The winter holidays are the most stressful time of year for many businesses. This is certainly true of contact centers, especially given that so many inbound call centers are in the field of customer service. During the holiday season, consumers will have questions, complaints, and concerns about everything from gift orders to unclear product instructions and even returns. With the massive seasonal influx of call traffic your center is likely to receive, how will your call c...

Ah, Black Friday. Once an unofficial American-exclusive holiday, this day-after-Thanksgiving kickoff to the holiday shopping season has gained traction in recent years all over the world. It seems that everyone wants to get in on the fervor - and possible frustration - of the season. If you work in an inbound contact center, you understand the challenges that Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other major retail event holidays can put on customer service representatives. There ...

Considering most of today’s most successful contact centers are taking an omnichannel approach to customer service, it only makes sense that live chat has become a focus among them. This technique brings together automation and live service - the best of both worlds. However, that only applies when it is being used correctly. What is Live Chat? Live chat is a platform that is typically built into a company’s website allowing consumers and agents to directly interact. It...

When you stop to think about the job of a call center agent in an inbound contact center, it’s really no wonder so many people consider it a stressful task. Talking to complete strangers on the phone, one after another for hours, day after day is enough to make many people anxious. Add in the element of not knowing how those people will be feeling when they call and knowing that they are likely to have questions, concerns, or complaints makes it even more nerve-wracking. H...

Today’s consumers are increasingly fond of the idea of self-service. From push-button prompts that make it easy to choose the reason why they’re calling to interactive, option-heavy menus that make speaking to a live human being mostly unnecessary, the current and future generation of consumers are in love with the idea of taking matters into their own hands. However, that doesn’t mean that a successful contact center should abandon the quality of their live agent cust...

Who is your customer base? You may think you know, but delving into the world of demographics can give you answers you might never have thought you could find. Some people believe that there is no importance when it comes to demographics; someone’s age and other life experiences shouldn’t matter when it comes to providing them with great customer service. While you should certainly provide all of your consumers with equally outstanding service, tailoring that service to ...

The modern call center is about so much more than calls. Numerous platforms allow contact center agents and their supervisors to connect with consumers and clients. This multichannel approach to communication has revolutionized the way that contact centers operate - and the way consumers feel about them. However, in the age of chatbots and SMS, it is important to remember the origin of call centers: phone calls. They still account for the largest percentage of information ex...

When you’re striving for success, it pays to compare your metrics to your own successes and failures in the past. This internal comparison is an important part of achieving success in the future - and ultimately, every company is its own biggest competitor. However, the impact and importance of actual competitors cannot be overlooked. Comparing your contact center’s success to its direct competitors’ is not only a good idea, but it is also necessary when it comes to cr...

The success of your business depends on customer experience. Creating a positive and satisfying experience is the mark of a modern company that caters to its consumer - and that’s exactly what today’s customers are searching for. What is the first step to crafting a positive experience for your consumer? If you’re running a contact center, the process begins by making yourself available and accessible whenever and however the consumer needs you. This means making it ea...

If your contact center is like most, you’re constantly looking for ways to improve your agent’s performance - and therefore the performance of your facility overall. It isn’t enough to train your agents toward meeting goals and focusing on metrics. It’s just as important to strive for call center agent success via a deeper understanding of the work your staff does and the way you serve your customers. One of the best ways to understand the customer experience that yo...