Know about call center
June 25, 2010
There are various ways to assess the competence of a call center, but before you can do that, you must know the basics, because how can you judge something that you know nothing about, right? The first thing you need to know is the type of call center you will need for your own company. There are four types: an in-house call center, an outsourced one, an outbound call center, and an inbound one. In-house call centers require for you to make room for this separate department, and not just office space, but also lots more capital, as an efficient call center requires more technical (like call center software, for example) and human resources than you can possibly think of. This is why most businesses, in the realization that having a call center for their telemarketing needs is an effective way to boost their income, have turned to outsourced call centers. Nowadays, there are more and more companies that offer outsourced business, and once you hire a good reputable one, you can be sure that they will already have the latest in call center software and will have well-trained call center agents to handle your business needs. The next two types of call centers pertain to type of services they render, in terms of telemarketing. Outbound call centers require agents to make calls to potential customers, while inbound call centers focus mostly on customer-service, by attending to customer queries about your products. Both types of call centers are beneficial, but you also have to assess whether outbound or inbound calls are particularly more beneficial to your own type of business. Now that you know the basic, you will now have to turn your attention to the minute details of a call center. Before hiring one, you may want to check the reputation of the call center you’re hiring. Beware of those that offer lower prices, as they may cut on the quality of their performance as they cut on costs. Check the track record, the productivity of the agents, connections in the business, and their degree of innovation. Also, take note of their infrastructure. An advanced and up-to-date infrastructure is a must in telemarketing call centers. Their infrastructure must help them become flexible to what your business requires, whether your business requires inbound, outbound or a combination of both in your telemarketing campaigns. In fact, all you actually have to do is familiarize them with your business and your requirements, and monitor them once in a while using the detailed reports and live call monitoring, and the call center must proceed from there. You should also check their personnel, from the project managers down to the agents, and also the type of projects they’ve handled in the past. This will give you an idea of whether they can cater to your requirements. All these and more should assure you that the call center you’re thinking of hiring will meet your standard of competence in call centers.
The increased usage of VoIP in voice networks is likely to affect how IVR will be used in voice networks, this is due to the introduction of protocols such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The introduction of SIP means that point to point communications is no longer restricted to voice calls but can now be extended to multimedia technologies such as video. This will bring a new meaning to automated services as IVR extends its reach to video calls. Many IVR manufacturers are currently working on IVVR (Interactive Voice and Video Response) systems, especially for the mobile phone networks. The use of video will give IVR systems the ability to use graphical and video information to assist the caller.
The introduction of video IVR may allow systems in the future the ability to read emotions and facial expressions. It may be used to identify the caller, using technology such as Iris scan or other biometric means. Recordings of the caller may be stored to monitor certain transactions, and may be used to reduce identity fraud.