How to choose a call center to optimize customer relations?

Customer relationship management is a major challenge for companies. At the heart of this management is the call center, concentrating the multiple communications between the company and the customer. Selecting the right call center is therefore a highly strategic choice.

In a highly competitive environment, customer satisfaction is becoming increasingly important for companies. Many of them are now opting to outsource a complex but essential task: customer care. customer relationship.

At the heart of this management, the call center determines the quality of the relationship between your company and your customers. It builds customer loyalty, enhances your brand image and sets you apart from the competition. Selecting the right call center a strategic choice.

These contact centers are made up of customer relations professionalsThey also boast a wide range of business expertise. They are able to respond to the needs and expectations of increasingly demanding customers, and to offer them the best possible service. unique experience. They allow you to concentrate on your core business and support your company's growth.

There are many selection criteria. Here's an overview.

Define your specific needs and requirements

To begin with, it's essential to determine your company's specific customer service needs in order to choose the call center that best meets your requirements. This should include both:

  • Visit call volume to take care of: the call handling capabilities of your outsourced center should enable you to avoid unnecessary oversizing or inappropriate undersizing of the service.
  • Visit communication channels In today's digital age, your customers interact with your brand or company via a variety of channels (telephone, chat, e-mail, SMS, social networks, etc.), preferring some to others. Each of these communication channels requires specific expertise, which you need to take into account in order to offer them an even better experience.
  • Visit schedules and support languages necessary: for optimal customer relations, your outsourced customer relations expert must be able to respond quickly and efficiently to different requestsMany call centers are located abroad. Many call centers are located abroad. A small time difference means that you can offer a "one-to-one" communication. in real time "with your teams and offer a consistent, responsive service to your customers. Your partner's language skills are also essential for smooth communication, among other things.

Focus on sector expertise and call center specialization

Expertise and specialization are two more fundamental aspects when choosing your call center. An outsourcing agency with extensive experience in your field of activity and in the type of services you wish to provide to your customers is indeed capable of efficiently handle complex and highly specific requests.

In the real estate sector, for example, the team's in-depth knowledge of the market, regulations, legal and tax issues, and buying, selling and leasing procedures guarantees you personalized advice and precise, detailed answers to all your customers' questions and problems.

In the e-commerce sector, on the other hand, a call center specialized in helpdesk (customer support and assistance) ensures that, in addition to a perfect knowledge of your products and services, you have indispensable technical skills: multi-channel customer support, assistance for customers in the online ordering and payment process, diagnosis and resolution of technical problems, resolution of problems linked to delivery, returns or difficulties of use, answers to technical questions on products, functionalities or methods of use, etc.
It allows you to offer efficient service and ensure business continuity for your customers.

Analyze the technologies and tools used by the call center

The tools and technologies used by the outsourced contact center are also important, as they contribute fully to operational efficiency service. They also make it possible to personalize customer relationsThis is essential in a highly competitive environment, where consumers turn to the company offering the service best suited to their needs and expectations.

The use of cutting-edge technologies is therefore crucial. Here are two examples:

  • Visit call management systems or ACD (automatic call distribution): thanks to their configurability (routing based on skills, call histories and/or queues, etc.), these management systems can efficiently direct calls to available agents, and better qualify them to meet the customer's specific requirements.
  • Visit CRM software (customer relationship management): they centralize customer data (purchase history, preferences, previous interactions, etc.) and provide agents with immediate access to relevant and accurate information, enabling them to provide consistent service across all communication channels and personalize contact, in particular.

Ensure your call center's commitment to quality

The quality of customer service determines the reputation of your company or brand. To guarantee optimal service, it is therefore essential to ensure that agent skills of your call center. The recruitment process, training (initial or ongoing) and experience are undoubtedly the first elements to be taken into consideration. Ongoing evaluation of agents, via call analysis or customer feedback in particular, also testifies to the contact center's real commitment to service quality.

Assess your call center's ability to adapt to change

Optimal customer relations also involveoperational agility that your contact center, and therefore your company, demonstrates. In a constantly evolving environment (changing customer needs, fluctuating call volumes, constant renewal of technologies, etc.), your outsourcing agency must be able to adapt quickly to maintain excellent performance and full customer satisfaction. Scalability of equipment and technologies, as well as flexibility of resources and processes, are therefore essential.

A call center, for example, needs to be able to adjust its human resources, agent schedules and processes according to occasional peaks in activity or the seasonality of your business. This proactive approach allows you to cope with increased demand during peak periods and optimize costs during quieter periods.

Monitor call center performance

A trusted partner must be able to demonstrate its commitment to service quality and its willingness to fully satisfy your requirements. This means demonstrating transparency to facilitate collaboration and decision-making, but also to be able to propose solutions for measuring and improve customer satisfaction.

To achieve this, your contact center must offer you full visibility of its overall performance and the way in which your needs are handled. So there's one final point to consider when assessing the efficiency of your call center: the performance monitoring.

Regular reports on key performance indicators or KPIs (average call handling time, waiting time, first contact resolution rate, customer satisfaction, for example) enable you to check that our services are aligned with your company's strategic objectives. They also enable you to identify strengths and areas for improvement, and to check that the solutions proposed match your expectations. Finally, they enable you to monitor progress and readjust your strategy if necessary.

Call centers: a strategic choice

The contact center is at the heart of customer relations: it accompanies the customer experience and contributes fully to improving it. It is an essential part of your growth strategy. Choose a an agile partner, tailored to your needs and enabling you to achieve your goals is therefore essential.

Read also: Customer relations center: how to improve the customer experience while optimizing costs?

As an expert in outsourced customer relations, Vivetic Group supports your development. Our teams, recruited and trained according to your business processes, are available all year round, in real time, and can be adapted to the periodic variations in your activities.
Entrust your project to us, and you're assured of :

  • Business and sector expertise (press, bancassurance, e-commerce, home shopping and real estate).
  • Efficient customer relationship management solutions: multi-channel customer service, customer acquisition and loyalty.
  • Highly-qualified expertise and strong scalability.
  • Tailor-made support, flexibility according to your needs and responsiveness to your customers' requirements.
  • The quality and reliability of the processes used (ISO 18295-1, PCI DSS, AICPA SOC2 and ISO 9001 certifications).

Put your trust in our teams!

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