How to generate more revenue through your contact center

Contact centers have long been considered a revenue drain where customer complaints, service requests, and low-value inquiries pour in with no revenue generation. As a result, customer interactions are often limited to minimize costs but at the expense of customer experience. However, today’s consumers do not tolerate negative experiences, and by dodging their calls, businesses will only end up losing customers to the competition.

With contact center AI and the implementation of automation, there’s a misconception that customer experience has gone to the wayside and taken a hit. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, contact centers have transformed into valuable assets that also bring in business and revenues while enhancing the customer experience.

Why do contact centers cause a drain on finances?

There are several ways to drive revenue from contact centers instead of finding reasons to hack away at potential investment opportunities in this area. But first, let’s understand why contact centers may be seen as leaving money on the table.

1. High turnover – The average turnover rate for contact centers can be high due to the challenging work handled by entry-level roles or burnout.
2. Agents spread too thin – It’s important to note that customers will leave a brand after one single bad experience. Spreading contact center agents too thin can lead to customers feeling undervalued and rushed when keeping them happy and satisfied should be paramount.
3. Inefficient call handling – Realistically, as humans, it is only possible for contact center representatives and agents to hold conversations one at a time, which leads to longer wait times that customers don’t appreciate.

Tracking all these expenses gives deeper insight into where cost cuttings can be made more effectively.

Transforming contact centers into revenue centers

Now that we know what the costly aspects could be, with some strategizing, contact centers can attract loyal customers with high lifetime values and can be reimagined into becoming the growth centers of businesses.

1. High-value sales with expert advice

The majority of consumers prefer contacting businesses with a phone call to seek help. But, consumers can’t be pressured to turn to digital self-services with an IVR message about longer hold times – it’s frustrating and a waste of time. Consumers would rather switch to a competitor that will answer the phone.

People still desire expert advice and a good experience to help them feel more confident about their purchase decision, and talking to a person on the phone helps them make these complex purchases.

Well-trained agents at a contact center have the right competencies and skills to close high-ticket sales. By offering them their expertise and positive interaction, customers leave feeling valued and with a sense of trust in the brand when making such informed decisions.

2. Personalized concierge experiences

Concierge-style communication improves the contact center experience for customers. A highly personalized experience with clear, immediate calls to action (CTAs) invites more loyalty from customers to the business and value over time.

Meaningful, two-way conversations can happen either over the phone or through SMS. Texting is especially useful when agents need to share photos or links to help the customers.

3. Quick and easy communication

With less friction in communication, there are higher rates of engagement from customers, leading to higher lifetime value. Messaging is the quickest way to communicate with customers. It has also proved to be an efficient method to set up a time for a phone conversation.

4. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and loyalty

Customers return only when they feel valued. Contact centers are potentially the best assets that can help earn brand loyalty by offering highly personalized service and empathy to customers.

Because human-to-human interaction with a brand is only possible through a contact center, to the customers, agents are the face of the brand, and therefore, based on that experience, a lasting impression is formed in the customers’ minds about the company.

A consumer study conducted by KMPG shows that a customer’s loyalty to a brand stems mainly from excellent support and services. When a company is a step ahead of the customer and able to anticipate their expectations and requirements, the superior experience will come as a pleasant surprise to the customers and ultimately lead to a higher CLV.

Checking in on customers during their usual order time and sharing tracking information and updates are small gestures that can elevate the experience of the customer without them needing to contact first. This also helps reduce the number of inbound contact center touches.

5. First-party customer data

Third-party customer data always equates to privacy implications, and it’s a terrible way of getting to know customers. The significantly better alternative is to get accurate information straight from the consumers themselves.

The richest source of high-quality first-party data is available from customer conversations. While the next natural step is to make sense of that data and utilize it at scale across the organization, AI-powered platforms like HGS Agent X are equipped to handle and process such unstructured conversation data.

Contact center solutions, like HGS Agent X, have the capability to activate data across a wide range of technology platforms through integrations with CRMs, analytics, ad platforms, and more in real-time.

Analyzing conversations makes it possible to unlock the true value of customer data to personalize CX, enrich customer profiles, optimize ad campaigns, perform ad targeting and retargeting, improve digital experiences, and more.

The value of first-party data contributes toward revenue generation and the bottom line alone, which is enough to rest the cost center argument.

6. Positive digital experiences

In the CX industry, providing an excellent digital experience (DX) is no longer considered a strategy; it is an integral part of the service that is provided to customers. Conversation intelligence allows the contact center to know the reason for customer calls at scale, whether it’s for wanting expert advice or for complaints.

Integration of conversation data with digital customer journey data optimizes the online CX, making self-service easier, reducing low-value inquiries, and freeing up the agents for more critical tasks.

7. Cross-sell, upsell, and revenue retention

There is a myriad of opportunities for revenue generation that goes beyond customer services at a contact center. For instance, if a customer is facing difficulties with a product, it’s a perfect time for the agents to mention any product upgrades that the customer is eligible for.

When an upsell adds value to a customer, it is not considered a pushy upsell. This is especially true if the customers are unaware of certain upgrades or benefits that are available to them.

Problem-solving is another opportunity for contact centers to retain revenue from customers. Providing quick, personalized, and empathetic service encourages customers to stick with the brand. Businesses that make the investment to facilitate such services have no reason to worry about their contact centers being cost centers.

The opportunities become apparent once contact centers are viewed as revenue centers and the required investments are made to provide elevated customer service. Analyzing conversations and acting based on data-driven insights unlock the true value of all crucial customer touchpoints, driving improved acquisition, retention, and customer loyalty.

Ready to transform your contact center into a growth center? HGS Agent X can help, learn how.