How to convert your contact center into a revenue generator?

The sole purpose of a traditional contact center was to provide superior customer service.

Contact center agents would help customers solve product or service-related problems. They would answer queries, offer information, and deliver after-sales support. The focus of this entity was to improve productivity and CS levels without increasing costs.

Thus, contact centers used to be cost centers.

But it is different today!

A recent McKinsey report suggests that today’s customers are open to buying products from agents who fulfill their service needs. Hence, there is scope for cross-selling and upselling services and products through contact centers.

This approach is promising for telecom, travel, finance, and insurance businesses. But you cannot simply extend a service-oriented contact center to a sales center. It would involve major changes to existing call center strategies.

To open this service channel for revenue generation, you would have to deploy changes at many levels.

The most significant change would be to shift focus from low AHTs. You would also have to change your hiring strategy. You will now need agents with skills in both service and sales. Investment in new technology is also necessary.

Let us take a closer look at all these and more changes to successfully upgrade a contact center into a revenue center.

Factors that improve the revenue-generation capacity of contact centers

1. Focus on retention of customers

The KPI of traditional contact centers is maintaining low AHTs. It enables them to optimize staffing and reduce labor costs. But focusing on low call handling times reduces revenue opportunities.

It limits agent interactions with customers. Hence, they cannot build strong customer relationships.

Now, increasing the AHT will raise operating costs. But the revenue impact will offset this marginal increase.

Longer interactions make customers feel valued. It enhances customer stickiness. This, in turn, has a huge impact on revenue potential. Customers are more likely to listen to new product suggestions. They are also more likely to make quick buys when engaged in a conversation.

It is also usually easier to upsell to an existing customer than to recruit a new customer.

2. Use technology to identify sales opportunities

Happy customers remain loyal to a brand. They will readily spend their money on a business they already trust. Hence, it makes sense to identify loyal customers and build on existing relationships.

Contact center interactions can provide good insight into possible opportunities. You can use technology to identify areas with scope for revenue.

Conversational AI tools are very useful for this. They can tap into interactions and sales history to identify customer preferences.

Take this example.

Suppose an existing customer calls the business. An efficient AI-powered system enables agents to quickly access customer details. Based on this information and the context of the current call, AI can recommend products. Agents can convey this to the caller. This increases the chance of a sale.

3. Use of analytics and reports to drive improvement

AI-powered platforms are game-changers for any business. It is because they come with powerful analytical tools. Good AI platforms use unstructured data from call records to create insightful reports.

These reports give managers a clear idea of areas for improvement. They use feedback surveys. These surveys help to capture the pain points of customers. The business can use it to rectify the problem through agent training.

It can also provide ideas for new campaigns and events. For instance, say you have a product in one color. You receive many inquiries about the color options for it. You can use this data to launch the product in different colors. It is guaranteed to sell.

So, analytical and reporting tools are valuable. If your software does not have it, consider an upgrade.

4. Automation of repetitive call center tasks

Contact center automation is a fast-growing trend with various benefits. It improves the efficiency of agents. It is also linked to higher CS levels.

Fast and accurate responses deliver better customer experiences. To provide quick resolutions, you can use virtual assistants as Level 1 agents.

Chatbots can efficiently handle simple and repetitive queries. They can also respond to many customers at once. So, these digital agents can take over large volumes of uncomplicated queries. Meanwhile, human agents can focus on revenue-generating activities.

Bots can also categorize issues based on initial interaction. Thus, they can direct those with sales potential to real agents.

5. Empower agents with training and access to customer data

Agent abilities greatly impact the shift from a service to a sales-oriented strategy. For this model to succeed, your agents must be competent. They should be good at service and sales. So, you may have to revise your training programs. You may also have to change the hiring strategy for new staff.

6. Efficient use of customer data can increase conversion rates.

A good enterprise platform will have 360-degree access to customer data. It will have all the previous interaction history.

Agents will have a better idea of the customer if they gain access to this data before connecting the call. This will enable them to offer more personalized support.

They can make new product or service recommendations based on the available data.

To wrap it up…

Revenue diversification is essential for the survival of most businesses. Hence it makes sense to at least explore the option.

Not every business can convert its contact center into a revenue center. There are many factors to consider. But when it makes sense, several strategy changes come into play. Minor process changes and tech upgrades are also needed.

To make the transition easy, it helps to partner with strong domain expertise in the contact center service space.

Voxtron delivers end-to-end contact center services with powerful automation capabilities. We offer tailored solutions for all business segments. If you would like to explore your options, contact us today. We will give you the best options to improve the revenue potential of your call center.