The contact center has a certain reputation in most companies: that of a money drainer. Executives lament that the contact center is a necessary cost of doing business, and often their only goal with that department is to keep it from sucking profit out of the business as much as possible. Unfortunately, with an attitude like that, it’s hard to see how any company could excel on the customer service front.
But do contact centers really have to be a cash sink? After all, agents talk to customers day in and day out…surely they can upsell and cross-sell some of these customers. Indeed they can, but they need to be properly prepared to do so with the right training, some experience and a bit of technology.
According to John Cray, director of marketing and product management for Zeacom (News - Alert), transforming a contact center into a profit center requires a change of attitude about the contact center itself. Arming it with barely sufficient technologies and barely trained people isn’t going to do it. Companies need to invest in their contact centers if they wish to turn them around into a source of revenue. As the old saying goes, “You need to spend money to make money.”
The employees. You wouldn’t send an untrained, newbie sales person to meet your best client, so why on earth would you put an untrained, newbie contact center agent on the phone when that client might call in? Turnover is too high in many contact centers because the organizations consider these employees “throwaways,” counting on them to be out the door before they’ve even learned the job. By hiring the right people, training them vigorously and enticing them to stay with decent pay and perks, you can build an army of experienced contact center professionals from whom you can expect better things, such as the ability to sell.
The technology. If you’re not operating integrated multiple contact channels in your contact center, it’s no wonder it’s not performing. Customers are quick to turn away from a company after a call center experience, so it’s important not to give them one. Consider using a universal queue for all contacts, including telephone, Web, e-mail, mobile apps and even social media.
Mobility. More Americans than ever are using social phones, and they are expecting to be able to interact with companies via mobile apps. If you’re not prepared to service these customers through the mobile app and into the contact center, you’re going to lose business to someone who does. Mobile apps are also a great way to cross-market products and services to captive audiences.
Social media. You may not like it, but customers are increasingly using these channels to reach out to companies. Whether you respond to that outreach is up to you, but if you’re not, you’re likely missing out on sales opportunities, or at least opportunities to improve the customer relationship. You may also be missing out on unique multimedia ways to engage customers. Many contact center platforms today offer the ability to integrate social media into the queues.
“The fact of the matter is those organizations that truly want their contact centers to become profit centers are making it as easy as possible for their customers to find their organizations through Twitter, LinkedIn (News - Alert), Facebook, bulletin boards, and their own blogs,” writes Cray. “Additionally, these same companies are monitoring their social media channels 24/7, so they can quickly mitigate damage from criticism or take advantage of new business Relevant Products/Services opportunities or kudos.”
So is there a cheap way to transform a “cost center” into a profit center? Probably not, though VoIP phone systems and cloud-based solutions can go a long way. People are still your best asset, and if you continue to hire lackluster contact center agents, you’ll continue to get lackluster results.
Edited by Blaise McNamee