The concept of the contact centre is not a new one; in fact, it is a tried, tested and truly valuable part of organisational infrastructure for many companies.
Having once simply been a few people in a room together answer calls, the contact centre is forever evolving. Now you're more likely to find whole networks of people across different geographies, both national and international, working across the same systems.
The technology has grown alongside the concept, with customers now being able to communicate with staff in a contact centre by phone, by email, by instant message and in some cases even by video conference. But with so many different methods and technologies out there, how does an organisation know which contact centre solutions are right for them?
Keep the requirements of the whole organisation in mind when making plans to develop your contact centre. First of all, identify the objectives of the organisation. If growth is one of them then plan your contact centre so that has enough room to grow and develop, in order to accommodate the larger number of calls that may come as a result of the company's growth. Next consider the geography of the organisation. Is everyone contacting you going to be from the same country, or will you require shifts in order to cover different time zones and localities?
If you are operating outside of the usual business hours, consider ensuring that someone is on hand to provide technical support if there is a problem with the hardware. Also take a look at your competitors and gauge what they are offering in terms of contact centre support. If the other companies in your market are offering 24 hour help lines then you will need to do the same. You may need to consider going one step further and looking at ways in which you can differentiate your support system from those of your competitors.
Having once simply been a few people in a room together answer calls, the contact centre is forever evolving. Now you're more likely to find whole networks of people across different geographies, both national and international, working across the same systems.
The technology has grown alongside the concept, with customers now being able to communicate with staff in a contact centre by phone, by email, by instant message and in some cases even by video conference. But with so many different methods and technologies out there, how does an organisation know which contact centre solutions are right for them?
Keep the requirements of the whole organisation in mind when making plans to develop your contact centre. First of all, identify the objectives of the organisation. If growth is one of them then plan your contact centre so that has enough room to grow and develop, in order to accommodate the larger number of calls that may come as a result of the company's growth. Next consider the geography of the organisation. Is everyone contacting you going to be from the same country, or will you require shifts in order to cover different time zones and localities?
If you are operating outside of the usual business hours, consider ensuring that someone is on hand to provide technical support if there is a problem with the hardware. Also take a look at your competitors and gauge what they are offering in terms of contact centre support. If the other companies in your market are offering 24 hour help lines then you will need to do the same. You may need to consider going one step further and looking at ways in which you can differentiate your support system from those of your competitors.
About the Author:
Emily Collins writes on behalf of Britannic Technologies. To discover more about the contact centre options for your company click here.
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