subject: Non-voice Call Center Services [print this page] The title is a sort of an oxymoron because we associate the BPO desk with voice calls and answering service. However, in the recent times, the phone answering agents have broken away from the mould that we had slotted them in. A call center agent is not content with just taking calls. An agent can contribute to other call center services as well and many of these have nothing to do with voice calls. In fact, the traditional methods of lead generation and telemarketing that made use of voice calls have alternatives in the non-voice BPO services as well. Let's pick up each of the call center services and find out their non-voice alternatives.
Let's begin with the customer care department. Answering service agents are known to receive and process calls from enquiring customers and callers. In the non-voice system, the phone answering agents do not talk on the phone. They answer emails and comments written by the users on the client's websites or other corporate pages. To bring those users to the client's website, search engine optimization (SEO) is carried out by the call center agents. When the interested viewers look for certain keywords, they are directed to the client's website. The users read the content and sometimes leave a comment. The comments are tackled by the inbound call center team. The users also leave emails that the BPO agents can answer. This provides them an opportunity to highlight the products/services without intruding on the privacy of the callers.
Now let's shift to lead generation. BPO agents are depending on social media and websites for lead generation. Telemarketing is still an effective option. There are plenty of results coming in through telemarketing services but no call center would like to leave out the very lucrative online scenario. With the coming of the social media, sales lead generation has become easier for the BPO units. Agents can create profiles and post updates about their products and services on these networks. With the right kind of people as friends and followers, the call center service can amass quite a few leads without relying on the phone calls. This is a method that is fast catching up. Clients are also becoming conscious about their corporate website. Many of them are commissioning the BPO service unit to build them a website that suits their needs. SEO on websites have brought healthy results because of the growing usage of the internet to hunt for information and services.
The use of the non-voice methods by call centers proves a point. It proves that BPO units are always trying to innovate and look for alternatives. In an age when telemarketing stands threatened because of the Do Not Call lists and other legal impositions, the non-voice methods of lead generation will certainly offer a breather to these agents. Clients also find a way out that can get them to have new subscribers on board. The business growth should not stop because of the hurdles on the way. Fuelled by this desire, business process outsourcing is now ready with Plan B.
