How to Decrease Costs in Contact Centres

The customer service industry is currently facing many challenges. During the time of COVID-19, contact centres are adapting to new working environments whilst trying to keep up with new demands and soaring customer expectations. With the changing economy, contact centres must revise their financial situation and ensure that their processes are cost-effective. Here are some ideas on how to decrease costs in contact centres, while continuing to provide high-quality support and experiences for your customers.

Use a Cloud-Based Platform to Reduce Contact Centre Costs

On-premise contact centres can be extremely expensive to operate. The cost of all the hardware, software, licenses, on-site installations, and infrastructure can be very high. There can also be hefty recurring fees due to maintenance and upkeep.

However, a cloud-based communication platform can solve many contact centres’ challenges. Cloud-based solutions are ideal for remote contact centers, which is now more vital than ever due to COVID-19. Cloud demand will undoubtedly shift due to these events with research showing that 93% of businesses have already adopted a multi-cloud strategy.

VoiceSage’s cloud communication platform is not only cost-effective, but it also integrates easily and securely with existing business processes. The set up is quick and easy, so there is also no time or money wasted on tedious installation processes.

Switch From Traditional to Digital Channels

Text messaging can work out significantly cheaper than traditional phone calls. In the UK, it costs an average of £4 to make a call, whereas sending a text message is approximately 99% cheaper. Business communication via messaging is better because it reduces low value inbound calls, increasing agent productivity in contact centres.

Two-way SMS is your most direct, instant and cost-effective solution that allows you to have one-to-one conversations with your customers, either by answering directly or using response templates.

How it works is simple. Text messages are automatically triggered to initiate conversations. Once the inbound text responses are received, they are distributed according to specified agent queue rules.

These responses are easily monitored via the VoiceSage Console’s Inbox, so that agents can quickly engage with customers, managing over 30 conversations at the same time. The main benefits are increased customer satisfaction and higher response rates. For one client, 50% of customers who did not previously respond to contact attempts via phone engaged in two-way SMS conversations.

Two-way SMS communication can be used to:

• Schedule and manage deliveries
• Collect payments
• Send promotions
• Follow up on inbound customer queries

Automate Tasks and Provide Self-Service Options to Lower Contact Centre Costs

By automating routine tasks and providing self-service options to your customers, you can greatly reduce operational costs, and decrease the number of contact centre agents needed to perform manual tasks.

Good communication is vital and customers hate waiting. Solve long waiting times with our SMS chatbot solution that allows you to have entire conversations without live agent interactions.

These messages can be designed to include a clear set of answers, so that customers can reply directly to questions using your predetermined keywords. For example, if a customer would like to pay a bill, they may reply “PAY”. If they would prefer to talk to an agent, they may reply “TALK”. Once the keyword is received, the system will trigger the next actions based on that response. This may be to:

• Receive a call back from a live agent
• Transfer to a secure payment gateway
• Trigger an outbound voice message

Learn how to track customer success: Inbound Contact Center Metrics and How to Track Customer Success

Use Automated Outbound Calling to Improve Contact Centre Efficiency

Though text messaging is an effective option, many customers still prefer to receive immediate responses via voice.

Proactive communications create long-lasting opportunities and reduce inbound call volumes in your contact centre.

Use automated outbound calling to send highly personalized, timely and relevant voice notifications to create effortless customer interactions. When done properly, notifications about important alerts and updates can save agent time, therefore reduce contact centre costs. Use proactive outbound calling (Interactive Voice Messaging) to:

• Collect payments
• Manage deliveries
• Confirm orders
• Submit meter readings
• Check outstanding balances
• Update account information

Find out more about improving contact centre efficiency: Download Our FREE Top 10 Tips On How To Improve Contact Centre Performance And Customer Experience

Get Started With Decreasing Costs in Contact Centres

We would love to discuss how you can decrease costs in contact centres and improve overall customer engagement. Contact us today to explore new ways of lowering costs with our cloud communication platform.