Agents that are truly multi-skilled are a gift to any contact centre as they offer the flexibility of being allocated to departments depending on incoming contact volumes. However, being able to accurately predict where they will be needed when is essential to making the most of them. Continue reading
Whether you manage an inbound or outbound contact centre, there will be times when you need to defuse tense situations, be it because a customer has called you about an issue or because you are trying to sell them something.
Here are a few tips to handle objections positively. Continue reading
For many contact centres, Average Handling Time (AHT) is still an essential Key Performance Indicator (KPI). It affects the number of staff and the system capacity you need.
In the past, it was often thought that a low AHT was what to strive for but, over time, companies have recognised that it was too simplistic an approach to measure efficiency and that they had to take into consideration other factors such as First-Contact Resolution (FCR) rates. Continue reading
Over the last few decades, the contact centre industry has seen many waves of restructuring. Many industrialised countries first saw their contact centres re-locate where labour costs were lower, to see them come back after customers complained about the quality of service. Continue reading
How to Deal with Online Negative Reviews
Social media have provided businesses, both ecommerce and brick-and-mortar ones, with a fantastic way to engage with customers. However, they are all two-way communication channels and negative reviews form dissatisfied customers will also be accessible by everybody, which can do you harm. Continue reading
It costs 4 to 6 times more to acquire new clients than keeping existing ones; an existing customer is 14 times more likely to buy more products or services from you, and 73% are more likely to recommend you. Yet, despite these crystal-clear statitics, businesses’ priority is still very often about capturing new clients to the detriment of existing customers. Continue reading
Did you know that 20-40% of all retail sales happen in the last two months of the year? How well a retailer does in this time will largely determine the shape of their finances for the following year and it is therefore crucial that they put in place everything they need to maximise sales. Continue reading
The quality of service provided by your contact centre will be highly dependent on being adequately staffed. Too few agents will lead to longer waiting times, but too many will affect your profit, so how do you find the right balance? Continue reading
Unless it is a legal obligation in their industry, SMEs are often reluctant to record customer calls. They may hesitate for financial reasons, because they doubt that they will be useful or because they are unsure whether doing so is legal. Continue reading
There will always come a time when a company needs to invest heavily to upgrade technology or infrastructure so as to keep their contact centres efficient. However, there is also a myriad of low-cost improvements that will make a world of difference to customer satisfaction. Continue reading