Companies may not typically view their call centers as a marketing function, but a well-managed call center can go a long way toward establishing and enhancing a company’s reputation. Think about it: when people reach out to your call center, it’s generally because they’re having an issue with your products or services. This is where understanding how to improve call center customer service can truly make a difference.
That means they’re likely to be frustrated or even upset with your company and what it offers, but a skilled call center agent can turn their frown upside down and transform them into raving fans who talk about the great service they received. Implementing effective strategies on how to improve call center customer service ensures your agents have the tools and training needed to deliver value in every interaction.
The Top Call Centers
Many of the most efficient call centers are operated by business process outsourcing (BPO) providers like Netfor. Our call center professionals handle a wide range of duties for many of our clients, although the people who call or text for help don’t realize a BPO provider is handling their issue.
Netfor’s goal is to deliver highly efficient, personalized service that quickly resolves the caller’s issue while enhancing the image of the company with which they’re doing business. What’s our secret to success? Well, it’s not really a secret – our clients trust our team for a long list of reasons, particularly the ten below.
1. Hire Carefully
Some companies view their call center as a necessary evil rather than as a vital marketing and customer service tool, which shows in their hiring practices. However, learning how to improve call center customer service begins with recognizing that your agents are among your most important customer-facing staff.
The right call center staff treats customers in friendly and courteous ways, demonstrating genuine appreciation for their business and an interest in solving their problems. One of the biggest factors in Netfor’s success (and low turnover) is how we hire.
2. Always Be There
Your company may observe regular office hours, but customer problems happen at all hours of the day and night. Understanding how to improve call center customer service means ensuring customers can reach out at their convenience, even if that means providing 24/7 support.
Take a quick look at how having a Queue Call Back is better than holding.
Your budget may not allow you to staff that kind of availability, but a top-quality BPO call center provider can absorb the higher costs by working with multiple clients whose needs peak at different times. That ensures customers are more likely to receive timely responses, reducing frustration and improving satisfaction.
3. Offer Contact Choices
Delivering excellent call center service involves focusing on meeting your customers where they are. Some people are most comfortable finding a resolution through a phone call, while others would prefer to find what they need through texting or online chat. Having ready support for customers who don’t speak your language is also critically important.
4. It’s a Knowledge Business
You can have the friendliest and most intelligent call center agents, but if they don’t have enough knowledge to solve a customer’s issue, they’re going to leave them disappointed. That’s why Netfor built our customer service approach upon a knowledge base that contains thousands upon thousands of articles, each written to identify issues using the words and phrases callers are likely to mention.
When your customer calls to say the red LED won’t go out or they can’t figure out how to insert the batteries, our customer service agent has instant access to step-by-step instructions, so they come across as knowledgeable and helpful. The caller has no idea the agent’s answers come from a library – all they notice is that the agent understood their issue and quickly offered the right solution. That makes your company look responsive.
5. Have The Right Tools
Having good people is only part of the equation. A call center team also needs the right tools to help solve the issue as efficiently as possible. That can include access to customer information (CRM) systems that quickly give the agent important information about the caller and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems that route problems to the agents who are best equipped to handle them.
Netfor Labs is constantly innovating new ideas to bring to our clients using our business intelligence department. Our team of experts can help develop and implement customized customer service tools that will make your call center more efficient and effective. With the right tools, your agents will be able to better understand and solve customer issues, resulting in happier customers and a stronger reputation for your company.
Having the right tools is crucial for any successful call center. While having skilled agents is important, they need access to the necessary resources in order to effectively assist customers. This includes utilizing a library of answers, which allows agents to quickly find solutions to common problems.
In addition to this, having access to customer information through CRM systems is essential for providing personalized service. When an agent has key information about a caller at their fingertips, they are better equipped to handle their issue efficiently.
Netfor uses an innovative AI-based tool called Real-Time Interaction Guidance (RTIG) that our team developed. RTIG “listens” to calls to spot trigger words and immediately identify potential solutions. Even more important, it pays attention to the emotional state and actions of both agent and caller. If it notices the caller is becoming irritated, it can alert the agent to adjust the way they handle the call. Similarly, if RTIG notices that the agent is frequently interrupting the caller, it can send a gentle reminder to talk less and listen more.
6. Know and Monitor The Right KPIs
You may think your call center is operating efficiently, but if you’re not measuring its operations using key performance indicators (KPIs), you can’t know for certain. That’s why Netfor tracks several KPIs, the most important being First Call Resolution (FCR), which identifies what percentage of caller issues call center agents are able to resolve during the initial contact. What’s more, we freely share our KPI data with our clients, because it proves we’re good at what we do for them.
7. Prepare for Peaks
Planning to issue a major update to your product’s software on the 15th of next month? Count on a much busier-than-normal stretch for your call center team. No matter how great your update may be, some customers are going to be confused by the changes or encounter problems with it.
Any update or major change is likely to cause a peak in customer service calls, so be ready for it. Otherwise, your call center staff is likely to be overwhelmed with calls and customers are likely to experience frustrating delays. Netfor’s size makes our call center solutions scalable without adding to costs. Because we handle business for multiple companies whose customer service needs peak at different times, we’re able to spread the workload across more agents 24 hours a day. No matter when someone reaches out, they’re assured of a quick response and expert help.
8. Never Stop Training
The better trained your call center agents, the more effectively they’re able to help customers. Regular training helps them build their skills and learn techniques that enhance satisfaction. In addition, when agents feel more knowledgeable, they become more confident in their work, which builds customer satisfaction and employee morale at the same time.
9. Consider Culture
The best call center employees have strong people skills and a good understanding of the people who are calling in. It’s more than just having native speakers who are more easily understood. An efficient call center understands that people in different places may have different service expectations. A caller from a busy New York law firm will want fast answers while a grandmother from Nebraska might expect to chat for a few minutes.
Netfor’s Senior Vice President Jerry Kerns speaks on company culture, challenges, and technology here.
10. Outsource It
A large percentage of companies that consider handing their call center operations over to a BPO provider like Netfor choose to do so. Why? There’s a long list of advantages, beginning with hiring and training. Finding and training people to cover all your shifts is no longer your problem. It’s part of our job.
We also have a top-quality infrastructure that helps our call center team stay as efficient and professional as possible. And because we’re able to spread our operating costs across many clients, we can typically offer higher-quality call center services for far less than the cost of establishing and managing an internal center. To see how much you could save use our Cost Calculator page.
Why Excellent Call Center Service Matters
Strong call centers are more than operational hubs—they’re pivotal to enhancing customer satisfaction. By focusing on how to improve call center customer service, businesses can create effective customer experiences while ensuring long-term success.
Use these strategies to create stronger customer relationships and boost customer loyalty. Whether it’s hiring better agents, leveraging the right tools, or investing in training, every effort brings you closer to building a standout contact center.
If you’re ready to see these strategies in action, connect with Netfor today! We’re experts in delivering efficient, personable service that elevates your brand.
If your company is ready to enhance it’s call center service, submit a quick form now to learn how our proven strategies can transform your customer support and boost satisfaction!
