Many UK brands pride themselves on having a ‘UK call centre’ and play on the ‘home’ angle to attract customers. However, the location of a contact centre should have no bearing on customer service. Thanks to innovative cloud based technology providers, solutions are now available to meet the growing needs of customers without needing to invest in major infrastructure. Companies have a huge opportunity to focus on optimising the aspects of experience that are meaningful in the lives of their customers.
Start with the customer experience, not location
It’s no coincidence that the companies that have innovated most in this space are those whose mantra has always been about serving the customer first and working back from that philosophy, such as Apple and Google. To make the most of this opportunity though, contact centre managers must design their processes specifically around the needs of their customers whilst empowering their frontline staff. In fact, there are many ways to ensure your customers get the best service, no matter where you are in the world.
Focus on human communication, not just language
It’s all very well your agents speaking the same language as your customers, but not if they sound like robots doing it. Everyone wants to feel that they are speaking to a ‘real’ person, with the ability to deviate from a script. It’s a recurring theme that customers dislike talking to a robotic customer service agent who can’t seem to think for themselves. Today’s cloud-based software platforms are game-changing in terms of the flexibility and capability they offer, giving contact centres the ability to design flexible call scripts that will ensure a natural and less rigid flow.
Train agents to deliver great customer experience
Another important consideration is training. What kind of training do your agents have? Are they constantly challenged and developed? If not, this may be your downfall if you are struggling with bad customer service. Regular agent training and ongoing development is a must when it comes to delivering a great customer experience. Use customer satisfaction surveys for a greater insight and to build a true picture of the customer experience.
Tackling call queues should be a priority
One of the most common frustrations experienced by customers isn’t the location of your contact centre, but sitting in hold queues. If their call can be answered swiftly and by the agents with the right skill-set and relevant information on hand to identify callers, plus the possible reason for their call, you’ve already banked some positive feeling before your agent has even started speaking.
Yet many contact centres don’t handle this in the most efficient way. Is your outbound centre busy and bustling, whilst your inbound agents are sat twiddling their thumbs? Why? The contact centre of the future needs to focusing on blending your inbound and outbound calls to reduce call queues and frustration for customers, whilst keeping agents busy as calls are shared across both departments during busy periods – and all within one concurrent license.
Your ultimate goal should be that the customer hangs up with the issue solved and a happy memory of how helpful your agents were. With the availability and accessibility of cloud solutions, there is no excuse for bad customer service in 2016 – no matter where your contact centre agents are based.
