Below are the criteria we looked for when evaluating call center services. Customer support is critical, because call center representatives are ambassadors for your company, and their interactions with your customers directly affect your business.
Services Offered. The best call center companies provide several types of inbound and outbound calling services. If you need help reaching customers, look closely at the call center's outbound calling services. Many companies assist with lead generation, market research, seminar and event registration.
However, inbound calling services are critical too. Some popular inbound calling services are customer assistance and technical support for a program or software. Not every call center offers inbound services, but companies that offer customer and technical support and are worth checking out.
Campaign Success Features. There are many different aspects of call center services that influence your goals and campaign. Look for a call center solution located in the U.S. Many call center services are located overseas and hire employees for whom English is a second language. This may be an issue if your customers have a difficult time understanding and communicating with representatives, frustrating them and costing your business money. Every company on our list is based in the U.S. and employs native English speakers.
Another tool that can contribute to a successful campaign is script development. A well-developed script makes or breaks a phone call. The best call center services help you create the perfect script for representatives to follow when speaking with your customers. This preparation helps call center reps provide knowledgeable, professional customer service to your clients. It also ensures that the representatives deliver consistent information, which is important for marketing and sales. Â
Reporting. As with any type of marketing campaign, it's important to track the results of your efforts to measure your progress. Many call centers provide call completion and refusal reports.
A call completion report shows how many agents were able to complete the entire script with a customer before the call ended. A refusal report shows the number of agents who were not able to complete the script or how many individuals declined to make a purchase or take the survey. Many companies also offer customizable reporting options, so you can receive key statistics on the progress of your campaigns.
The frequency of reports is another important factor, especially if you are contracting with a call center on a time-sensitive campaign. Many call center companies give you the option of receiving daily reports so you stay abreast of your campaign.
Help and Support. The support you receive from a call center service is critical. After all, call centers will be interacting with your customers, and you want them to receive the best assistance possible.
If you have a question or problem, it's critical that you're able to reach the call center service quickly and easily. All of the services on our list provide telephone and email support, and a few provide live chat. In addition, many call center services have online resources such as FAQs and articles for finding answers on your own.
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