Virtual call center is no longer a buzz word; the technology has seen such widespread adoption within the industry that at this point it’s practically a given in a customer service software company’s portfolio. Scalability and ease of maintenance are certainly positive aspects to a hosted solution but there are two primary reasons why hosted call center solutions make sense for a business: cost savings and the home based agent model it enables.
Cloud based models have empowered smaller companies, giving them access to technology that was at one time prohibitively expensive for anything short of an enterprise. The cloud has democratized contact center software, giving SMB access to new utilities that increase their ability to react to customer demands and grow their businesses.
According to veteran virtual call center provider Contactual (News - Alert), “Until recently the small contact center with 10 to 50 agents had few affordable options, and with so few agents it was difficult to justify the expense of $50,000 or more to deploy a traditional premises-based solution. The cost savings delivered via hosted deployments have been studied intently with leading research firm citing 25 percent to 50 percent reductions in the total cost of acquiring, operating and maintaining contact center systems. “
The other change happening through the steady adoption of the hosted model is an increasing dependence on home based agents in a customer service setting. This is another option that was available only to well established enterprises that could afford the technology and training to remote agents that match their criteria. The ever increasing quality of consumer Internet services, coupled with software bringing home agents the same tools as those in the call center means SMBs now share the home based agent option. Home based agent strategies reduce operational costs and allow a company to hire more skilled workers that may not be in the immediate area. Surveys show that home based agents are generally older and better educated than the average call center worker, and with the ability to include people from around the world, businesses can cover all areas and time zones.
Contactual points out another bonus to the use of home based agents, “some studies have shown the attrition rate for this model to be as low as 10 percent, compared to 25 percent to 45 percent rates in traditional brick and mortar centers. Lower attrition not only results in significant cost savings, but results in a more satisfied agent with the tenure and experience to effectively resolve a customer’s issue. “
The benefits the hosted call centers have made is one of the fastest sectors of growth in the software industry. Particularly for SMBs with flexibility in their selection of service, hosted options are a clear choice over premise based alternatives.
Chris DiMarco is a Web Editor for TMCnet. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining TMC (News - Alert) Chris worked with e-commerce provider Suresource as a contact center representative and development analyst. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page. Follow him on Twitter (News - Alert) @cpdimarco.
Edited by Stefanie Mosca