Why Call Accounting Makes Sense in Today's Call Center
January 12, 2016
By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor
Where innovation dominates, it’s interesting that tradition can still hold tight. Consider the call center – today’s operations look very different than they did just a few short years ago. Many of these cost centers are seeking to shift much of their voice conversations into digital-based conversations that don’t actually require a call.
Given this change in the industry as a whole, it seems silly to suggest that call accounting is still a must in the call center. The reality is that the changes we’ve seen in channel integration and innovation make the demand for call accounting even more intense. If the connection still isn’t made, let’s take a look at a recent ISI (News - Alert) Telemanagement Solutions blog and why this makes sense.
The call center that relies solely on telephony to interact with customers is missing out on the opportunity to connect with customers through various channels. Consider the fact that so many customers are using smartphones to send texts, interact in social media and even instant message companies, making the phone call often a last resort. If the latter is the only option, it may not be worth doing business with such a company.
This is where the research has to start. If your customers prefer to only make live calls to solve their problems, you may only need call accounting to manage the call information coming into your center. If your customers are more like those described above, where the smartphone is used for everything but the live call, it’s time to take a closer look at the channels you should be offering.
At the same time, some of these channels don’t follow traditional methods of interaction. For instance, it may be OK to expect that the contact center will take 24 hours to respond to an email, but social media is instant. The Twitter (News - Alert) message that doesn’t receive a response for 24 hours is already a dead issue and likely a lost customer. Therefore, the contact center has to be able to monitor and staff these channels so as to respond to customers quickly.
This is where call accounting can help you understand the traffic coming into the contact center through varying channels, allocate staff effectively and align budgets with the greatest demand and return on the investment. This kind of information makes it much easier to ask for additional funding to support new capabilities when you can directly match it with positive and profitable outcomes.
If the market demands greater access to additional channels and interaction opportunities, it may be time to investigate your options. Call accounting can help you gather the information you need, but start with the customer base. If it makes sense to add the channels, it makes sense to add call accounting.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi