How would you define an idea?…Wikipedia states that in the most narrow sense of the word, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks…in a popular sense, an idea arises in a reflex, spontaneous manner, even without thinking or serious reflection….how can this apply to your business, you ask?

With the economy seeming to be as stagnate as it was in 2009, companies are brainstorming and getting creative about how they communicate with their customers. Companies are trying to keep the customers they already have and ideally bring on new ones when the opportunity arises. Brainstorming ideas on how to make this happen is a great way to stay ahead of the game and grow your business in a highly competitive time. When I ask the question “what are your ideas for retaining your customers or increasing revenue?”; 90% of the time I hear, “I need to do more with less, I cannot add headcount”, “I need to improve customer loyalty and increase revenue?” or “I need to improve our service levels with minimal impact to our call center”… No ideas, just objectives…how do we approach these challenges?…let the ideas flow….

Here are some different ideas that we’ve discussed with our customers to help meet some of the above objectives:

1)      How do I do more with less and I can’t add headcount??

Implement an Agentless Interactive Voice Response (IVR)…this is a great way to improve customer service and sales without adding head count, increase revenue and improve customer service. One example of this method is appointment reminders and/or scheduling appointments without a customer service agent. This has minimal impact on your call center because you don’t have to staff after hours and you can recycle as much as you need too.

2)      Improve service with little to no impact to the Contact Center?

Add an Automatic Customer Callback’s…customer call backs have become a popular way to improve customer service by utilizing the agents you have and lowering abandonment rates….make your agents more productive. A lot of my customers have implemented this method to also lower frustration levels of “being on hold”. The Idea behind Customer Callback is used when a customer is in a holding pattern in an ACD queue and the customer is asked if they would like to wait or leave a callback number to be contacted when an agent becomes available. Not only do they keep their place in queue but this is a great way to enhance the customer experience because you are considerate of their time.

3)       How do I improve customer loyalty and increase revenue?

Implement a Find me function…having your sales folks, service folks and administration folks always available to sell product and service as well as help your customer base is priceless. This method is one of the most cost effective ways to improve your overall business communications and service to your customers. Companies have found that by being completely accessible to their prospects and customers, improves relationships, loyalty and revenue; it’s an easy win!!