Every outbound call center has two core objectives: maximizing sales and enhancing customer satisfaction. Doing so is not easy since it requires thoughtful planning, hard work, and continuous improvement.
However, here’s good news for you! We have already done the guesswork and distilled some of the best practices that an outbound call center can use to survive and thrive in 2022.
Besides, we have unveiled some advanced tools to help you manage overwhelming workloads and improve customer experience. We’ve selected the top 5 most effective strategies that outbound call centers need to use to survive and thrive in 2022. Without further ado, let’s quickly jump into the details!
Set Clear Goals & KPIs
Firstly, you should set clear, actionable, and time-bound goals. You can do this by asking yourself:
- What’s your main objective: making appointments, surveying, or making a direct sale?
- What’s the return on investment you are expecting?
Next, you have to set key performance indicators (KPIs) that are distinct parts of the main goal. KPIs help you track and assess your progress; however, measuring all KPIs takes time and effort. To ease your task, below, we have listed the main KPIs that every outbound call center should track to thrive in 2022:
- esolution- This metric is best to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a call center as customers generally expect to get a resolution in a single call. Making multiple calls is unsatisfactory for them, and expensive for you!
- Conversion Rate- This is measured by dividing the number of sales by the total number of calls. A higher conversion rate means your call center produces better results.
- Calls Per Account- Track calls per account and don’t waste your time on those accounts which are not generating great leads.
- Hit Rate- This helps to track the agent’s performance, and its formula is (number of calls made by each agent/ number of calls answered).
Use Call Monitoring Checklists
Let’s be honest; your main goal is to increase customer satisfaction, and it won’t happen by chance. Thus, you need to use specific tools and checklists in this regard.
One such tool is a call quality monitoring checklist that will track your agent’s behavior during a customer interaction over a web support chat, email, or phone call. Later on, you can use this knowledge to check out the agent’s performance like:
- How does an agent convey technical information?
- Did the agent speak politely and confidently?
- What were the agent’s tone, pitch, and average speed?
Shortly, it will help you to evaluate how your employees deal with customers so you can make effective strategies to boost customer satisfaction.
Continuously Train Your Employees
Do you want to make sure that your team yields the best results in a short time? Then empower them with updated knowledge and software.
Upskilling and reskilling are becoming more and more important; hence, it is essential to provide the best training programs to your agents. According to a recent survey, employees enjoy training that helps them produce better results and get promoted.
Here’s how you can make your training programs more effective:
- Pay special attention to your frontline agents and coach them to answer technical questions smoothly and confidently.
- Teach your agents how to speak in a clear voice that positively impacts your customer. Furthermore, it is highly important “what” your agents say and “how,” they say it. Help them understand the customer’s emotions so they can use this knowledge to increase customer satisfaction and engagement.
- Ensure your employees are aware of useful tools and provide them with all the software they need.
Track & Improve Customer Experience
To improve your customer experience, you first need to know about customer pain points and how you can help them. Afterward, make a special plan according to their requirements and provide them with the services they are looking for.
Customers are the heart of your organization, so you also need to track their experience. This way, you are more likely to develop a loyal relationship with your customers.
It’s very important to focus on improving your outbound calling strategy.
Invest in Technology
There are multiple kinds of software available that call centers can use to save their employees’ time. Some of these include:
Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
ACD reduces the wait time and directs the incoming customers to an agent who can better solve their problems.
Workforce Management Software (WFM)
As its name indicates, WFM helps manage employees’ schedules and enhances their productivity.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
This system displays caller information like their previous complaints so the agent can provide them with a more personalized experience. Additionally, it automatically updates the record and saves time for your employees.
Wrapping Up
Managing an outbound call center is not a piece of cake. As a team leader, you need to ensure that your customers are satisfied and the agent’s performance is up to the mark.
Luckily, some best management practices and modern software solutions can help you do this all smoothly.