Most people think of contact centers as large spaces filled with agents answering calls non-stop. However, reality differs a lot from this traditional vision, and that is that the tasks of the contact center advisor have evolved enormously in recent years, read on!
Tasks of the contact center advisor
- Answer to the consumer
- Make outbound calls
- Process orders and payments
- Track leads
- Up-selling and cross-selling
- Market reaserch and metrics analysis
- Manage and update databases
1. Answer to the consumer
Traditionally, here we would talk exclusively about phone service. Although this channel is still in force, improvements in technology have led to the integration of tools that allow a much more immediate, close and agile way of communication between consumer and advisor. Here we speak, for example, of the integration of social media, email or instant messaging.
To guarantee effective contact with the client, or potential client, it is essential to work on communication skills, both by voice and written. It is important to keep active listening to build trust and security. Letting the client speak is essential to make them feel comfortable. Clarity in speech is also essential, as well as paying attention to details and always keeping a tone of courtesy and empathy, whatever is the situation.
In addition to mastering communication style, agents must know how to efficiently navigate inquiries in order to generate a positive return. That is, generate a better feeling about the company, close a sale or build customer loyalty.
Some tips to improve communication with the consumer:
- Listen to the customer actively and empathically
- Identify the customer profile and know how to respond based on it
- Ask the right questions to get to the heart of the issue
- Demonstrate understanding and be proactive in finding solutions
- If you do not have the necessary tools, redirect the call in an agile way
- Close the conversation by offering your time to resolve any other questions
- Decipher customer satisfaction and implement strategies to improve the experience
2. Make outbound calls
The contact center team is not only dedicated to answering incoming calls, but another important task they perform in their day is to make outgoing calls to customers or potential customers. In this case, we are talking, for example, of the well-known “cold calls” where the advisor gets in touch with the recipient to generate sales, publicize new products or obtain collections, among others.
We know that this type of activity is not easy for advisors, so we leave you some tips that may be useful:
- Investigate the type of customer you want to target
- Prepare a good opening and rehearse to make it sound natural
- Customize the speech for each specific case and customer
- Avoid being insistent, it is more important not to damage the image of the company
- Celebrate victories and learn from mistakes
To facilitate the process, it is essential to have specifically designed software that allows you to schedule calls, detect invalid leads and preview contact data to increase agent productivity and motivation.
3. Process orders and payments
Taking and processing orders is another of the basic tasks of any contact center advisor. It consists of answering customer questions regarding the purchase of a product or service and accompanying the customer in placing the order electronically.
Thus, it requires agents to have a comprehensive knowledge of the company, both of the products and services it offers, and of the processes to follow to acquire them in an agile and responsible way. It is important to create a safe space for the consumer, and provide a complete support service to make the purchase a satisfactory experience.
In addition, the agent must be responsible for tracking orders as well as managing cancellations, changes and returns.
4. Track leads
Although first call resolution is the ideal scenario for any call center, not all inquiries are so lucky. When issues cannot be resolved immediately, agents must follow up to assess the situation and offer a follow-up service to ensure successful resolution.
For this reason, it is extremely important to integrate systems that allow this monitoring to be carried out automatically, facilitating the process for the agent and improving the experience for the user.
5. Up-selling & cross-selling
In many cases, the goal of the call center agent is to generate more leads. It is important to identify and take advantage of potential up-selling and cross-selling opportunities when interacting with customers.
The first case refers to sales that occur when a call center advisor draws a customer’s attention to an improved or higher value product or service than the customer had anticipated. While cross-selling refers to when an agent motivates a customer to buy the initial product plus another related or complementary product.
6. Market reaserch and metrics analysis
Carrying out market research, identifying patterns and measuring results is essential for any contact center, and therefore, a task that cannot be forgotten by any person in charge of the customer service team.
The call center is often the only direct human contact between the business and its customers. Therefore, the agent is essential for collecting comments and requests for the improvement of the service.
Collecting valuable data for the development of the company is essential to improve the communication and lead capture strategy, as well as to get to know the customer better and launch new products or services to meet their needs. In short, to make better decisions.
7. Manage and update databases
It is essential to keep an organized and updated call center database, and for this reason, it is essential to integrate your Contact Center software with a good CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
This customer relationship management system stores all the available data of each user who has contacted the company, or who has left their data in a form.
In addition, thanks to the information collected, personalized attention can be provided and directed to the problem in question. It also allows you to organize teams, create lists for campaigns and generate metrics, among many others.
Find out how our Contact Center software EVOLUTION can help you
As you know, each contact center, and the agents that work in it, have different needs and objectives. That is why it is essential to invest in flexible software that adapts to different types of businesses.
At ICR Evolution we have a powerful omnichannel tool that will allow you to offer an optimal service to your team while facilitating the generation and assessment of processes for your company. Request a demo and find out how we can help you!
