Call Center Outsourcing and Social Media - The Key to a Happy Customer

Before the arrival of social media as a primary interaction tool, customer service for the large enterprise generally consisted of individuals manning the phones within the call center outsourcing industry. Today, this dynamic has changed. The proactive company must be able to interact with customers on social media channels, supporting their demand for instant resolution and satisfaction. 

A recent Sitel report highlighted this growing trend, stressing the importance of access to real-time information. Companies seeking to build trust and brand loyalty must be able to embrace the challenges and opportunities in social media, even when leveraging a call center outsourcing strategy. The primary focus must be in meeting the needs of today’s customer. Fortunately, those needs are often easily identified through social conversations. 

Sitel cited research from TNS (News - Alert), an independent firm that recently published the Social Media Customer Service Report. For this report, TNS surveyed more than 1,000 people and determined that social media is rapidly changing the customer service industry as a whole. The shift, led by consumers under the age of 25, demands companies pay more attention to Facebook, Twitter (News - Alert), blogs and forums than ever before. 

Consumers are using these platforms to solve their problems, search for information and even voice complaints. At the same time, these younger consumers expect companies and their customer service departments to keep in step with this shift in information platforms. If your call center outsourcing strategy doesn’t allow for customer service interactions on social media channels, you’re missing key opportunities for engagement and sales. 

It’s well known within quality call center outsourcing plans that customers often search online for information or answers to their questions before calling customer service lines. This habit certainly cuts back on call center volume and associated costs, but it can also hurt the organization that fails to provide the necessary information online. A key part of a call center outsourcing strategy should include online forums, a knowledgebase and any other tools that provide instant answers to common questions. 

The survey also focused on improvements in the customer service experience. Of those participating in the survey, 35 percent said they would focus on tutorials, video demonstrations and instructions. The creation of digital content helps to empower customers to solve their problems. By making this information available online, businesses can significantly reduce customer frustration, while also lowering the costs associated with live customer service agent support. 

Whether you are relying on call center outsourcing or run your own in-house operation, it’s still important to understand the demographics of your audience, while you prepare your staff to offer the right level of support. Sitel recommends a few best practices that will help you build an effective social media strategy that will improve customer care:

• Listen to your customers by monitoring social media interactions
  
• Engage with your customers on social media platforms
  
• Analyze comments to determine the appropriate response
  
• Adapt to the change that is consistent in the social media space.

Call center outsourcing is all about delivering the best possible experience for the customer, while also reducing cost for the enterprise. By paying closer attention to your interactions through social media, you’ll be well on your way to a happier and more loyal customer base.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein