Data Decay:
How to Combat a Call Center’s Greatest Enemy
Two of the primary services of a call center are customer service and data collection. At a glance, these appear to be pretty straightforward. Upon a more profound study, you can determine that one cannot be completed without the other.
A call center needs customers’ data to contact them and ensure their satisfaction. A customer needs to be somewhat satisfied to give out their information willingly.
So, what problem do call centers face that can hinder these objectives? The answer is a call center’s greatest enemy: data decay.
What is Data Decay?
The term “data decay” refers to the loss of data within a system over a gradual period of time. There are two main classifications of decay: mechanical and logical.
Mechanical decay is perhaps the more well-known classification, dealing with server crashes and hard disk corruption.
Logical decay is the less-noticeable classification, dealing with phone numbers that have gone out of service, emails that are no longer valid, or addresses that change.
Why is Data Decay So Detrimental?
The answer is quite apparent. Call centers live and die by the data they collect. Data helps call center representatives tremendously when on the phone with a customer. The more time a representative has to spend collecting or re-collecting data from a customer, the less time they can spend solving an issue or ensuring their satisfaction.
If a server crashes, a call center has virtually nothing in the form of data. If a customer’s phone number is out of service, there is no way to contact that customer. You may think you can find alternative ways to reach that customer and update their information, but the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) dictates very strictly how your call center may reach a consumer, and violating the parameters set in this act can potentially lead to a lawsuit.
How Experienced Call Centers Fight Back
The answer to prevention for mechanical loss is simple: backup. Backup systems are essential for any company and should be used whenever possible. However, for logical data decay, the prevention may be a little more complicated. The first step in preventing logical data loss is determining if the information you’re using has been disconnected or reassigned. This is the easiest way to avoid a TCPA violation.
The best approach to verifying this information is to partner with an expert solution provider with push notification services. The call centers giving data to the provider will be notified proactively when a change event is detected. Essentially, your customer data is scrubbed and stays that way as a customer’s underlying data changes.
Changing Times Call for Evolving Solutions
Data decay is undoubtedly a call center’s greatest enemy. Call centers live and die by the data they collect. Times are changing, and so are the ways information is collected. With the changing times also comes a change in how you plan to maintain that data. A call center that plans for total server loss or gradual changing of phone numbers is a call center that is ready to serve its customers best day in and day out.
