Call Center Industry in 2011

The call center industry has some interesting trends to show in the coming year. 2011 will be the year of cloud computing in the BPO sector. Clients and customers will be more comfortable at looking for Caas (Communication as a Service) rather than premise-based call center services. The key will be to get the best talent onboard. Whether they are working in a brick-mortar business process outsourcing unit or not comes second. Along with the cloud system, real-time monitoring and reports will find a lot of purchase in telemarketing services. Clients will prefer a web-based reporting structure as opposed to white papers that call centers send in to their clients.

A very interesting trend in lead generation services is the development of applications for Blackberry, I-Phone, Smartphone and I-PAD applications. These are new-age mobile devices that consumers are increasingly getting hooked to. Most consumers use these gadgets to check up on their emails and other Internet activities. To tap these upwardly mobile classes of consumers, BPO units have to adapt themselves to the way they like to connect. Along with the application, the question of security in call center services is another emerging trend for 2011. Call centers are more concerned about security, as they are about providing quicker solutions to telemarketing issues.

The Important of FCR in Customer Service

FCR, or First Call Resolutions, is that part of customer service that records the number of calls that were resolved on the very first instance. Sometimes callers have to ring up the inbound call center desk more than once for a single problem. A call center that pays attention to the FCR percentage doesn’t allow a problem to lie. They make the best possible attempt to get it sorted out on the first attempt made by the caller. This has several advantages to it. Firstly, it reduces the operational cost at the answering service desk. Callers, when they find a solution to their problem, don’t call again with the same issue. So the BPO unit doesn’t have to pay for repeat calls.

Probably the best advantage of a high FCR is the customer satisfaction. Customers like your customer service when you manage to pin down your problem immediately. This attains two benefits for the telemarketing department. One is that the call center agent can build up on the customer’s good mood to cross sell and up sell. Another benefit is that because the callers are happy with your call center services, they will not think about moving over to some other brand. This keeps your clients happy and is fruitful for your business in the long run.

Customer Service Goes Virtual

The customer service departments of various BPO companies are going virtual. The struggle to be there for the customers at all times has reached a new height. Call centers are now working out a schedule by which they are recruiting answering service agents who will work as a virtual team. The agents will ideally be located in different time zones so that they are able to cover the entire 24 hours. The idea is to keep phone answering agents on the call during the lean hours. The customers can be located anywhere across the world. They will call according to their convenience. So the call center has to be ready to receive them.

By careful scheduling, the call center units can assign agents according to the time zones they are based in. It will be the BPO manager’s job to check up the peak hours at the inbound call center desk. Get the best agents on the job during this time. You can keep this thing with the customer service agents working from the call centers itself. During the weaker periods of time, get the virtual phone answering agents to come into the picture. Brief them about the telemarketing project and the requirements well in advance. You need the whole team to function as one unit.

Transformation in Customer Service

Times have changed at the customer service department. You can no longer associate the inbound call center with just voice calls. Previously it used to be about optimizing the answering service process like bringing down the hold time or increasing the frequency of calls that are resolved on the first attempt itself. These days it is about transformation. Customer care has now transformed into something that spills over online. It’s not just about voice calls anymore. Customers are contacting the BPO agents through the websites of the clients, through emails or even through online chat options.

The inbound call center, therefore, has more to do than just answer calls. They have to answer emails and also respond to queries about the brand. The BPO units must deploy agents with standard writing skills so that they can personally respond to the email messages sent by clients. These are also wonderful opportunities for lead generation. The savvy telemarketing agent can convert the curiosity about the brand to sales. That is one area where the telemarketing services employees have to be vigilant. They have to spot the opportunities where they can cross-sell and up-sell.

Economic Support of BPO

As opposed to what the general perception is, the BPO sector continues to contribute handsomely to the economic prosperity of the host country. The call center sector is known to be a prime contributor to the total earnings of a country, mainly so because of the foreign exchange that it brings in. However, skeptics have derided the contributions, of late. They declared that the telemarketing industry is about to fall apart. There are twin reasons why they think so. One is the growing impatience of people towards outbound call center calls, and another is the political machinations against telemarketing services.

But these threats seem valid only on paper and speculation. The call centers are generating millions of jobs across the world. The benefits of the BPO sector is most evident in the third world countries. The contributions of the telemarketing units towards the national earnings is also to the tune of several billion American dollars. The creation of jobs is such a prime focus for every country that they are developing their infrastructure to help accommodate call center services. Moreover, they are also keen on making it smooth for the investors to set up telemarketing units in their countries. If the industry was actually deemed to be past its prime, would they welcome investors with open arms?

Budgets in Lead Generation

Budgets are important in lead generation. Before your outbound call center agents start working, you have to finalize what kind of money you are looking at. The cost per call has to be worked out according to that budget. The way things are, call centers have to be aware that shooting above the budget will not be welcome. Clients are also working on tight financial schedules. They cannot afford to pay extra. Recession-hit firms are not able to work out finances at the last minute. Like the BPO units, they have designated budgets for sales lead generation as well. If you fail to deliver within the stipulated budget, it’s counted as a discredit.

There are different ways in which the call center units ensure that they are sticking to the budget of lead generation. Assign small targets for yourself. Check how much you are spending during the different stages of the telemarketing project. If you see the outbound call center agents are working within the constraints of the budget, let things keep rolling. Otherwise you can bring some cost-saving measures into effect. Small targets help because you get the opportunity to rectify things before it’s too late. Keep your fingers on the pulse of the telemarketing services and respond immediately to any deflections.

Lead Generation Tip: Nurturing

Lead generation comprises of a significant process called lead nurturing. That’s the process by which outbound call center agents follow up on the leads that they have generated through phone calls and emails. The process of lead nurturing is important for the BPO because customers and clients are busy professionals. They often forget about the telemarketing offer that they received last evening. They may have assured the sales lead generation agent that they will think about their offer, but when it comes to actually doing so, they come unhinged. It’s the task of the call centers to give them follow-up calls or emails.

The usual procedure of lead nurturing is to send across an email after 3 to 8 days in B2C lead generation. If the telemarketing project is about something to do with finances, the agent has to provide them some additional lead time to think it over. Call center agents have to be careful that they don’t send in the same emails as reminders. Vary the copy of the email to make it more progressive and interesting each time you send one. If you are using the same copy, the receiver may get frustrated and hit ‘Unsubscribe’! That, of course, closes down the sales lead generation process.

Offline and Online BPO

Offline and online BPO departments are about to come together! That is the picture that is emerging from the call centers across the world. Till very recently, you had the two different sections of the call center working as separate entities. They corresponded only through emails or reports. However, they had little or no cohesion as a team. As a result, there were plenty of loopholes that usually exist when there is lack of coordination between the two teams. The conversion of leads into sales was difficult to achieve because the online lead generation agents faced a sort of disconnect with the offline customer service.

In the new way of doing things, call center agents communicate with each other on a regular basis. This helps them understand what they are doing in the different corners of the BPO. Moreover, the integration of all call center services into a common platform has helped everyone in the team understand how things are going to be. They are now aware of the different functions that each of them has to play. With their individual roles well-etched out, they are more productive in the work that they do. In fact, they are surer of what they are contributing towards the BPO service.

Contractual Telemarketing Agents

When you are using contracted telemarketing agents, you have to be careful about various aspects. You have to be careful about data security because these telemarketing agents are not part of the organization as such. They are not even on the direct payrolls of the BPO. However, you have to make sure that this fact is expressed only on paper. In spirit, you have to make them part of the call center services team. There may be a wealth of experience in the agents that you have hired on contract. They may know processes and methods which can take your telemarketing services to greater heights. They may also help you optimize and streamline your process.

However, none of this would come to fruition if the BPO managers don’t have the right kind of attitude towards them. It’s the job of the call center managers to make them feel part of the organization. It will only be with the right kind of approach that you can inculcate a sense of belonging in these short-term employees. That would make them work hard and do that extra bit for the call centers. As you know, BPO service is all about team work and you need every member of the team to contribute towards the project. That would include contractual workers as well. You may not be able to provide them the status of a full-time employee, but make sure you treat them like one.

Monetary Rewards for Call Centers

Money is a major motivational factor. But when the financial strains begin to tell on the BPO, the employees are sure to feel the heat. Deferred raises, lack of perks and privileges are very much there when the telemarketing unit is hard pressed for cash. In a way, the call centers have to cope with some disgruntled voices on the floor. Incentives are good catalysts for motivation and the managers have to slog through some indifferent attitude from the employees. It’s an issue that most human resources manager would like to side-step. It’s obvious that they don’t have much to do here because they don’t have the purse strings with them.

What they can do here is boost the morale of the employees. Transparent talks with the call center agents are ways to do that. Explain them as to why they are not getting their raises and incentives. When you speak to the BPO agents as they are part of the organization, they are most likely to respond and understand the situation. You need their support in these trying times. Let them know that their effort in telemarketing services is being noted and they are up for monetary rewards the moment the call center services see some influx of cash.

BPO Question Out of Menu

The controversial BPO question is finally dropped from the table laid out for President Barack Obama. The online registration form that the business contingent in India has to fill up to meet the President had a question on the explosive business process outsourcing subject. The candidates had to declare how much of call center outsourcing work they are doing for America. Businesspersons in India are not sure that they want to give away this information in the form. That is why they objected to this demand and finally it was struck off. The visit of the President will turn over a new leaf in telemarketing services between the two countries. Because the visit comes in the wake of the President’s declarations that he wants to curb the offshore call center market, this visit promises to build hype around it.

There was another hitch involved in this meet in Mumbai. The charges that the organizers demanded were stiff and against the convention of such meets. In the wake of protests, the charges were pulled back as well. President Barack Obama visits India on November 6. He will be meeting a clutch of businessmen in Mumbai and talk about the issue of offshore call center outsourcing. The Finance Minister of India has already assured the media and representatives of the BPO sector that the issues arising out of outsourcing will be solved in the way of dialogues.

Lead Generation Rules On!

With the telemarketing sector shrinking because of the trouble with the telecom authorities, an alternate and stronger alternative is emerging. This is the online lead generation era! Call centers across the world are looking forward to generating leads online as compensation and also as bonus. There are some advantages of using the internet to get in touch with more customers. The reach is unimaginable! You can market local products in any market that you choose. The internet gives you access to any circuit that you want to target. The BPO unit has to study the search engines and make allowances so that their client’s page comes up before the rivals.

Customers like to buy in a certain way. If the call center services can provide them with their demands in the way they like it, the call center will definitely reap the benefits of being customer-friendly. Customers prefer to buy products/services online. They are aware that the system of delivering goods and processing payments has rapidly improved and become more responsible and transparent. They are not afraid of being duped by telemarketing agents because everything is in front of their eyes. They can even track the passage of their purchase from the manufacturer to their doorstep through online status updates.