Measuring The Usefulness And Success Of A Call Handling Service Company

By Author: Jo Alelsto
Total Articles: 405
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The trend in outsourcing a firms' non-core or IT functions has become a more viable and widely accepted strategy for corporate growth these days. The need to justify outsourcing is not that hard these days anymore, because a manager or senior executive only has to justify that work done internally can be done better by an outside entity, through outsourcing. The growth of the call handling service sector, more commonly known as the call center industry, has become a major catalyst for transforming many businesses, allowing these firms set their sights more on their core functions.

For starters, what exactly is a call center? Well, it could be one, or any of these examples: A telemarketing firm, a customer support center, and internal or external help desk, a travel or airline reservations firm, an online catalog retailer, an e-commerce transactions firm, a credit or collection agency, a fund -raising or opinion research company. According to call handling service experts, a call center generally is defined as a physical location where calls are either initiated, or received, in large volumes, for sales, marketing, ...
... customer service, technical support, outbound surveys, and other specialized business activities. According to a recent study made by the Direct Marketing Association, the total sales generated for example, by outbound telemarketing services in 1997, amounted to a whopping US $289 billion. Call centers today have evolved to become more sophisticated and multi-functioning organizations, providing vital services that are integral to the success of the companies or organizations they serve. These have grown to become more integrated and wide-reaching than simply being referred to as an institution that does business by phone.

Technology experts note that today's call center environments are usually set up as a large office, with specially-designed workstations that have a telephone headset that is connected to a main telecoms switch, a personal computer, a large server to handle the influx of calls, and a team of supervisors or managers who will ensure the quality of work done by the call center agents. The facility may either be a stand-alone center, or could be linked to other centers located in other areas as well. It is also equipped with an extensive data network, which will make use of mainframes, microcomputers and local area network (LAN) technology.

According to call center professionals, a customer's perception of a company or organization can be considerably based on the quality of interaction they experience with a call center. Experts indicate that call centers may often times, serve as the only major interaction point that a customer has with the company. The level or quality of interaction a customer experiences here, will most likely give him or her either a positive or negative opinion about the organization or company. It therefore helps, that customers have a good perception of the company they patronize or support, if only to retain them as loyal clients. According to recent US customer satisfaction surveys, it is estimated that around 84% of respondents want a proactive level of communication with their preferred company or organization, and 76% wish to hear as well about other products and services. In addition, an estimated 82% of respondents say they would buy a product or avail a service because of a great call center experience, and an estimated 44% stopped doing business with a firm because of a poor call center experience. These figures show a lot about how important it is for customers to feel satisfied during their initial call center experience. A call center outsource provider should also know that 68% of callers are generally frustrated by long hold times, and 62% are exasperated by having to repeat information which was previously provided, especially during the same call.

As the famous adage goes, it costs more money and time to find a new customer than to keep the ones you already have. The bottom line is that, companies who are able to provide truly exceptional and good-quality customer service are in a much better position to retain the loyalty of their customers, and continue to see their profits grow.
Jo is an author and publisher for ‘PPT Solutions' (http://www.pptsolutions.co.uk), a reputable UK stationed call center firm that offers quality inbound and outbound call handling functions, business training and consultancy. If you need the support of a call handling UK stationed call center to raise the confidence and trust of your customers in your firm or if you need to manage customer relations in a cost-effective manner then check out PPT Solutions.