There are a lot of ways to improve your call center services inbound operation. However, not everything is applicable in every industry.
That’s why some companies tend to use different strategies in order to improve their services.
With this in mind, here are 10 tips on how you can elevate your inbound call center operation:
You have to strongly consider operating an inbound call center service using cloud-based management.
Installation over the cloud could give you a much faster and more affordable BPO operation.
More importantly, it offers an additional layer of security in your system. You can add several safety features before accessing files in the cloud.
Furthermore, you can put encrypted data so that only your colleagues can access the file even if you’re using a public cloud service.
It also reduces any errors that come from human interaction. 95% of security breaches are caused by human mistakes.
So, prioritizing this thing will significantly improve your data security. Thus, more customers will trust you. Eventually, they will refer you to their friends and you will gain more clients.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly overcoming challenges faced by many companies. It is not true that AI can easily replace human ability.
In contrast, it actually enhances the efficiency of people working on a particular task. You can actually apply this concept in the call center industry.
For example, you can use AI to gather and analyze data without any risk of marginal errors. Once done, human can determine which data they think is necessary to improve their service.
It makes any inbound call center process easier for both agents and customers.
Now, you can reduce your call volumes through interactive voice response (IVR). Customers no longer have to wait just to talk with the live person.
An AI can answer some of their common questions. Making room for more pressing customer concerns.
Speaking with your current clients about their experience with your business is also a great way to see what aspect of your organization needs improvement.
Your clients will appreciate your effort checking out with them. On top of that, they will remember your company. Thus, improving your overall retention rate.
That’s why it is important that your inbound call center agents can also perform outbound calls. There are a lot of outsourcing companies that offer blended call center service.
All in all, any form of feedback, whether good or bad, will help your organization provide a better business for them in the future.
Having a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) that will guide you in your inbound call center operation is an important way to a successful business plan.
KPI gives you an idea what kind of BPO model you need for your business. It is mostly important for SMEs that have no idea where to start.
For example, you may want to get more people to work for your inbound call center if your average time in queue and abandonment rate are not impressive.
It means you have a lot of unanswered calls due to the high volume of customers inquiring.
Another important thing to measure is your customer satisfaction rate. It is the main driving force for any business that wants to expand their marketability.
Knowing this information will significantly improve your call center operation. As a result, you will get a higher customer satisfaction rate and more profit in the future.
Speaking of improvements, knowing the limit of your inbound call center service is also an essential thing to remember.
You don’t want to overworked your employees as it will result in a higher attrition rate. Having a high turnover rate will cost you more in the recruitment and hiring process.
On top of that, you need to build new relationships with these new agents. Which is hard considering you need them immediately to work for any unfilled tasks.
That’s why setting an attainable expectation should be a norm for any company owners.
You can create a step-by-step plan on how to improve your service. Just make sure there is no sudden or any ridiculous end result that is almost impossible to achieve.
You need to provide skills training for your agents in order to ensure a high quality of customer service.
61% of customers stop interacting with a business with horrible customer support service. That’s a lot of potential repeat customers, especially of a start-up business.
There are several ways to improve the inbound call center skills of your agents.
For instance, you can train to handle difficult situations with your customers. You can provide particular situations and tell them the proper way of helping customers.
If you’re outsourcing in offshore BPO then you can provide accent training. Some customers are very particular when it comes to the accent of the person they’re talking to.
However, it’ll be easier to train agents that have a neutral accent since they’re adaptable to anything.
There’s a lot of inbound call center service to choose from. All you need to do is determine what kind of service best fits your business.
If you need someone to work on your sales function then you might need to outsource inbound sales service.
It is an efficient way to maximize your closed deals while reducing your manpower expenses.
Meanwhile, you can increase your customer satisfaction rate when you have an inquiry handling service agent in your company. They specialize in assisting customers with their questions about your product.
There’s also an after-hours call center service if you want your business to operate 24 7. It is applicable for any industry that targets worldwide customers from different time zones.
You will gain a lot of benefits when you outsource your inbound call center service. Thus, you might be overwhelmed with this and you might not be able to maximize it properly.
So, you should’ve a plan right before you create or outsource your contact center service. Like having a new marketing campaign to increase the visibility of your product.
You can also create more features that you can put on your service. It’ll help in improving your business in the future.
You have to be ready with every change that’ll happen when you outsource your call center service. Otherwise, all these benefits will be useless for your own advantage.
This one’s tough, you have to decide whether you will trust an external company to work on your call center or build one on your own.
Allow us to provide you some pros and cons with each outsourcing path.
Creating your own in-house team is preferable if you want full control on the operation. It’ll be easier to pass any new rules and regulations. On top of that, it is highly customizable and based on your preference.
However, it is very expensive and not practical. It is mostly evident for a start-up business. SMEs just don’t have the resources to build an infrastructure to house their own call center team.
Plus, you need to hire more people aside from your agents like trainers, QA, and tech support.
Meanwhile, outsourcing to a trusted call center company can match all the advantages of an in-house call center. You can have a dedicated team for your business.
Yet SMEs prefer a shared team service since it is more affordable and produces almost the same result.
You also do not have to worry about anything since the BPO company will provide you with anything from managers, tech support, and software you need.
Remember the KPIs you had earlier? Well, you can also use it to identify your weak point after you have your inbound call center service.
Of course, there is no perfect inbound service. Therefore, you need to optimize it regularly in order to match with customers’ expectations.
On top of that, there’s no such thing as constant service since people change their needs and wants all the time. So, you have to be flexible and keep track of your weak points.
Aside from sales and inquiry handling service, here are some of the inbound call center function that you can outsource if you’re an SME:
These services are all essential in transforming your start-up business into a world-class organization.
In terms of the cost, Asian countries provide the most affordable pricing for SMEs. Here are some of it:
Regions | Hourly Rate |
United States/Canada | $22 – $35 |
Western Europe | $40+ |
Eastern Europe | $12 – $25 |
Australia | $35 – $55 |
Africa/Middle East | $15 – $20 |
Latin America | $8 – $18 |
India | $5 – $9 |
Asia/Philippines | $8 – $14 |
As you can see, Philippines and India offer the most affordable amongst the list. However, they’re not the same in terms of quality.
Indian call centers focused themselves in tech support service. Unfortunately, they’re not that good at their field of expertise.
There’s a lot of reports of data breaching in almost all industries in the country due to human errors or system glitching.
They’re not reliable with inbound call centers either due to their thick accent which customers can’t comprehend.
Meanwhile, the Philippines is the “Call Center Capital of the World”. It is because of the tons of advantages they have over their competitors. They can work in all industries possible and give an excellent result to say the least.
Their government also provides a tremendous amount of support. They’re encouraging young professionals to try the BPO career.
Thus, they’ve invited a lot of outsourcing businesses from different parts of the world.
If you are looking for an offshore BPO partner with a US office to support you, then go to Inbound Call Center Philippines. We have a wide range of services that will surely fit with your company.
Our main office is in the Philippines which can offer you a very affordable outsourcing price.
But, you can visit our offices in Brisbane, California or Melbourne, Florida. Just call or email us to arrange your visit.
We have a Full Force Implementations Department to guide you in determining the KPIs you want to track.
You also don’t have to worry if you don’t know how many people you need as we can help you with it.
We take pride in helping SMEs grow. Contact us today and get a free 60-minute consultation. Please fill out the contact us form below.