center. Studies show that 73 percent of customers love a brand because of friendly customer service representatives. On the other hand, 89 percent of customers will opt to choose a different company if they have a bad customer service experience.
Employee satisfaction can have a big impact on your profits. In fact, call center representatives play the biggest role in customer satisfaction. The happier your employees, the higher the rates of happy customers. That’s why creating a positive and enjoyable work environment is such an important part of your business strategy.
Call center employees work with phones and screens all day. Serving customers via phone presents challenges. Because employees don’t have the luxury of face-to-face communication with customers, they have to work especially hard to help the customer feel valued and to meet their needs. Going above and beyond to cultivate a positive culture in your call center will also make your employees feel valued.
Hiring team leaders who are positive and optimistic will guide the rest of your employees to adopt the same attitudes. Showing your appreciation through company events, attractive work perks, or even something as simple as providing coffee or lunch goes a long way. Keeping your employees happy and giving them a reason to stay with your company not only increases employee retention, but it will boost customer satisfaction as well. And if you’ve got satisfied customers, you’ll see it in the growth of your bottom line.
2. Provide Multiple Points of Contact
Operating a call center, most of your business and customer service will of course be handled over the phone. But that doesn’t mean your call center should only focus on phone communication.
Call centers should provide multiple points of contact so customers can communicate in the most convenient ways. As a call center business, customer service is top priority, and that means meeting customer needs across multiple communication channels. In addition to phone communication, offering live chat features and social media communication help allow customers to contact your business even if they aren’t available for a phone conversation. Many call centers have even begun to communicate with customers via text message. This enables a call center to reach a wider range of customers because you use a most comfortable and convenient medium. Plus, alternate forms of communication can eliminate hold time, one of the biggest complaints of call center customers.
3. Utilize IVR
When a customer reaches out to your call center business, chances are, they know what they’re looking for. An IVR system, an Interactive Voice Response system, will direct customers to the correct department, saving time for both them and your staff. IVR acts as a menu that allows customers to choose what kind of representative to speak to. So, if they have questions about your products, need warranty information, or are ready to make a purchase, they can press a button and the system will direct them to someone who can help with their specific needs.
IVR systems provide call centers with efficient organization of incoming calls. Your customer service reps don’t have to field customer requests on a topic meant for a different team; the IVR will do it for you. You can even program your IVR system to answer common customer questions, eliminating the need for them to speak to a service agent! Some systems even allow you to prioritize high-value calls, directing them to a free agent. This type of system prevents long wait times and poor customer service experiences. The more satisfied your customers and the more efficient your call flow, the more customers you can serve, and the more you can grow your call center business.
4. Track Your Metrics
Your customers’ expectations of and experiences with your company will vary. And as time passes and your industry sees growth and innovation, you’ll want to adapt your call center to meet evolving customer needs. Tracking your call center’s metrics allows you to see what’s working and how you can alter your customer service strategy to grow your business. Hubspot has an incredibly helpful article that outlines seven call center metrics that measure your customer service.
It’s important to evaluate your metrics on a regular basis. Evaluating your call center data helps you see exactly how well you are serving and selling month to month, quarter to quarter, and year to year. When you’ve gathered your data, share it with managers and leaders and your entire time. When all members of your call center business are on the same page, you can work together to implement change that will help your business grow.
5. Offer Consumer Financing
Businesses across all industries adopt call center models – medical equipment, legal services, even pets! Customers from every background and demographic are buying from call center businesses. That’s why it’s more important than ever for call center businesses to make their products and services accessible for all of their customers. Offering consumer financing is a growing trend among call center businesses. Working with a financing firm like United Consumer Financial Services allows you to grow your bottom line while providing your goods and services to more customers than ever before.
UCFS knows the specific needs of call center businesses. And our fast application process for both merchant or customers to complete makes our financing services easy. Customers can choose an easy payment plan to buy now and pay over time. Consumer financing allows you to increase sales without the added responsibility of keeping track of customer payments. It allows for accelerated business growth for call centers while making the payment process simple and achievable for your customers.
Conclusion
Today there is a limitless possibility for call center businesses. Utilizing the right tech, prioritizing employee happiness, and focusing on customer satisfaction will help you grow your business starting today. And by offering consumer financing through UCFS, you can ensure that you’re making your products and services available to the largest number of customers possible. You’ll move more products and make even more customers happy: the two keys to call center business growth!