PROFIT EXPENSE CENTER

According to several industry metrics researchers, 62% of contact centers are perceived as cost centers by the rest of their organizations. Many will argue that contact centers that provide customer service exclusively are cost centers. Contact centers hire agents, buy technology, lease facilities, and pay for overhead, all while not collecting any revenue.

Today, customer service is not an option; it is just as much a part of the product offering as the actual product. To be competitive, you better have a customer service strategy that knocks the socks off your customers. Customer service is more than solving shipping and billing issues; it’s about strengthening the customer/company relationship, improving customer satisfaction and building customer lifetime value. This customer retention activity is future revenue.

Have you ever purchased the same product or brand because you like how the company provides customer service? Apple is a perfect example; you can get free help as well as paid help on any of their products. You can stop in a store or call the help desk for support. When contact centers provide exquisite service, it keeps customers coming back repeatedly! Premier contact centers are measured on client retention. The contact center builds customer relationships one call at a time, planting the seeds for future purchases. So is it a Contact “Retention” Center?

In every industry, on every product and service, customers base their opinions about the company on how they’re treated. No one remembers the advertising, the channel partners or even the sales person. What customers remember most is how they are treated. How easy is it to get customer service? How do they talk to you? How do they make you feel? Contact centers can align with corporate strategy when top executives see the connection between customer satisfaction and opinion. The contact center provides an effective vehicle for direct, two-way communication to drive customer opinion. Hug your customers, and they will reciprocate with future purchases. It’s that simple.

“Would you like fries with that?” – the most famous upsell phrase! It’s a simple question that has sold many French fries! The ability to cross-sell and upsell is a revenue-generating strategy to build credibility, build customer relationships, and increase customer awareness. Recently, I overheard a patient in a doctor’s office say, “How come the doctor didn’t recommend that?” when the office manager mentioned a new type of contact lens while they were checking out. The challenge is the skill set. Are the agents equipped to have the cross-sell/upsell conversation? According to research firm Loudhouse Research, 86% of strategic decision makers in contact centers do not think their agents have the skills to meet their obligations regarding upselling and cross-selling. This is an easy fix!

Invest in training and coaching! Identify and map out opportunities for agents to “upsell and right-sell” customers, then educate agents to recognize those opportunities. Too many agents “miss” the moment. Prepare agents by educating them on the problems your products/services are designed to solve. Provide agents with questions they can ask customers to create awareness, like the eye doctor’s office manager. Awareness of a possible solution is the first step to making a purchase.

Cross-selling and Right-Selling are surefire strategies for turning your cost center into a revenue machine! Organizations that invest in identifying revenue-generating skills and take the time and money to coach and train agents will sell a lot of fries!

Using a quantitative approach to defining value in the contact center may not always be feasible. The point is how to quantify customer satisfaction and loyalty. The contact center has the most significant impact on these metrics, customer retention, and advocacy. Contact centers are rich in customer insights, which, once shared across the organization, drive improvements, innovations for new products and services, and long-term growth.

The contact center can break the cost center stigma by positioning itself as a strategic asset, capable of providing deep and actionable insights. Leverage your contact center as a goldmine of information, and just maybe your customers will come up with your next great product idea. When you respect the information that comes out of the contact center, it too will rise to become a strategic asset you can’t live without.

Traditional revenue streams include maintenance contracts, upgrade programs, and service fees. Contact centers can drive revenue by a fixed fee per support event, a fee-based fee dependent on the contract length, or a flat fee for events regardless of length. Is it possible to structure the contact center as a cost/revenue center instead of only a cost center? If there is no direct revenue, find a way to assign and quantify the value of customer satisfaction. What is the dollar value of the life of a customer? What is the dollar cost of losing one? Make the indirect revenues visible, and you will quickly see that the contact center is a revenue center.