Call Center Necessity: Lead Nurturing

Call centers have to come out of the comfort zone of thinking that lead nurturing is a marketing option for them. In the modern day lead generation scenario, an outbound call center department has very little option but to engage in vigorous lead nurturing. To explain the point further, let’s pick on a typical sales lead generation cycle. Call centeragents make cold calls to potential customers. These are generally unwanted calls. The ratio of clinching a sale is particularly low. On the other hand, the vast database of phone numbers that your department makes use of will increase the returns on investment (ROI).

There is a major difference in the lead generation scenario when the outbound call center agents engage in lead nurturing. This important process helps to align the timings of the buyer and the seller. Because the call centers tap only those contacts that have expressed a clear desire to be called. They will be more interested in the sales lead generation process than the usual cold calls that are made. You can also contact the potential customers through email or any other format that you choose to. Because of this additional care that you show, the contact will rely on your brand as the trusted source among the numerous brands that are in contention.

Lack of Planning in Offshore Call Center

The business firms that have outsourced their call center services to offshore call centers are thinking again about the poor customer satisfaction they are getting. Many of these firms are considering pulling back their projects to onshore BPO units in the hope of better service. They are missing a vital point here. The projects that are outsourced to these offshore BPO units often lack the planning that is necessary. As a result of the lack of insight, they end up doing poor work on the customer service. The solution lies in the ability of the project planners to make a productive work flow.

Call centers are what they become because of planning and management. Geographical location has little to do with it. Yes, that plays a role in getting quality technology and manpower. But those factors remaining standard, call center services can improve or slide down according to the capability of the top brass to train. If they can motivate and inspire the agents into doing some quality BPO service, just because they are working out of India or Latin America wouldn’t make much of a difference. Every call center needs correct technology, quality manpower and optimum use of resources

Call Center Scheduling: Some Tips

We have reported time and again that call centre scheduling can be a wonderful way of improving performance at the call centers. Here are some tips that you can use for effective scheduling of call center services.

First, make use of a flexible schedule model. Call centre services are flexible and vary from day to day. Some days you may have to put in some extra to make up for lost time. Such days also come in when you are lagging behind on your targets. If you have your call center agents work to predetermined timings, you will find yourself facing challenges on a daily level.

Second, reduce shrinkage by stringent adherence. Call centres often go weak on the question of adhering to time schedules. The best way to get rid of the lackadaisical attitude is to make the agents realize that a mere waste of 10 minutes can change things and have ripple effects all over the call center departments. They have to go out for lunches and comfort breaks on time and get back to the floor punctually.

To make sure that your call center agents are working hard at maintaining the schedule, arrange for incentives. Let the deserving ones be awarded and that will motivate the others to follow schedules diligently.

Hard and Soft ROI of Call Center

There is a distinct difference between returns on investment (ROI) in a call center. You can classify them as hard and soft ROIs. The hard ROI measures the call center services in terms of money. For example, if you use a particular technology at the call centers, you will be able to save a certain amount of money every year. On the other hard, the soft ROI means the customer satisfaction level at the call center customer service. You cannot measure that in monetary terms but it definitely has a strong bearing on the revenue earning of the company. The trick for success at the BPO is to convert these soft ROI figures into hard ROI ones.

How can call center units do that? The call centers have to break down the organizational goals into responsibility for the individual agents. That way, each call center agent will be able to understand what kind of role they are expected to perform. If they feel that sense of belonging with the BPO, they will work towards making that additional effort. Otherwise, the BPO agent goes back home without feeling any sense of attachment to the organization. They feel that they hold a post that can be easily substituted. That affects the attrition rate as well.

Organic Growth is Our Call Center Aim

As we come to an advanced stage in the first quarter of the year, our call center operations need a shift in thinking. The managers working at our call centers have devised a plan to make the growth more organic and well spread out. We want our inbound call center department make as much progress as our outbound call center. Similarly, the back office functions that we conduct include search engine optimization, social media marketing and other associated call center services need focus. Thanks to the quality work that we have done in this segments over a period of time, they have gained popularity among clients and consumers.

There is another reason why organic growth in the call centers has become a priority for us. We want to cut down on hiring and training by adding more efforts in retaining employees. The attrition rate has never been a worrying point atHelios Outsourcing, but we do have to ensure that our agents are comfortable in their jobs. Happy employees will take care of our vision for organic growth. Our managers and team leaders have been directed to inculcate more sense of belonging in the employees. We want to move ahead with them as they are an integral part of our future plans.

Basic Lead Generation Tips

There are some basic lead generation tips that call centers need to follow. These steps are so commonplace that many call center units take them for granted. In their bid to get more sophisticated call center services onboard, they miss out on these basics. That hurts the sales lead generation process in the long run. These are:

(I) Research: Before you begin work on a call center, you will have to conduct a thorough research on the brand or company you will work for. Talking to their clients and customers will give the call centers a fair idea of what they have on their hands. Reputation of the company will play a vital role in the lead generation process.

(II) Opt-In Method: Before the outbound call center team dials up numbers or sends promotional emails, they have to check up if the receiver has opted in. Without a legitimate opt-in method, you will be treated like unwanted hassle. As for emails, there is a strong chance that your email domain will be blocked by ESPs if receivers report spam.

(III) Follow-Up: The follow-up emails sent out by the lead generation teams are important, as they are necessary. Many leads die out because the call center did not follow them up or nurture them carefully.

Small Call Centers Strive to Survive

In the modern BPO world, small and medium scale companies have little hopes of survival. They have to either merge with larger call center firms or have business partnerships with them. There is a growing need for call center services that are on the cutting edge of technology. The aim of the clients and business firms hiring them is to get telemarketing projects done before stipulated and time-tested cycles. To make that happen, you need technology and innovation. In other words, you need capital and investments. Small and medium scale companies cannot afford that kind of money. They will need the back-up of larger units.

The days of dedicated manpower service is over. You may have the most skilled telemarketing agents on the job, but you will falter to deliver if you don’t have the equipment and the gadgets. Clients will shy away from hiring call centers that don’t have state-of-the-art technology. BPO companies will lose out on their marketing pitches for projects when they find out that they don’t work in certain ways. That is why Helios Outsourcing has always concentrated on technological investments. You can grab the A-list projects only when you are fully equipped and that is something that has been an advantage for us.

Customer Service: Is it Counterproductive?

Business firms, no matter how much their budget is, always think of having someone competent answer the calls of the customers. These calls are not just enquiries, these are business opportunities. When the BPO sector grew in prominence, the business firms realized the potential that was waiting to be tapped. Clients started creating and using hotlines for customers to call for questions related to the products and services of the brand. But having a hotline is not the end of the matter. You have to maintain your call center back-up in the best possible way. Otherwise, your investment will be counterproductive.

When you have a customer service line, customers will call. If you don’t have an efficient BPO team answering those calls, your customers feel betrayed. That’s worse than not having an inbound call center team at all! That is why Helios Outsourcing always tries to keep things efficient at the answering service desk. Our trained agents never let any opportunity slip past. In a way, we create opportunities for lead generation while answering calls. We train our agents to try cross selling and up selling whenever the chance presents itself. Our clients admire our continued effort to generate sales. It’s something that is part of our motto.

B2B Lead Generation through Professional Networks

The use of professional networks is an up and coming tool for B2B lead generation. Professionals across the globe are steadily signing up for professional networking websites like LinkedIn and Facebook. Their aim is to stay in touch with colleagues and co-workers from the past and also the present. The network helps them source for jobs, share ideas and also take part in meaningful discussions about their professional. Call center agents can interact with the decision makers of business firms. Talking strictly in a professional manner, they can convince them as to why they need the telemarketing services of the BPO unit.

B2B lead generation is a tad difficult than the usual sales lead generation that the outbound call center agents does. In this process, the call center agents have to be careful about what they are writing and talking about. Because they are dealing with top-notch business executives, any error in pitching for telemarketing projects can be the reason why you missed out on the deal. Trying too hard to seal it off will also come across as desperate. You have to strike a fine balance between being laid back and too aggressive. Follow up your emails with phone calls and keep the lead warm, advises experts.

BPO Predictions That Came True

There are a couple of BPO predictions that have come true in 2010. Experts in the call center industry had predicted that the volume of business process outsourcing business will increase as the recession weakens. That is exactly what happened. As the business firms in the countries like USA and UK got back into the cash-rich model of business, they were more open to hiring call centers for customer services and lead generation. The fresh demand for call center services managed to salvage many BPO companies from going down. There were more telemarketing projects for the smaller firms to work on and stay afloat.

The second prediction for the call center industry was that smaller and mid-level companies will take to hiring call centers. In the initial days of BPO work, only the high-end companies would hire call center services. But the ability to afford the low-cost customer services and lead generation has made it possible for the smaller firms to get call center partners onboard. This has further expanded the volume of telemarketing services that was there to be done. More projects meant better revenue for the business process outsourcing industry. That is what explains the stupendous success of the industry in 2010. Hope there’s more to follow in the coming year!

Customer-oriented Lead Generation

Lead generation campaigns can be better managed affairs if the call centers doing those focus on the customers. Too many call center units spend their resources in trying all the sales lead generation tools that they know of. They feel that they can tap all the tools available and make a deeper impact on the profit graph. However that is a flawed concept. We have noticed that telemarketing campaigns can yield better returns on investment (ROI) for most BPO units if they strategize their marketing mix according to the customers that they are planning to target. The procedures that they want to follow depend on the nature of the telemarketing services that they are hoping to provide.

Helios Outsourcing has done lead generation projects for B2B and B2C clients. There is a marked difference in how a call center should approach these disparate areas of sales lead generation. While online lead generation may work for a business that is selling services that cater to an elite class of consumers, telemarketing calls are more suited for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). That is why it is important to choose the right tool and that is to be determined solely by the consumers that you hoping to target.

Means to Reach Business Targets

In the current economic environment, call center outsourcing happens be one right solution and a decisive way to achieve goals and objectives of your own organization. Today, business and market competition has outdone the given limits of the viable environment. In such a situation, it will be significant enough for businesses to seek out for effective ways to help their businesses to grow.

These days, mere existence of a service or a product in the market has slowly become outdated. Currently, most companies operating in the current market are found to center on the constant recall amid innovation, consumer base, access and cutting-edge technology. The need for call center outsourcing has taken a new shape to manage and handle most external and internal demands and costs.

The management and financial strains affect the objectives and goals of a company quite adversely. The outsource call center will not only offer the quality services but it will also stick to the time and cost assigned. Call center services offer you professional, skilled customer support, rapid response, faster turnaround time, back-office support, account management knowledge while initiating new campaigns.

It will not be wrong to say that the offshore call centers have earned a reputation of their own. These service providers are widely chosen for the quality services and cost-effective ways to help businesses all over the world. Most offshore call centers are adept at providing result-oriented and customized services. These services are specially designed to meet the varied needs of the market.

The highly skilled technical expertise and the IT literate employees include the ability to make customer services exceptional and unparallel. With the use of the state-of-the-art technology, most call center set-ups are found to handle high volumes of customer calls, operational efficiencies and multi-channel expertise. This is reason why most companies operating in the current market make outsourcing a popular choice to help businesses to flourish.

With the help of the inbound services as offered in a call center, you will be able to experience increased profits and sales, reduced costs, enhanced customer base, improved rates of lead conversion and others. On the other hand, the outbound services will comprise a wide diversity of services especially known as the telemarketing services. These include specialized services that ensure to offer professional solutions. Some of these services include market research and survey, appointment survey, product or service promotion, sales and marketing, voice broadcast, chat follow-up, email, mortgage lead generation

Call center services are finely categorized into two types-outbound call center and inbound call center. Out of the given two, the inbound contact center services covers seminar and conference registration, click to talk services, customer follow-up, customer acquisition campaigns, lead generation or lead capture, fulfillment e-commerce programs, emergency response-direct or email and live chat.

Offshore call centers maintain their performance levels all throughout the services. The value-added services on offer help business firms to save the surplus charges and the time. These are advanced services, which especially focus on your own energies and labor on the core management issues. This will help to place services and products strongly as well as strategically in the market.

Cloud Computing Cuts Call Centre Costs

The model of using cloud computing for Call Centres is now gaining popularity. According to this new model, BPO companies need not invest in purchasing equipment like automatic call distributors and phone switches. All of these devices can be used over the Internet, if they hire the services of a third-party host. The Call Centre services are operated upon a platform that is provided by a host. The services are available over a broadband Internet connection. Telemarketing agents can work from anywhere with the help of an Internet modem and a computer. This will cut down the overhead costs of a Call Centre by a huge margin.

If you believe the experts, they opine that cloud computing is expected to grow by 35% this year and about 20% in the next. This is definitely a progress for the business process outsourcing industry. Call Centre agents can now work from home. Studies have revealed that when telemarketing agents work from home on flexible work timings, they are happier. This increases the productivity of the BPO unit. Ideally, that’s the situation that any telemarketing services firm would want to be in! They manage to cut costs because of the cloud computing model and they also have a more productive team working for them.

Google Values Customer Service in New Algorithm

Search engine giant Google has decided to attach more value to customer service and CRM than ever before. It has planned to modify its search engine algorithms to ensure that business firms with a bad reputation among the customers will not find favorable search engine page ranks (SERPs). In the present system, companies which have more of online rant complaining against their customer care or their experience post telemarketing often find themselves dominating the higher rankings. The bad publicity translates into more online visibility for them! Google is now working for a different way of gleaning past these unfair ranks to businesses that don’t care about their customers.

According to the new system of Google, words like ‘thief’, ‘rip off’, ‘liar’ would be counted as discredits. BPO companies who are into online lead generation through websites have to be careful now on. They have to pull together their customer service department, both online and offline. Helios Outsourcing looks at this new development with considerable interest. It will surely be a fresh perspective at how business networks are perceived on search engines. At the same time, business firms have to be careful about online reputation management. They have to get over the various posts and content that portrays the business in a negative light.

The Important of FCR in Customer Service

FCR, or First Call Resolutions, is that part of customer service that records the number of calls that were resolved on the very first instance. Sometimes callers have to ring up the inbound call centre desk more than once for a single problem. A call centre that pays attention to the FCR percentage doesn’t allow a problem to lie. They make the best possible attempt to get it sorted out on the first attempt made by the caller. This has several advantages to it. Firstly, it reduces the operational cost at the answering service desk. Callers, when they find a solution to their problem, don’t call again with the same issue. So the BPO unit doesn’t have to pay for repeat calls.

Customer Service, Probably the best advantage of a high FCR is the customer satisfaction. Customers like your customer service when you manage to pin down your problem immediately. This attains two benefits for the telemarketing department. One is that the call centre agent can build up on the customer’s good mood to cross sell and up sell. Another benefit is that because the callers are happy with your call centre services, they will not think about moving over to some other brand. This keeps your clients happy and is fruitful for your business in the long run.

Additional Call Centre Services : Direct Mail Follow-Up

Helios Outsourcing is adding some new call centre services to its existing menu. These BPO divisions are derivates of what we already have. One of those new additions is the Direct Mail Follow-up Services. This is the process by which we nurture leads and bring them to sales. We follow up on every possible lead through emails to remind the contact about the product/service that we are trying to sell to them. The purpose of the email is to ensure that the contact remembers about your brand in spite of the busy life that they have to lead. A busy professional is more likely to forget a telemarketing call.

We must take into account that just like your brand wants a contact on the subscriber list, there are other Call Centres trying for the same goal. It will not be a surprise if your rival BPO company is contacting them as well! To stay ahead of this race, you have to be on the mind of the decision-maker. Our outbound Call Centre department shoots off regular emails as reminders about the conversation that led to the lead. We also rely on telemarketing calls to verify and quantify leads. It is our company policy to make sure we pass a list of verified leads to our clients.

Database Cleansing for Lead Generation

Lead generation can be a fruitful exercise only if you have a proper database. Database services are an important part of our call centre services menu. Helios Outsourcing employs quality database programmers. They help you cleanse your database from spam traps, bots, bogus email ids and also telephone numbers that are listed on the national Do Not Call lists. This helps the sales lead generation process to a great degree. It takes off all those email ids and phone numbers that are unproductive and only clutter up the database. Without these elements, your database becomes optimized and your lead to sale conversion ration improves drastically.

Helios Outsourcing can update and maintain a database with a high volume of data. Our BPO database programmers make it possible for our clients to access the database online and across all branches of their office. Our call centre agents monitor the database round the clock. We realize that the database is the key to successful lead generation campaigns. We are concerned about the safety of the database from external and internal threats. We have a proven track record to show how much we have been able to satisfy our clients in database services. We also offer technical support to different kinds of servers and data banks.

Short Guide for Telemarketing Agents

We are always writing about the BPO business. Today, let’s talk about the people who make that possible: the call center agents and employees! How can they improve their work? Here’s a short guide:

• Attempt the tougher part of the job first. Make those lead generation calls to the customers you think are difficult to tackle. Once you get those out of the way, you will feel less burdened to call the others!Telemarketing services is about concentration. When you are not working, listen to music or read books. Let your brain wander. That way, when you are back at the work station, you can deliver to the best of your ability.
• Exercise keeps the energy levels high. After working for long stretches at the call center, your body needs some release. Make sure you do some brisk walking for about 30 minutes in the morning. Indulge in some free-hand exercises, too.
• Your work desk is a reflection of your personality and state of mind. A cluttered desk confuses the mind and you end up mixing up your call center services. Keep the desk in order so that you know the sequence of your daily work.
• Keep meetings and other appointments in your schedule. Avoid last minute additions and modifications. Customer service or lead generation both happen to be jobs that have a time factor.

Lead Generation: SEO & Social Media

More BPO companies are relying on a combined effect of SEO and social media to conduct lead generation campaigns online. But, as we have reported in various posts in the past on this blog, the call centers are thriving to get it right. The question that they are asking is, why will they invest in social media campaigns for sales lead generation? Here are two reasons to check out if your business needs it:

• Install tracking software on your websites and blogs. If you have ‘Share’ buttons on them that lead to your corporate pages on Facebook or Twitter, you will be able to find out how many people are posting your links on these platforms. You can also find out how many people are sharing your link with their friends through email. The data will help you convince the programming team to install more social network buttons on the website.

• Get your call center managers to study click reports. Through online tools, you can track down every click that is made on your website or your corporate page on social media networks. This will help you check out how many people are being directed to your website from sites like Facebook and Twitter. With more people coming in from these channels, you will have better chances of making a case supporting social media activity for B2B lead generation.

Beyond the Customer Service Script

The script used by the agents at customer service is very often the reason why they cannot improve the quality of their service. The callers are live voices, and when they choose to speak to a call center agent, they want to interact with a live voice. They get bored and irritated when the BPO agent is not willing to move away from the set script and help them out. That is something that the supervisors in the inbound call center department have to think over. The supervisor can begin by offering the agents more authority to solve cases. When they are heavily dependent on approvals from seniors, they delay the process of solving problems.

As for the agents, customer service is all about interaction. Speak to the callers casually. Make them interested in conversation. Make comments that make them smile. Experienced inbound call center agents know that flattery goes a distance in telemarketing. Make the caller feel important and privileged. At the same time, BPO agents have to careful about what they say. They must not ignore the fact that they are representing a company or a client. When pushing for lead generation, agents are often rude and curt. They try to get directly to the point. But that is the wrong approach. Telemarketing services is dynamic. To succeed, you will have to play by the rules.