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Call center customer service agents are occasionally derided by others for having a job that adds little to society. The truth is—and it’s a truth any customer service agent will be able to tell you—that contact centers are crucial now more than ever and fulfill many essential functions. In this article, we discuss the key functions of a call center and explain what they do that’s so important.
What Are Call Centers?
While the term was only coined in 1983, call centers have been around in some form or another since the mid-1900s when they were used for telemarketing. Nowadays, they are associated with a broader range of functions, including sales, customer service, and more.
When many people think of call centers, they first imagine remote sites with banks of agents at gray desks. However, many contact centers are found on-site, located within a particular department of a company’s headquarters.
When many people think of call centers, they first imagine remote sites with banks of agents at gray desks. However, many contact centers are found on-site, located within a particular department of a company’s headquarters.
Types of Call Centers
There are different types of call centers out there whose agents deal with different types of customer service issues. The three main types are:
- InboundThese deal solely with fielding incoming calls. Their agents are usually customer service-focused, providing such services as technical support and inquiries resolution.1
- OutboundAs the name would suggest, these deal with placing outgoing calls instead. Agents at these centers may make cold calls for sales purposes; others might chase up existing customers.2
- BlendedThese combine both of the above approaches, with agents fielding incoming calls and placing outgoing ones. This means that agents can get in touch with customers who have reached out previously.3
Call Center vs Contact Center
The terms “call center” and “contact center” are often used interchangeably; however, strictly speaking, there is an important difference between the services they provide. Where the former type pretty much only uses the telephone to communicate with customers, the latter uses a broad range of communication channels, including phone, text, email, and instant messaging. Agents must be comfortable providing customer service across all these channels.
How Do Call Centers Work?
For the most part, these centers are run by telemarketers, computer help desks, charities, online traders, and so on. Such businesses use them to deal with customer queries or to reach out to potential clients to advertise goods and services.
In the case of an inbound call center, calls are received and answered by customer service agents. Typically, these agents will deal with a high daily volume of phone conversations. If the agent is not able to deal with the customer’s particular problem, it may be escalated to someone further up the chain of command.
Agents at outbound contact centers reach out to customers on behalf of the company. This might be to chase up leads, schedule appointments, market goods and services, and more.
In the case of an inbound call center, calls are received and answered by customer service agents. Typically, these agents will deal with a high daily volume of phone conversations. If the agent is not able to deal with the customer’s particular problem, it may be escalated to someone further up the chain of command.
Agents at outbound contact centers reach out to customers on behalf of the company. This might be to chase up leads, schedule appointments, market goods and services, and more.
What Is the Purpose of a Call Center?
The purpose of a call center depends on its type. The answer to that question will dictate the role it fills.
Inbound call centers mostly help to resolve customer queries and provide technical support. For example, a customer service agent working for an online bank may help to resolve issues regarding the company’s online banking application. Many customers prefer receiving help over the phone as opposed to being sent a long, confusing email. Receiving assistance in real-time often resolves the issue much faster.
Outbound contact center agents place calls either for telemarketing purposes or to chase up existing customers. Agents may survey customers on behalf of the company. This is useful, as customer feedback is one of the most important KPIs for customer service-focused businesses.
Want to feel the full power of a predictive automatic dialer can give your outbound call center?
What Are the Functions of Call Center Software?
Regardless of the type of call center in question, call center software plays a crucial role in efficient, productive customer service agents. Without this software, the key functions of call centers would not be achieved as readily by their agents.
Here are examples of the types of features many businesses use to enhance their service. Here at Selmo, we offer these services to our customers—customers who have all since noticed a marked increase in call center performance:
Here are examples of the types of features many businesses use to enhance their service. Here at Selmo, we offer these services to our customers—customers who have all since noticed a marked increase in call center performance:
1
Analytics
helps you to monitor and analyze important KPIs, giving you an idea of what aspects of their performance your agents need to work on.
2
Scripting
allows you to write up scripts for your agents, making it easier to create a standardized quality of performance.
3
Monitoring
makes it easier for supervisory staff to track customer service agent performance for training and provide assistance during live conversations where necessary.
4
Call recording
can prove a useful tool for training new starts and providing targeted agent feedback.
With Selmo, these are just a few of the useful tools you will have at your disposal.
Key Functions of a Call Center
So, having discussed what contact centers are, how they work, and what their purpose is, the question remains: what are the main functions of call centers? In this section, we take a look at six crucial call center functions and discuss the benefits they can have for businesses.
To discover why you may want to consider establishing a contact center department for your own business, read on!
To discover why you may want to consider establishing a contact center department for your own business, read on!
As mentioned above, many outbound call centers focus on telemarketing and generating sales. Customer service agents at these places focus on expanding their client’s customer base and finding new sales opportunities for companies. Most contact centers that fulfill this function set goals for teams and individual agents, motivating them to achieve a certain number of sales within a given period.
When you think of telemarketing phone calls, perhaps cold calls are the first thing to come to mind. Indeed, there are many call centers out there entirely devoted to this marketing tactic. However, this is not the only way of generating sales opportunities. Contact center agents may also qualify sales leads, close ongoing deals, or get in touch with existing customers to alert them to a new product or service they may be interested in.
When you think of telemarketing phone calls, perhaps cold calls are the first thing to come to mind. Indeed, there are many call centers out there entirely devoted to this marketing tactic. However, this is not the only way of generating sales opportunities. Contact center agents may also qualify sales leads, close ongoing deals, or get in touch with existing customers to alert them to a new product or service they may be interested in.
The next call center function to consider is increased customer retention rates. Oftentimes, customer acquisition can represent a significant monetary investment for a company: advertising campaigns and other promotional activities can often end up being quite expensive. That’s why trying to retain customers often ends up being far less expensive than generating new ones.
Therefore, it makes sense that one of the most important functions of a contact center is increasing customer retention rates. Inbound call center agents reach out to existing customers to try and elongate existing contracts, perhaps tempting the client with brand new offers, discounts, and promotions.
Outbound call centers also help to increase customer retention by providing clients with outstanding customer service. People are far more likely to return to use a service they’ve had positive experiences with in the past. This is why targeted training for customer service agents is so beneficial and is why analytics are such an important function of call center software.
Therefore, it makes sense that one of the most important functions of a contact center is increasing customer retention rates. Inbound call center agents reach out to existing customers to try and elongate existing contracts, perhaps tempting the client with brand new offers, discounts, and promotions.
Outbound call centers also help to increase customer retention by providing clients with outstanding customer service. People are far more likely to return to use a service they’ve had positive experiences with in the past. This is why targeted training for customer service agents is so beneficial and is why analytics are such an important function of call center software.
It’s no secret that personalized, high-quality service makes all the difference to customers. Consider your own experiences. Have you ever been to a store where the customer service staff made you feel valued and listened to? Did they consider your needs and desires, providing solutions that felt tailored to your circumstances? If so, then you know firsthand how important it is that customer service representatives go that extra mile for a client.
With CRM integration and call recording functionalities, contact center software like that provided by Selmo enables agents to provide customer-oriented, fully personalized services. Agents can double-check customer details at a glance, using the available data to tailor the customer service experience to the client.
Agents can also listen back to recordings of previous conversations with the client to get up-to-speed on a situation, meaning the customer won’t have to start from the beginning.
Service personalization is one of the most important call center functions there is. Good communication solutions services will include as many features as possible to help achieve it.
With CRM integration and call recording functionalities, contact center software like that provided by Selmo enables agents to provide customer-oriented, fully personalized services. Agents can double-check customer details at a glance, using the available data to tailor the customer service experience to the client.
Agents can also listen back to recordings of previous conversations with the client to get up-to-speed on a situation, meaning the customer won’t have to start from the beginning.
Service personalization is one of the most important call center functions there is. Good communication solutions services will include as many features as possible to help achieve it.
Another useful function of contact centers is that they can help companies make the most of their resources. All businesses seek to either boost their profit margins or reduce the overall costs of running their business. Since they have a limited pool of resources to begin with, small businesses, in particular, must be careful about how they allocate their assets.
One of the ways in which these customer services optimize resource utilization and allocation is by keeping their average handle time low and their volume of calls high. The former refers to the average amount of time it takes an agent to resolve a customer query or concern.
While not losing sight of the importance of a positive customer experience, and while still trying to deliver the best quality service possible, agents must make as many calls in one day as they can. This means that the resources of both contact centers and their clients stretch as far as possible and are used efficiently.
One of the ways in which these customer services optimize resource utilization and allocation is by keeping their average handle time low and their volume of calls high. The former refers to the average amount of time it takes an agent to resolve a customer query or concern.
While not losing sight of the importance of a positive customer experience, and while still trying to deliver the best quality service possible, agents must make as many calls in one day as they can. This means that the resources of both contact centers and their clients stretch as far as possible and are used efficiently.
Another important call center function that is occasionally overlooked is the role they play in market research. Outbound calls survey existing and potential customers, helping them get a better understanding of the needs and preferences of their clientele base.
These all-important insights can help businesses prepare market studies and put together advertising campaigns for services and goods. When backed by market research, such endeavors are more likely to find success, as you can rest assured knowing there is already an existing market for your new product or service.
Inbound call centers can also conduct market research. This is usually carried out by using an IVR menu at the end of the conversation to gather data about the client’s customer service experience.
These all-important insights can help businesses prepare market studies and put together advertising campaigns for services and goods. When backed by market research, such endeavors are more likely to find success, as you can rest assured knowing there is already an existing market for your new product or service.
Inbound call centers can also conduct market research. This is usually carried out by using an IVR menu at the end of the conversation to gather data about the client’s customer service experience.
Contact centers use software that allows access to a wide range of useful insights and statistics. With this software, you can monitor and track important KPIs in real-time. Examples of such customer service metrics include average wait time, average queue length, and rate of abandoned calls. Having access to these statistics gives you an idea of how well your customer service agents are performing, making it easier to build targeted training programs for agents.
You can also monitor the performance of individual agents by using call monitoring software to listen in on conversations in real-time. This is an especially useful feature if you have less experienced customer service agents on your team, as you can assist them during the conversation and even intervene if it seems necessary.
You can also monitor the performance of individual agents by using call monitoring software to listen in on conversations in real-time. This is an especially useful feature if you have less experienced customer service agents on your team, as you can assist them during the conversation and even intervene if it seems necessary.
The Evolution of Call Center Functions
A contact center’s main priority is to deliver astounding customer service around the clock by fostering efficient, productive agents. Call center managers are constantly looking for ways to give their service an edge over others and enhance the performance of their agents. This means that the contact center industry strives for evolution and change.
As such, call center functions are always developing and changing. Experienced managers know to keep a close eye on the market, watching out for useful developments in software and techniques that might help them improve their performance and deliver outstanding customer service.
As such, call center functions are always developing and changing. Experienced managers know to keep a close eye on the market, watching out for useful developments in software and techniques that might help them improve their performance and deliver outstanding customer service.
Here at Selmo
We pride ourselves on offering state-of-the-art call center services. If you want to make sure that your call center remains one step ahead of the rest and stays relevant in today’s rapidly changing market, reach out today!
We pride ourselves on offering state-of-the-art call center services. If you want to make sure that your call center remains one step ahead of the rest and stays relevant in today’s rapidly changing market, reach out today!
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