The customer/business relationship is becoming more and more an electronic one. I spend a lot of time talking to perspective clients about easy ways to implement tools that support this new relationship model. CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) is a cloud based refers to call center software that is hosted in the cloud rather than on-premise. CCaaS providers supply a complete pay-as-you-go service and eliminate the need for in-house servers, maintenance, software upgrades.
Where to start with Contact Service
If you are looking at building out the electronic side of your customer service side of your business, the following questions can help you to formulate your needs for a CCaaS solution.
- How does your company currently support the client experience? Consider the in-person and electronic engagement.
- Who within the organization is responsible for client experience?
The tools of a remote worker call Center
- Are you able to describe the process for a client/prospective client to contact your company if they want to find out about your service/product? How do they resolve a dispute/pay a bill?
- Do you know what your competitors may be doing in this regard?
- What technology-related initiatives do you have in place that impact revenue generation and/or client retention?
- What challenges/friction do you or your customer experience in supporting their requests?
Already Have a Contact Center Application?
Maybe you already have implemented a contact center. Here are some questions to ask yourself around how it is working to meet your customer service goals.
- What tool(s) are in use today?
- If the tools are premised-based, what is the cost of ownership? How much are you spending to keep the services up, running and secure?
- What communication channels are you employing today? Are you looking to add channels like SMS, bots, etc.?
- Have you integrated your email application or CRM database with your with your contact center software?
- What kind of agent turnover do you experience? What initiatives do you have in place around improving agent experience?
- Does your contact center support interactions with visitors to your website?
- Have you or are you trying to build out any workflow automation?
- Are you tracking any customer service statistics and metrics? Typical metrics tracked include:
- KPIs: Key Performance Indicators – the most important metrics management use to gauge the performance of their contact center. A few common examples include:
- SL: Service Level – how many calls/interactions are answered within a specific timeframe expressed as a %. The “80/20” rule is very common in contact centers – a Service Level goal of answering 80%+ of all interactions within the first 20 seconds of hold time.
- ASA: Average Speed to Answer – how quickly, on average, an agent or queue is answering inbound interactions.
- AHT: Average Handle Time – how long, on average, it takes to handle a single call or interaction. AHT = (talk time + hold time + after call wrap-up time) / number of calls handled
- FCR: First Call Resolution – % of calls where the caller’s issue is fully resolved on the first interaction, thus not needing additional interactions to be serviced by the contact center for the same issue.
These questions are just a jump off point for a deeper dive into how a good contact center can provide a cost effective solution to your business’s customer service solution. I am happy to put you in contact with any of the UCaaS providers that I work with regularly. Together we can assist you in figuring out what hosted customer service tools can be implemented that are effective, easy to use and cost efficient.
Teledata Select offers a whole range of services that will help you meet your business goals. Starting with a complimentary review of your current telecommunication bills to identify errors and find opportunities for savings, better service and more functionality. We also offer project management for new service implementation and infrastructure installs, including fiber and low voltage cabling. Call us at 404-257-1502 to discuss your current Telecom Service Solution and what you would like to get out of it. Or send us a note via This Link to start a no obligation discussion of your specific business technology needs.
John Hagan is President of TeleData Select, a Telecommunications Consultant located in Atlanta, Ga serving customers throughout the US and overseas. His company provides business solutions for voice, data, mobile and cloud solutions for both large and small businesses. Contact John or his team for a complimentary telecom audit to make sure you’re getting the best value for communication services. The savings you receive could offset the cost of purchasing a new Hosted or Premise based solution.
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