Strategic Call Center Training
Properly training a call center is of the utmost importance. For years, businesses had thought of call centers as a means for handling transactions. Whether purchasing airline tickets, renting a hotel room, or paying off a credit card, most people would associate call centers with a transaction process. However, businesses should no longer view call centers in that light. Call centers should now be viewed and valued as a strategic and training resource vital for any company.
Perceptions of Today’s Customers
Today, customers’ needs, perceptions, and opinions have enough power to shape a company’s direction. Because of this, most business experts would agree that a call center needs to play a more prominent role in a company’s business strategy. Daily interactions between call centers and customers gauge the positives and negatives within a company. A properly trained call center representative can strengthen the relationship between company and customer – thus strengthening the company’s brand and boosting profits.
Benefits of Training Call Center Representatives
Ideally, a call center trains representatives in handling every kind of customer. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. To get the most strategically out of a call center, a company must emphasize training its representatives. Call center staffers must be trained on how to listen to a customer and understand their actual value properly. If a representative treats the customer as a valued part of the company that is vital to its success, a strong, trusting relationship between customer and call center is sure to occur. A representative trained to manage and grow the customer asset is in line with a company’s strategy for success.
Growing the Relationship
One key example of a call center representative focusing on growing the relationship between company and customer comes from a customer who is irate over a small service charge. Suppose the representative has the authority to waive the fees instead of following the procedure, charging the customer, and perhaps aggravating them. In that case, it is in the company’s best interest to do so. Having call center representatives trained to read the situation and do what is best for the customer relationship is a substantial strategic resource. Instances such as this may cost the company a few dollars at the time, but what is lost will be gained, plus some, when the happy customer inevitably returns in the future.
Redefining the Call Center Roll
Rethinking the role of a call center as more than just a means to conduct a transaction allows a company to emphasize the relationships built and data collected within. A strong relationship between the customer and a call center representative can mean a customer is more willing to share information to be collected and used for marketing. This information is more than just having someone provide credit card information over the phone. For example, a travel company’s call center collecting travel preferences allows the company’s marketing team to strategically target their wants and needs at certain times of the year. The more targeted this travel company’s marketing strategy is, the more likely they are to book vacations. Knowledge is power, and the data collected within a call center can play a vital role in the success of a business.
In short, call centers are a tremendous strategic resource for a company. Focusing on proper training of call center representatives can lead to immense success. Those that are properly trained will know how to build strong relationships with customers, collect the appropriate data needed for future marketing strategies, and do what is necessary to please the customer and keep them coming back for more.
