Why are inbound call center services important?

The best way to understand inbound call center services is through a simple definition. Inbound call services are the range of methods used by companies to connect with potential customers or clients and engage them in a conversation that leads to a transaction.

Inbound call center services are usually responsible for customer service and satisfaction and are among the first departments in a contact center to get in touch with potential customers.

While inbound marketing is not just restricted to inbound call center services—there is also social media customer support and email support that engages with potential customers and clients.

Moreover, with contact centers increasingly moving towards cloud-based and omni-channel solutions, inbound call services remain the backbone of contact centers even today.

Why are inbound call center services important?

Inbound call center services are still extremely relevant in a time when email, social media, and chatbots are the norm. Many customers will always prefer to use a phone to communicate with a company, as it offers both privacy and control.

In this day and age of technology taking over every aspect of our lives, inbound call center services are still highly sought-after by customers. This is because customers want to have a good first impression of your business before they make their first business transaction.

With an excellent inbound customer service channel, not only will you be able to retain your customers and clients, but also existing customers will refer your business to other prospects, thus boosting sales and revenue generation.

Inbound call center services are here to stay. The most successful companies use a combination of both in-person and telephonic channels, from remote service agents to virtual assistants and virtual receptionists.

Inbound call center services are not just limited to customer service, but a wide range of areas that benefit from the communication and collaboration of various support channels. These include sales and support, information technology, technology implementation, and even data collection.

When should businesses consider inbound call center services?

Businesses should highly consider outsourcing their PCI compliant center operations to inbound call centers in the current day and age, as it is not only an effective strategy to boost revenue and improve sales, but it also allows businesses to improve their long-term client retention rates.

A business can greatly benefit from outsourcing inbound call center services in the following business scenarios:

1. Losing Customers: If your business is experiencing low client and customer retention rates, then your business can significantly benefit from outsourcing inbound call center services. With the passage of time, you can expect to see an increase in your customer retention.
2. Time management of staff: If your staff is unable to effectively manage their time and resources, then it might be beneficial for your business to consider outsourcing, to help your staff prioritize their key business operations and boost productivity.
3. Inconsistent brand voice: If your brand promotion and voice is inconsistent with your core business competencies, then your business is bound to experience low sales volumes and low retention. Outsourcing your brand recognition to industry experts is an invaluable strategy to boost your business in the long run.
4. Increasing customer concerns: Quality customer service is directly aligned with how effectively a business addresses customer concerns and queries. If your business is experiencing an increase in customer concerns and queries, then it may be best to consider outsourcing options.

 

What services do inbound call centers provide?

Call centers offer a wide range of services to help businesses run more efficiently. Some of these include:

• Answering incoming phone calls
• Managing email inquiries,
• Scheduling live web chats
• Managing social media activity
• Transcribing messages received via text messaging into written formats.

Companies that outsource their call centers can decide what specific services they want to make available to their clients. However, a more detailed run-down of inbound services offered by call centers includes:

• Technical Support:

Call center agents that have expertise in technical support services such as diagnosis, troubleshooting and helpdesk can provide technical support to a diverse range of clients.

With a technical support specialist in inbound call centers, businesses can get immediate service, saving hours of work that may have been occupied otherwise. Furthermore, a ticketing system for technical support can further streamline this process.

• Complaint Handling and Management

One of the most important services that are offered by inbound call centers include complaint handling.

Having a strong customer service department that effectively handles customer concerns and queries often results in better customer retention rates and long-term customer satisfaction.

• Order Processing

Inbound call center experts can also assist customers in making purchases over the web, or offline, as well as cross-sell various services and products in the process.

Whether customers need to place an order or obtain additional information, the call center expert will handle everything from start to finish, making the process convenient and seamless.

• Call Routing

Call forwarding in call centers provides you with the ability to have important calls directed to the right person or department at all times. This means that the customer will be able to get the right help, quickly and efficiently.

Some businesses see this as an invaluable tool, while others think it’s overly complex. The main benefit is that all incoming calls get forwarded to the correct team member so no customer gets lost in a crowd.

Benefits of inbound call center services

Inbound call centers can be an effective means of Omni channel Inbound services to customers and boosting revenue. By tracking phone calls, companies can record information about your prospects’ needs and problems, and subsequently address these problems as necessary.

Inbound call services enable you to engage potential customers more effectively, which in turn leads to an increase in revenue, earned through successful sales conversions over the phone.

Here are 5 important benefits of inbound call center services:

• Effective and efficient operations

When your workforce is given access to the right set of tools, they will not only manage operations more effectively and efficiently, but also the overall quality of service will be improved. This directly translates into better retention rates, lower operational costs due to better time and resource management and a significant decrease in turnover rates, as your employees will be more productive and satisfied.

• Increased generation of sales

Typically, outbound operations are responsible for lead and sales generation. However, outbound Lead generation is directly linked with inbound call center services because if your potential customer gets a good first impression of your business through quality customer service, they are more likely to consider your products and services again, and also recommend your business within their network. This can eventually lead to an entire process of business referrals and inquiries.

• Improved customer experience

Every customer wants to feel that they are being taken care of, and this starts with the first contact. Call center systems can help route calls to the right agent, monitor calls, and record them for later review. This helps improve customer service by reducing wait times and improving call quality, while also helping with retention rates because customers will be more satisfied with their interactions with your business.

• Cost Savings

Your business can expect better resource management and industry expertise by outsourcing to an inbound call center, which can reduce operational costs significantly. Moreover, with more and more contact centers offering cloud-based solutions, businesses can save additional costs on storage and call center management.

• Flexible management of high call volumes

Through an inbound call center service, your business can conveniently manage high call volumes through dedicated call management systems. Not only is this an effective way of answering all customer calls, but also it significantly improves your customer service, as more calls are answered successfully.

Key characteristics of an effective inbound call center

The inbound call center industry has experienced a significant boom in recent times. Typically, inbound call centers offer their clients a wide range of products and services that are geared around process automation and simplification.

However, an effective inbound call center comprises of the following key features:

Automated Call Distribution:

An automatic call distributor is one of the most important aspects of an inbound call center. This is because call routing is carried out using this call distributor, relying on various elements such as the location, duration and the time of day a call takes place.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR):

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are designed to make customer service easier and more effective by taking voice input into account when delivering information. The IVR’s prompts guide callers through a series of choices that help narrow down their needs and direct them toward the most appropriate service available.

Call Reporting:

Call reporting is essential for inbound call centers to monitor call analytics services such as the duration spent on a call, the location of calls and the total number of calls received or missed by agents. This tool not only boosts productivity for agents, but also serves as an important method for managers to monitor the performance of individual agents.

1. Call Monitoring:

Through call monitoring, employees in a contact center can listen to customer calls in real-time, for the purpose of quality assurance. This helps agents improve on calls in the long term through feedback they receive from line managers. This is an effective tool to help agents effectively handle customer complaints and concerns.

Real-time database:

A real-time database allows managers in a contact center to see all contact center information in one place. This database contains real-time call statistics, client information and the number of client queries to help agents improve their interactions with customers.

Industries that can benefit from inbound call center services

Finance and banking: The finance and banking sector can greatly benefit from inbound call center services because of their reliance on over-the-phone sales conversions and high call volumes.

A customer or client in the finance sector will typically require assistance with opening a bank account, managing personal finances and setting up other digital incentives. Therefore, an inbound call center service is just the right fit for the finance sector to boost sales and conversion rates.

Retail: Similar to the finance sector, the retail industry also experiences high call volumes and customer queries. However, the key to business success in retail is excellent customer satisfaction and consumer experiences.

By outsourcing customer service to inbound call centers, the retail industry can expect better order management, improved problem resolution and product support that improves brand recognition and values in the long term.

Healthcare: A healthcare service provider can benefit from top-of-the-line customer service. It is important/crucial for healthcare businesses to never miss a call and this makes an inbound call handler a necessity.

An inbound call center can provide you with an expert who can not only take calls but book appointments, schedule calls and oversee other administrative tasks as well.

It will also allow you to give each patient the care and attention they deserve.

The difference between Inbound and Outbound call centers

While call centers may all seem the same with their primary operations, there are quite a lot of differences between an inbound and an outbound call center. Quite simply put, while inbound call centers are responsible for managing incoming calls of customers, outbound call centers reach out to prospective clients and customers.

A detailed breakdown of inbound and outbound call centers includes the following points:

• Outbound call centers primarily make calls to potential clients and customers and are responsible for lead and sales generation.
• On the other hand, inbound call centers are responsible for making the first calls to customers or listening to customer queries and complaints.
• Inbound call centers also deal with the customer service and experience departments, whereas outbound call centers deal with the sales and lead generation departments of businesses.
• Outbound call centers use predictive dialing for sales and lead generation calling. However, inbound call centers use voice-over IP or VoIP software for call handling and management.

Why Touchstone Communications?

Touchstone Communications is a company dedicated to helping businesses that want to improve their customer experience by using the right inbound call center services. We pride ourselves on offering some of the most affordable call center services in the US.

We will work directly with you and become an extension of your business, offering expertise in marketing, sales and customer service. With over 20 years of experience in the BPO industry, Touchstone Communications remains committed to their clients in providing cost-saving and top-notch inbound call center services.

With the right partner like Touchstone Communications, your business can focus on truly enhancing profits and improving customer satisfaction. Connect with us today to transform your business, and increase your sales revenue.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are inbound call center services?

Ans. Inbound call center services include a range of services and methods that inbound call centers use to connect with potential clients and customers. The primary purpose of inbound call centers is to initiate conversations with customers, and sell a particular product or service so that a lead turns into a sale.

What are the different types of inbound calls?

Ans. There are various types of inbound calls that take place in an inbound call center. These include:

• Sales Inquiries
• Technical support
• Contract extension or renewal
• Customer complaints
• Billing information

What are the five principles of inbound call centers?

Ans. The five guiding principles of inbound call centers include, but are not limited to the following points:

1. Creating an effective call center strategy: For any inbound call center to succeed, an effective call center strategy must be reinstated for long-term success and lead generation.
2. Determining the number of representatives required: After a call center strategy is put into place, a contact center must determine a specific number of representatives and agents that are required to execute their respective call center strategy.
3. Investing in call center equipment and technology: After determining the size of the workforce, a contact center must now invest in call center technologies and equipment to start business operations.
4. Promoting the call center: With a physical contact center in place, client acquisition and promotion of the business are extremely important to ensure that an equal or greater return on investment is achieved within the initial duration of the establishment.
5. Assess call center analytics: After a certain duration, call center analytics and metrics must be monitored over a specified period of time to ensure quality customer experience and lower client turnover rates.

What makes an inbound call center strategy successful?

Ans. The key to success behind every call center strategy depends on how well the call center strategy is executed. To ensure that a call center strategy achieves its respective goals and objectives, a call center must:

• Hire industry experts
• Prioritize financial management
• Maintain customer service channels
• Improve customer experience

Which industries does Touchstone provide inbound services in?

Ans. Touchstone provides inbound services in the following industries and sub domains:

1. Travel industry
2. Food and hospitality industry
3. Appointment reservation/cancellation
4. Problem Resolution