Senior executives who are in tune with their client base often ask “what is a virtual call center” as they seek to provide the best possible interface to their customers and work to optimize the customer experience (CX).
Global business is quickly evolving and optimizing the customer experience is a top growth strategy for many executives. Consumers now have many avenues to learn about products prior to making a purchase and they expect to have quick access to expert advice when making a purchase decision or reaching out for customer service. The modern virtual call center helps customer-focused businesses achieve this level of performance and are now easier and more cost effective to implement than ever.
A virtual call center allows agents and supervisors to be geographically dispersed, rather than sitting on a traditional call center floor. The modern virtual call center platform is cloud-based, whereas traditional call center operations were architected with premise-based hardware, software, and voice circuits to serve the agents inside the walls of the call center building.
Building a strong culture that is focused on the customer experience requires the right people. Leveraging a virtual call center allows business leaders to hire and schedule passionate talent to represent their company, rather than identify and train bodies within a commute to the call center. For example, an outdoor outfitter can now promote their open positions across the globe and hire individuals with the specific experience and administrative skills that they are seeking. The new hire simply needs to have an adequate internet connection and can be offered a flexible schedule. This same outfitter can also hire remote supervisors who have cloud-based access to the scheduling tools and call analytics that they need to carefully manage activity across teams.
Further, virtual call centers offer improved scalability and are typically built as multi-tenant solutions that can quickly meet increased periods of demand. Ramping up for peak seasons no longer requires more office space and phone lines, and again, you can hire interested talent that can be located anywhere which allows supervisors to gain perennial talent for peak surges.
Launching a call center used to be incredibly capital intensive and complex. Leading CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) providers in the Macronet portfolio now include many of the advanced features that used to be only affordable to the very largest of call centers. A few of the typical types of virtual call centers include:
- Inbound – ACD, IVR, CTI
- Outbound – Predictive Dialer, Power Dialer, Progressive Dialer
- Omnichannel – Integration of Social, Mobile, email, Chat
- Blended
Of key importance to the customer experience is integration of your virtual call center with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) applications. Tight integration of your CCaaS platform with your CRM can ensure that the customer journey through the sales and support experience is simple and that your agents have quick access to information that is specific to your customer’s interactions with your business. Custom development may not be necessary since leading CCaaS platforms will have pre-built integrations or APIs (Application Programming Interface) with apps including:
- SalesForce
- Oracle Netsuite
- Zendesk
- Bullhorn
- Sugar
- Zoho, and many more
Beyond CRM, some CCaaS platforms have lists of existing APIs with specialized software platforms. Further, if you have access to software development talent you can build your own integrations to many leading CCaaS providers using public REST API.
Gaining insight into the interactions between your customers and your service teams is now easier than ever with the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that are, in some cases, native to the CCaaS offerings. AI enables management to easily identify, report on, and act on the key types of interactions that should be inspected to insure continuous improvement. Read more about AI in the virtual call center here.
During the pandemic, most professional workers settled into a remote work environment and are now able to focus and perform in a remote work setting. In fact, more workers are now seeking employers who provide interesting jobs that offer a flexible and satisfying work-life balance.
Macronet represents all of the leading suppliers of virtual call center solutions and will help design and source the best option for your customers and employees. Our team at Macronet Services has the experience and expertise to implement and optimize your new service and will work with you to improve your customer’s journey quickly and successfully. Contact Us to have a conversation about your goals.