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Call Center CRM Technology

Companies often turn to implementing new call center technologies to gain a competitive edge. By improving the response time and effectiveness of customer service, organizations can increase customer satisfaction, engagement and retention. As affordable call center solutions level the playing field for small to mid-sized businesses, an increasing number of firms turn to call center CRM consulting services to find ways to bolster their customer service credentials even more.

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Adding an interactive level to the call center environment increases the number of options available to agents and customers. CRM management tools give customer service agents access to internal corporate knowledge bases as well as customer contact and purchase histories so that they can provide personalized service to everyone who calls, emails or messages the call center.

About CRM Technology

A customer relationship management (CRM) system provides businesses with a centralized repository and access point for managing contacts, sales and productivity. CRM systems provide important tools for automating and integrating sales, marketing and customer service efforts to eliminate redundancy while supplying an outstanding customer experience.

Companies benefit from CRM by retaining all leads and prioritizing them for processing. As result, companies can focus on their most promising opportunities without letting other leads fall through organizational cracks. CRM systems also help businesses coordinate the efforts among their various departments. The efficiency gains that result from CRM tools help teams close more sales in less time than they could without access to CRM software.

Call center agents who have access to CRM tools have access to information that empowers them to either resolve customer issues or escalate them to the most qualified people in the organization. Also, CRM systems often automatically open service and support tickets, so that every incoming call, email or message receives prompt attention.

CRM Process

Call center CRM consulting companies generate synergy by unifying call center technology solutions such as automatic call distribution (ACD) groups and unified messaging systems with CRM tools. The interaction provides a framework that records the entire lifecycle of every customer interaction with a business. Customers enter the ACD queue by placing a phone call, requesting a callback, submitting a web-based form or sending an email to a company’s customer service department.

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Agents receiving an inbound customer contact receives a screen pop on their computer screen containing information about the caller, including their sales and support histories. The screen pop contains customizable information that helps agents understand a caller’s special needs, location and open issues. From the initial screen, agents can check order and payment statuses and read pertinent knowledge base entries to answer questions and resolve issues.

When an issue requires additional attention or expertise, the agent can forward the contact to an ACD group staffed with agents that have the necessary skills. CRM consulting firms work with a business to configure the skills-based routing feature of the call center’s CRM system to ensure that customers get connected with the people who can answer their questions and resolve their issues. Also, the CRM system logs every step of the resolution process, giving managers and supervisors insights that help eliminate bottlenecks and improve response time.

Key Features

A call center CRM implementation automates, enhances and facilitates many common functions. Some features include:

  • An easy-to-use interface that displays relevant information and either automates or simplifies data entry tasks.
  • Display windows that give agents a comprehensive view of every customer.
  • Mobile apps that help mobile workers to stay productive.
  • A wizard that helps businesses design workflows and manage tasks.
  • Flexible options and customizations to make the software meet the unique needs of a business.
  • A customer self-service portal that can include FAQs, a searchable database and access to account records.
  • Integrations with popular business applications.

CRM and Contact Center Improvements

CRM can affect every part of the sales lifecycle through improved organizational performance. When applied in the contact center environment, however, CRM offers particular benefits. For example, a good CRM implementation can give a company a chance to differentiate themselves from competitors by providing a superior customer experience.

Statistics show that more than 80 percent of customers experience frustration when the first agent to whom they speak doesn’t have the needed information to answer their questions. CRM improves the speed and accuracy of customer service interactions, resulting in increased satisfaction and retention rates.

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Managers and supervisors equipped with CRM can access historical performance and monitor compliance with service level agreements (SLAs). As a result, companies can reduce the cost associated with SLA shortfalls and improve customer satisfaction.

CRM solutions display all relevant information on a single screen, eliminating the need for agents to switch between screens and applications lo find answers to customer questions. Call center technologies also work well with unified solutions, simplifying the handling of requests originating from multiple sources. Regardless of whether customers contact the firm by telephone, email, or messaging, call center agents can handle every issue with speed and precision.

To conclude, CRM technology can increase the effectiveness of a company throughout the customer lifecycle. In the call center, CRM creates synergies with ACD and unified messaging systems to create an outstanding customer experience. As a result, companies with call center CRM technology reduce the cost of customer acquisition and retention as well as transactional costs.

Our Solution

We provide call center CRM consulting services and implement solutions that fit your call center and work well with your existing systems. We also provide training and education services that help your team make efficient use of your system and related resources. In the end, our CRM consulting services will help your organization become more competitive and profitable.