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Call Centers to Prop up Online Shoppers During Holiday Season

By Mini Swamy, TMCnet Contributor

Another holiday season will be upon us even before we realize it. But, is the online industry prepared to tackle the influx of online shoppers that is predicted to rise 15 percent during the high-spending fourth quarter?  Apparently not; at least not without adequate help from call centers.

You would think that with the increase in online shopping, the need for customer service would decrease. Quite the contrary, for Lynn Fick, president of XACT Telesolutions, believes that more online sales create a need for a broader customer service base. And, if customers are to be kept happy, reliable call center support services will be in great demand.

That does seem to make a lot of sense, considering the fact that online shoppers are buying blind with no other details except product information on the company’s website to guide them. Even while comparing prices and quality of products, they have nothing else to go by, except the research that they’ve done. A million things could go wrong before or after getting the actual product. What then? To whom do they turn for help?

As there is no physical seller in front of the customer, the risk of being saddled with something much different from what was ordered always looms in front, and this is where call center services could address the concerns of customers.

According to online shopping forecaster and digital marketing company eMarketer (News - Alert), online sales will leapfrog from $53.7 billion in 2012 to $61.8 billion in 2013, and Fick observed that it would mean that all available forms of service -- Web chat, e-mail response to call center operations, help from live agents -- will be overwhelmed.

Hence, she emphasized that businesses ought to realize that online shopping was even more in need of reliable customer service than in-store shopping.

XACT Telesolutions, which was on hand to help businesses during the 2012 holiday season, will once more be available to manage the spate of calls and e-mails, and respond to the pleas for online help during the retail season.

Keeping customers satisfied with helpful, friendly customer service is a top priority, and XACT Telesolutions is well equipped to handle businesses of all sizes, from Fortune 100 retailers to B2B organizations looking to enhance their communications and support to their clients.