Do Not Call List; Call Center Industry Rebuilds
By Lance Winslow
The
Call Center Industry is changing fast. Technology is advancing
fast and competition is getting fierce with less people to
call on in the Telemarketing Industry, especially with the FCC
enforcing the standards of the FTC “Do Not Call List.” There
have been massive layoffs in the Out Bound Telemarketing
business. Many telemarketing companies stayed in business
because they work for politicians campaigns or contract with
the major parties or PACs. Others have gone into the
non-profit sector to pitch for funds from donors as the
non-profit sector is hard up for cash as the economy makes
it’s U-Turn and taxi’s onto the runway for a cleared for
take-off election year flight to 11,500.
We noticed in our company along with many
small and medium mobile service type companies have used the
services of Call Centers and Answering services to collect
calls for the operators. What we are finding when talking to
companies which do not have their own telemarketing
departments that it is difficult to find a call center company
that can keep customer satisfaction rates as high as they
need. We are hearing from companies that this is getting
tougher and tougher. The consumers are not getting any easier
to please either. Call Center rates which take calls and then
electronically dispatch by alpha pager or Blue Tooth PDA
device charge between $1.50 to $2.80 per call and $.40 to $.90
to dispatch out. Often small companies were getting a break
due to the fact that call center companies and answering
services had other large Corporate Clientele and larger
customers. With the economic hit combined with the
Telemarketing hit with the “Do Not Call List” (which no one
can deny is needed to keep pesky telemarketers from calling at
your residence during dinner times purposely), the change in
the call center industry was drastic. Now the economy has
rebounded, but in some markets where they were large employers
many are still in the job market.
Larger companies now are using several new
technologies to lower their costs at call centers and to only
use actual operators when absolutely needed. When needed the
“in-bound” operator is usually given several up selling
screens in order to increase sales for the company and they
are often given commissions on up selling. There are hundreds
of new white papers on Call Center IT software on Bit Pipe
online as the industry is trying to use artificial
intelligence in order to limit the time of the operators at
the centers.
Many of these telemarketing inbound call
centers are not even in the country. Called one the other day
in Nova Scotia, Canada. Have called several in India for many
very large companies. It is interesting that these companies
often process payments and credit cards through these call
centers and often take personal information and credit card
numbers. There use to be a huge problem with call centers
using prison labor, which was going on until the FBI started
checking into the identity theft and caught a bunch of them at
it. Companies are trying to shave costs where ever they can.
Many companies are trying to shave costs where ever they can
and that means call centers but using intelligent systems,
over seas or out of country operators and/or closing service
centers all over. Some have outsourced to third party call
centers with some success, which works fine if the call
centers can keep your satisfaction rate at 80% plus, usually
this is tough, but the India Companies are good at this, being
polite that is. Actually and unfortunately for good American’s
who had these jobs.
There has been some talk about the out
sourcing jobs in these sectors although these jobs are very
valuable we should be worried more about IT Jobs being
deported to China. And Department of Defense Contracts going
to Indian companies for IT. Some in-house state of the art
call centers are getting 500% up sell, meaning not only are
they getting a live voice to the customer which is perceived
as value added in this day of non-personalized service, but
also extending customer loyalty by up to 15% a good white
paper on this is written by the founder of eLoyalty. The Title
of the paper is “Customer Connections - A Breakthrough Model
for Analyzing and Influencing Customer Behavior;
http://fcw.bitpipe.com/data/detail?id=1071510946_531&type=RES&src=KA_RES
It dives into the “paradigm shift” as he calls
it as call center computers analysis the voice of the caller
and suggest sentences to use to the operator to resolve
hostile conflict, build report and then up sell or get a
customer to settle down if it is a complaint call. In after
phone experience surveys by customer there have been
unbelievable improvements in satisfaction. Anyone wanting to
improve their businesses ought to read that white paper. Maybe
the government ought to get these systems in, because those so
called “good folks” in government at their call centers are
about the most worthless, un caring folks I have ever seen.
And many of their supervisors need to be axed for their
attitude. Apparently they have completely forgotten the
customer?
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative
thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance;
www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs
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