How Agents in Contact and Call Centers Can Increase Customer Retention

When consumers need help with a purchase problem, they’re not always patient. Some approach customer service representatives (CSRs) calmly, while others express anger. Poor service in the past or in the moment triggers customer frustration.

Learn through this article how businesses rely on agents in contact and call centers to boost customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. We’ll also tackle the importance of using contact centers as a service (CCaaS) to achieve that goal.

How Support Agents Help Retain Loyal Customers

Contact and call centers handle massive numbers of inquiries. These can be from customers with problems or questions about their purchases. Call centers, in particular, manage inbound and outbound voice transactions. Meanwhile, contact centers manage consumer interactions across multiple channels, including phone calls, chat, email, and social media.

Setting up in-house contact and call centers requires considerable funding to cover labor and infrastructure expenses. Because customer service is a non-revenue-generating task, it doesn’t ensure returns on investment (ROI). But it does help attract and retain consumers, especially when businesses hire the best CSRs and use advanced solutions.

Companies turn to third-party service providers to reduce operating costs. These providers deliver an unmatched customer experience. To efficiently address repetitive consumer inquiries, they employ skilled agents who undergo rigorous training to provide personalized support and handle complicated customer scenarios.

Contractors also deploy CCaaS platforms that integrate multiple communication channels. These cloud-based systems assist their agents in streamlining customer service delivery. The solution also automates responses to duplicate inquiries and simplifies task distribution for complex customer issues.

Combining human capital and technology enables companies to have cost-effective consumer support hubs. At the same time, they prioritize core capabilities. Discover below how agents gain customer trust and loyalty with CCaaS. 

1. Answer Inquiries

Agents in contact and call centers serve as the front line of every business. They primarily respond to various customer inquiries regarding company products and services. The following are the common queries sent by consumers through different communication channels.

• Questions on product features
• Complaints about product defects and service issues
• Requests for returns and refunds
• Repair service bookings
• Technical problems

To deliver superb customer support, CSRs must know the ins and outs of company offerings. Their product knowledge reflects how confident, efficient, and competent the customer service team is. This also helps agents address consumer concerns more accurately and effectively.

Salesforce’s fourth State of the Connected Customer shows that 83% of consumers want immediate engagement when seeking company assistance. Therefore, agents also need to answer inquiries quickly to meet such demands. Using CCaaS platforms allows them to provide quick responses without compromising service quality.

2. Provide Practical Solutions

In addition to answering inquiries, the second vital role of CSRs is to give practical solutions to customer problems. They should provide the right solutions for basic and complex issues encountered by consumers. These measures must be doable and directly resolve buyer concerns.

For instance, a consumer receives a defective smartphone and voices their frustration with a CSR through a call. The agent must calmly talk to such a customer and explain a set of options to address the issue. These options can include product return, reimbursement, and replacement.

However, agents in contact and call centers might encounter repetitive inquiries, preventing them from focusing on what matters most. Dealing with duplicate concerns consumes too much time and adds to their daily burdens. Therefore, service providers offer CCaaS as well as their well-trained employees.

CCaaS’ artificial intelligence (AI) feature enables providers to offer fast solutions to frequently occurring customer issues. It also helps customers facing complex issues receive the best support by automatically matching them with suitable agents. 

3. Promote Products and Services

Agents in contact and call centers also help promote company products and services. They understand customers’ varied preferences because they communicate directly with them. They know how to provide personalized promotional activities while conducting customer support.

Many businesses combine customer service and marketing teams to reach target consumers faster. Excellent customer support is part of a marketing strategy that attracts buyers and develops brand loyalty. Such businesses make their customer service teams an effective marketing tool by conducting the following steps.

1. Familiarize CSRs with company products and services through training
2. Use CCaaS platforms to streamline promotional campaigns
3. Create joint omnichannel customer service and marketing strategies
4. Establish a loyal consumer community using live engagement tools
5. Collect, analyze, and use insights on consumers’ ad preferences

4. Communicate Effectively

Keeping customers happy is every company’s priority for long-term stability and growth. Consumers easily get frustrated, especially when they can’t receive appropriate responses and solutions to their problems. Consequently, they lose interest in the brand and switch to other companies.

Effective communication is crucial to ensuring customer satisfaction and retention. As part of their roles and responsibilities, contact and call center agents carry out positive customer interactions. They must have such communication skills to provide an outstanding customer service experience as:

• Clarity and conciseness. Relay straightforward messages using English and other required languages.
• Active listening. Pay attention to and understand what customers are saying to provide solutions and guidelines properly.

• Adaptability. Maintain mental flexibility to address various customer concerns via multiple communication channels.

• Empathy. Understand customers’ emotions and viewpoints to accommodate their different needs and preferences.

• Politeness. Use respectful words to avoid offending customers. Be polite even if the customer voices a great deal of frustration.
• Patience. Stay calm when dealing with rude and impatient consumers. Patience is the key to exceptional customer service.

5. Personalize Customer Engagement

Gaining and strengthening customers’ trust takes time and effort. Customers want fast and convenient support via their preferred communication platforms. Businesses that follow customer desires have better chances of building a loyal consumer base.

In Zendesk’s latest study, 90% of consumers say that personalized customer service encourages them to keep purchasing from the same company. They are willing to spend more with companies that prioritize personalization when providing support services.

Agents in contact and call centers are regularly trained to provide personal service. They start by introducing themselves and addressing customers by their names. They make the customers feel their willingness to assist through a cheerful tone and positive language.

To personalize customer service, CSRs use the right CCaaS tools, such as customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. A CRM program contains client history and personally identifiable information. It enables agents to access such data quickly to support customers appropriately.

6. Collect and Analyze Buyer Feedback

Consumer reviews and ratings help businesses establish their good reputation in the market. Five-star ratings and positive feedback from customers reflect a company’s superb products. The scores also mean buyers have experienced good customer service after facing problems with their purchases.

In addition to accepting inquiries and giving solutions, agents collect and analyze customer comments. They use outbound voice and non-voice channels to survey customers about their recent support experiences. They usually work with marketing teams on this matter to help improve and promote company offerings.

Because such tasks involve massive datasets, CSRs use CCaaS platforms to automate collection and analysis. This capability allows them to work on other assignments while monitoring the latest trends and changes in customer preferences. It also accelerates insight creation and reporting needed to avoid product development and enhancements delays.

7. Accelerate 24/7 Support

Consumers seek agents who empathize with them regarding a flopped transaction or purchase. Rather than having long and warm-hearted conversations, buyers often choose simple and immediate resolutions. In short, they value customer service teams capable of delivering quick assistance. They see such teams as respectful of their time.

With the help of CCaaS, customer service employees grant customers’ wishes for accelerated support. The technology enables automatic callbacks and replies to millions of repetitive customer requests. It prevents consumers from losing their patience due to long wait time and delayed resolution.

But chatbots, interactive voice response (IVR) systems, and other self-service options don’t always provide appropriate solutions to customer queries. CSRs thus need to intervene to address complex problems. The cloud-based platform aids them in receiving their tasks quickly. 

8. Respond to Consumer Reviews

Many buyers depend on other people’s opinions when making their purchase decisions. In addition to scanning product features, they look for comprehensive reviews from previous buyers. These reviews ensure they are getting the best item online. After all, nobody wants to spend money on the wrong purchase.

Agents respond to consumers whenever they leave feedback about products and services. They show companies’ active presence in dealing with consumer concerns, especially when receiving negative comments. They also relay how businesses appreciate positive comments and strive to improve their offerings.

Deploying CCaaS platforms streamlines agents’ responses to consumer reviews. The cloud solution’s omnichannel and automation features help them provide unified and quick replies to customer feedback. Such efforts help businesses protect their brand reputation while meeting consumer needs. 

9. Support Content Development

CSRs understand changing customer demands because they interact with them daily. They also have a deep knowledge of company products and services to address consumer inquiries effectively. They can make important contributions that advance business offerings.

As previously mentioned, customer service teams cooperate with marketing teams to help develop strategic content. Because agents have a solid understanding of consumer preferences, they assist marketing units in creating promotional materials, including:

• Knowledge base articles
• Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Help manuals
• How-to guides
• Troubleshooting documentation
• Blog posts
• Marketing copy
• Digital or printed posters and brochures
• Video tutorials

These self-service options benefit consumers who often search for solutions on their own when encountering problems with their purchases. In fact, 39% of consumers testified in a recent Emplifi report that self-serve customer care was critical. They considered self-service a crucial part of their excellent customer experience.

10. Monitor Customer Service Metrics

Businesses monitor their market reputation using key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs provide them with measurable targets to constantly improve their offerings, strategies, and decision-making efforts. They use the following indicators to track their customer service progress.

• Average wait time refers to how long customers wait for agents in contact and call centers to respond.

• Average resolution time means how long it takes for CSRs to provide solutions to consumers facing product issues.

• Customer churn indicates the period when buyers stop dealing with a company for different reasons, such as a terrible customer support experience.

• Customer satisfaction score measures clients’ happiness and satisfaction rates over a short period of engaging with CSRs.

• Net promoter score shows consumers’ likelihood of recommending a company and its offerings to their families, friends, or colleagues.

Support teams usually perform this function because they gather and examine confidential consumer data. They record, organize and report KPIs based on routine customer engagement datasets. Using CCaaS tools helps agents ease this time-consuming work.

Understanding KPIs informs businesses on what areas need improvement. The resulting insights guide them in developing new strategies to meet customer needs. These advantages help strengthen their loyal consumer base.

The Bottom Line

Damaged products and problematic services make customers impatient and frustrated. They may become even angrier when they can’t get quick responses and appropriate solutions to their problems. If left unaddressed, these gaps weaken customer trust and loyalty.

Support agents in contact and call centers are vital in ensuring customer satisfaction and retention. They achieve that goal by providing personalized and accelerated customer service, helping promote company offerings, and providing market insights. CCaaS platforms help them accomplish these repetitive tasks fast and efficiently.

Are you looking for a support team to maintain your loyal customer base? Don’t hesitate to contact and schedule a meeting with Unity Communications. The Inc. 5000 company uses advanced contact center software tools and employs skilled agents to help satisfy and retain your customers.