In today’s digital world, customers are not limited in the products they can buy or companies they can choose by demographics alone. With the world available at their fingertips, they can simply choose another company if they don’t like your service or products. This makes customer satisfaction of the utmost importance for every product, and gives an outbound call center a unique opportunity to use outbound calling to enhance customer experience.
Take the example of utility and energy companies, as consumers have more choices today than ever. As customers weigh their options, companies realize that customer service may make all the difference between keeping their current customer base or dealing with a mass exodus to another company. Simply put, improving the customer experience can directly affect how every business functions, and outbound calling can be a valuable tool in your arsenal when used correctly.
Unprecedented Flexibility When Engaging Customers
In the past, call centers have relied heavily on telephone channels and inbound calls to keep customers happy. When a problem arises, the customer calls the center and ideally, the problem is handled. While this is still an important part of a successful customer experience, the new approach must include additional channels rather than a telephone call.
Inbound agent can offer a variety of channels through which customers can engage and interact, including:
- Messaging
- Video
- Web chats
- Telephone
Proactive customer service comes into play when an inbound call or connection allows the agent to set up some form of outbound contact at a later time. For example, getting a customer’s birthday information allows you to contact them on a special occasion and create a solid personal connection.
Essential Technology Tools
Many software applications and programs used to keep customer happy are cloud-reliant and address the lack of capability of premise-based systems to handle the omni-channel approach to call centers. In the case of utility or energy companies, customers may be automatically contacted in special situations like maintenance notifications, service outages, or servicing reminders, keeping a solid outbound connection with the customer. This means that you aren’t only engaging the customer when they have a problem, but proactively engaging them in a way that is positive and helpful. Your customers will build a relationship with your company and your brand when they communicate with you more often.
With utility companies, many customers feel positive about the ability to keep track of their energy usage, keeping the planet green, and household expenses. While customer satisfaction levels are climbing, utility companies will create even more efficient outbound opportunities with outbound notifications that are unprecedented. Connection and communication aren’t just about addressing problems or helping customers pay their bills. In today’s world customers want a proactive approach to communication, and software makes it a fairly simple process to give them what they want.
Proactive Approach to Customer Service
No longer is it okay to just wait for your customers to you. Your company must utilize all the tools available to ensure that you proactively connect with your customers before they have a problem that requires an inbound call. Technology has made it easy to create automated ways to reach out to customers and engage them in positive ways
This blog was first published on LinkedIn.
