ICMI's Customer Management Insight - December 2007 - (Page 42) EXPERT’S ANGLE Lost In Transition: Closing The Gaps in Call Center Handoffs BY MARCO PETERSON The call center often serves as the first communication a prospect or customer has with a business. It can perform a vital role in the overall sales process: In the best of all worlds, the caller is ready to take action immediately and the call center closes the deal. But all too often, the call center agent has to pass off the caller, saying: “I’ll transfer you” (to another queue), or, worse: “You need to call another number — do you have a pencil?” Every time that happens, the customer can get lost in transition — and there’s a chance you’ll never hear from him or her again. Service-based businesses that take appointments over the phone have additional requirements that increase the difficulty of this challenge. Call center agents cannot take an appointment unless they have complete and accurate knowledge that everything the appointment requires — people, facilities, etc. — will be available. Without Being able to schedule appointments for customers during the initial contact can effectively reduce the potential for lost opportunities due to handoff gaps. Tips for evaluating appointment scheduling technologies. improved interactions. CALL CENTERS: DIRECTING CUSTOMER TRAFFIC that information they’re forced to hand off the call, making the customer wait again and risking that he or she will become “lost in transition.” In the past, the ability for agents to make appointments on the first contact was not always possible, because doing so in today’s enterprise can be complex. It can require knowledge of resources (people or facilities), interface to the company’s CRM system, and an array of business rules that enforce the company’s best practices. Fortunately, today’s new best-of-breed appointment software handles all of those conditions so the call center agent can close the deal — be it for dog grooming, medical tests or retirement planning. This article will provide a perspective on aligning the call center roles with solutions to these In service-based organizations, the call center’s goal is to direct the flow of customers, and keep them moving as they go from impulse to buy or from question to answer. The three main types of call center appointment “handoff” models are direct, time based and third party. Let’s look at a few characteristics of each: 1. DIRECT HANDOFF. In this model, the call center handles any overflow of calls, acting as a real-time proxy when the direct resource is not available. For example, in financial services, a representative may be consulting with a caller when a request to set up a meeting comes in from another customer. The customer can be routed to the call center for information and to arrange a time to speak with an advisor, which provides a higher level of service than simply taking a message. 2. TIME-BASED HANDOFF. In this type of model, customers are able to call outside of the organization’s business hours to arrange an appointment. (In this case, the call center might be located anywhere.) Examples icmi’s insight www.icmi.com | DECEMBER 2007 42 http://www.icmi.com
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