In today’s fast-paced business environment, contact centers are a crucial component of any organization’s customer engagement strategy. However, according to a recent study by Forrester, many contact centers are not fully realizing their potential to drive revenue and improve customer satisfaction.
The study found that contact centers are leaving money on the table by not leveraging their resources effectively. The study revealed that the majority of contact centers have a shortsighted approach to “customer service” as a concept, and fail to recognize the value of using their agents to generate revenue.
This is a significant missed opportunity, as Forrester estimates that companies could unlock billions in revenue annually by using their contact centers to play a critical role in developing loyal customer relationships and leaving them consistently satisfied. So why do so many contact centers fail to take advantage of this opportunity? And what can they do to improve?
According to the Forester study, there are three customer service drivers that consistently emerge as clearly shaping the customer experience, and how customers perceive the quality of the CX they received. The top three questions that customers ask themselves are “have all my questions been answered?”, “were my problems resolved on first contact?”, and “was the agent in a position to deal with my issues without consulting management?”. Considering that these drivers are so influential in setting customer expectations, it’s important that organizations take this data seriously and make the necessary adjustments.
Let’s take a deep dive into just one of these three drivers and determine why it’s such an influential factor in generating positive customer reviews. And let’s not forget – this study involved nearly 100,000 consumers. Their voices – and their opinions – count. It’s clear that many customer service managers don’t trust their agents, and that’s a problem when the expectation is that an agent should be able to solve problems autonomously. We are all familiar with the dynamic of being a customer who is looking for a resolution of some kind, only to be met with a disconnected voice that cannot help us and wants to send us up the chain of command. This is frustrating!
But the stats speak for themselves. This same Forester study revealed that empowered agents in the insurance field could generate $1 billion in incremental revenue for their employers. This projection is mirrored in the travel industry, which could see an $833 million revenue surge by giving agents the authority to make bottom-line decisions.
Customer service leaders can empower their agents in a couple of ways. By stepping back from a micromanagement role and encouraging agents to go “off script” and speak authentically, businesses are imbuing their front line with the capacity to interact with customers on a deep level, build trust and deliver satisfying outcomes. And when agents can own the interaction and take personal accountability for their CX roles, they are in a better position to do their job as it is intended, particularly in the context of today’s incredibly high customer expectations.
And here’s where a customer service outsourcing company like Anexa can turn your CX strategies into profit centers for you. We hire the right people. At Anexa, onboarding carefully recruited new agents is only the first step. We believe that people are greater than process plus technology, and continue to invest in our CX specialists. You have the benefit of highly trained teams that care about your business and your customer at the same time. Want to learn more? We’re Anexa BPO – reach out today.