When you hear the words “call center,” chances are, you picture a stodgy office floor with rows of poorly-lit cubicles housing dozens of unenthused employees. Luckily, that’s by and large a stereotype of the past as call centers have made strides to stay abreast of the latest technological developments. For some, this means they’ve gone fully virtual and are no longer tied to one geographic location. Here are the basics of virtual call center software columbia md and how you can apply it in your business.
It allows your customer service team to be decentralized
Instead of locking your customer service representatives into one specific physical location, virtual call center software provides for a more distributed team. This means that employees can work anywhere at any time, which could even translate to 24/7 customer service availability. It also means a massive jump in work-life balance as well as employee morale. Most often, employees opt to work from home or office shares.
While this is great for your representatives, it can also have a massive impact on your bottom line. Nowadays, more and more companies are operating strictly digitally, relying on cloud contact center solutions to avoid expensive leases and office rentals. Without a centralized location, you’re potentially saving your business thousands of dollars every fiscal year and, for those previously located in more competitive markets, this number might be even higher.
AI is playing a larger role than before
With the ubiquity of chatbots and automated dialers, there’s a strong possibility that you’re already aware of the influence of artificial intelligence on numerous industries. While it’s a great way to reduce costs, it also means that you no longer have to stick to offering support within traditional business hours. Since many businesses are catering to global audiences on a scale heretofore unseen, it’s important to be able to address global needs.
Say you primarily live and work in San Francisco. Chances are your business hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST. A customer in London who is looking to have your product shipped reaches out to your business at 10 a.m. their time to place an order. Naturally, you’re fast asleep. However, with the aid of AI-assisted dialing software, they’re able to place their order with a digital representative without any hassle (or loss of sleep on your end).
Reduced turnover and startup costs
Labor accounts for one of the greatest costs in any business and, if you’re just getting started, the idea of setting up an in-house call center and staffing it may seem daunting. On top of this, the call center industry is notorious for higher-than-average turnover as it can be a fairly stressful job. With virtual call center software, you’re able to avoid both of these potential bottlenecks more effectively.
Since hardware costs are often eliminated, you’re saving yourself a great deal of overhead. Plus, by eliminating commute times for representatives — allowing for remote work, greater mobility, and lowering overall employee stress — you’re preventing higher levels of turnover and attrition. This circles back to heightened employee morale, which keeps representatives happy and allows the time and energy spent on training new staff members to be allocated to growing your business.
Virtual call center software is a great solution for numerous industries as it helps avoid many of the common pitfalls of working in such a fast-paced, high stress role. It’s beneficial to your bottom line and can have some excellent workforce benefits for your employees. It requires a good amount of forethought before it’s implemented, but the rewards are rapidly visible.
