In today’s fast-paced business environment, delivering an exceptional customer experience is crucial for the success and growth of any organization. However, managing a contact center and call center operations in-house can be challenging and resource-intensive. That’s where XACT comes in. As a leader in outsourced customer contact solutions, we provide modern contact center services and solutions that empower businesses to enhance their customer experience. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of outsourcing your contact center operations to XACT.

The Challenges of In-House Contact Center Operations
Managing an in-house contact center can be overwhelming, especially for companies without the necessary manpower or technology. It requires significant investments in infrastructure, recruitment, training, and ongoing support. Additionally, maintaining expertise in multiple channels like calls, emails, and chat can be complex and time-consuming.

The Solution: Outsourcing with XACT
At XACT, we understand the unique challenges faced by businesses in different industries. We offer tailored contact solutions that address these challenges and provide a seamless customer support experience. Our dedicated team becomes an integrated part of your organization, ensuring that your customers never feel like they are dealing with a third-party outsourced solution.

• Efficiencies and Innovations in Contact Center Operations: By outsourcing your contact center operations to XACT, you gain access to the latest technologies and innovations that can transform your customer support capabilities. Our advanced systems and integrations enable efficient call handling, streamlined processes, and real-time information dissemination. We go beyond traditional call center solutions by offering chat and web support, outbound survey responses, and service and support dispatch, ensuring multiple channels for customer engagement.
• Measurable Results and Customer Satisfaction: Outsourcing your contact center operations to XACT brings tangible benefits and measurable results. Our experienced team, backed by 100 years of contact center management expertise, ensures that each customer interaction is handled professionally and efficiently. Through our comprehensive training programs, branding implementation, and ongoing support tools, we deliver a seamless customer support and engagement experience. Our client testimonials speak volumes about the level of service and satisfaction we provide.
• Targeted Industries and Tailored Solutions: XACT’s outsourced contact center solutions are specifically designed for businesses in the healthcare, education, medical, and commercial service industries. Your organization will find immense value in our tailored solutions. That’s because we understand the unique requirements of these industries and offer industry-specific expertise to meet their needs.

Outsourcing your contact center operations to XACT empowers your business to deliver exceptional customer experiences. By leveraging our professional, confident, customer-centric, and innovative approach, you can enhance customer satisfaction, free up valuable resources, and focus on core business objectives. Visit our website to learn more about how XACT can transform your contact center operations and take your customer experience to new heights.

We’ve all heard the phrase “patience is a virtue,” because having a patient demeanor is often valued and praised. However, it’s not something that’s easy to master. Being patient is hard. Sometimes things get under our skin and make it difficult not to boil over. But when you work in customer service, you can’t let your emotions get the better of you. You have to stay in control and practice patience. This is, of course, easier said than done. It takes time to fully develop this trait, but it is absolutely necessary! Since we know patience can be difficult for many, we wanted to talk about some things you can do while speaking with customers to stay calm and collected.

First, when a customer says something you don’t like or goes off on a tangent, you may feel your patience quickly waning. This is a good time to breathe deeply. If you’re on the phone, make sure to mute yourself so the customer can’t hear you. As you breathe deeply, try not to lose focus on the call. While you may want to zone the customer out to keep your emotions in check, you can’t, because you may miss important details regarding how to assist them.

You need to listen to what your customers are saying attentively. Try to listen to the key points and not let their emotions get you heated. If a customer is upset, remember that although they may be expressing it to you, you aren’t the source of their frustration. You just happen to be the one they’re venting to. Remember your job is to help them. Think about how gratifying it will be to resolve the issue and turn their anger into satisfaction. Make that your focus.

If things get too out of hand and you feel the customer is being aggressive, then you may need to pull a manager in to resolve the problem. Know what your limitations are and when you need someone else to jump in and assist with an issue.

As you assist customers, remember they may have other things going on, besides what they’re calling you about. It’s like the saying goes, “you never know what someone is going through. Be kind. Always.” It may help to post this quote at your workstation as a reminder. Ultimately, it’s the customer service agent’s job to listen, answer questions, and provide resolutions. Make sure that you’re doing this with a listening ear and a patient demeanor. Good luck!

We’ve probably all heard the phrase “the customer is always right.” This is a phrase that has been accredited to a few people including retailer Harry Gordon Selfridge. While the saying itself leads one to believe that the customer is never going to be wrong, the actual idea is that the customer should leave happy. The intent is to keep customers satisfied and returning. However, the saying can feel misleading. So, is the customer ever wrong? Technically, yes. There are times when a customer may have misunderstood something or may have an emotional outburst and even treat service agents poorly. So, technically, “the customer is always right,” isn’t right. There’s more to pleasing the customer and keeping a happy workforce.

Instead of saying, “the customer is always right,” and trying to meet that demand, let’s recognize the obvious, sometimes customers will be wrong. Once we recognize that, we can meet the customer demand better.

Service agents who talk with customers should be empathetic and sympathetic, providing a listening ear and an understanding mind. If a customer has misunderstood something, an agent can kindly and thoughtfully explain the misunderstanding so that they have a correct comprehension. Say, for example a customer misjudges how a product works, providing accurate information can help the customer and the company. If a customer calls in feeling emotional, a service agent can respond to this with a cool and collected demeanor. This in turn can often ease the customer and help calm them down as well.

The fact is the customer will sometimes be wrong, and knowing how to handle these situations is important for service agents. When this can be discussed openly, it can better serve the agent and help them to know how to comfortably tackle the situations while also providing customers with the best service possible. Does that mean we should make a point of telling them they’re wrong, probably not in such a direct manner. Instead, we should focus on providing accurate information and finding a solution for the situation.

While customers may not always be right, they should have the opportunity to discuss concerns, questions, and frustrations with a representative. They should leave a conversation feeling heard. It should also be easy for them to reach an agent when it’s convenient for them. Providing a listening ear, convenience, and acknowledging their needs can go a long way to keeping customers happy and loyal.

Email and chat communications are becoming increasingly essential for call centers and customer support. Customers love the ease of use and convenience. But it’s not just convenient for the customers either. It also makes it easier for the agents to handle more outreach in a shorter duration. Overall, it’s a win-win solution.

But email communications must be done right. Here are some things that emails should contain when communicating with customers.

A greeting

When replying to a customer, always start with a greeting. Something as simple as hello [insert name] or greetings [insert name] is sufficient. You can add extra warmth by saying, “thank you for reaching out to us.”

Their name

As you can see in the point mentioned above, it’s important to use the customer’s name. Always include it in the greeting. You can also use it in other portions of your email text where appropriate. It makes the email feel more personable. Customers will feel much more valued in return and understand they’re talking to a real person behind the screen.

Compassion

You should always show that you care about your customers. If the customer emails with a complaint, you can show your concern by following up your greeting with something like, “I’m sorry to hear that” or “I completely understand how frustrating that would be” before moving into a resolution. Customers want to feel heard. That’s why adding this simple phrase is essential.

An answer

Customers want fast answers. That’s why it’s essential to respond to customers quickly with a thoughtful answer. Make sure you know how to address their concern or question with clarity. If you’re not able to answer the question, make sure to add clear information for the next steps in the email. This may include something about forwarding the complaint to a higher compartment and when they should expect the next email. This may look something like, “I’m sending your email to a higher department. They will be able to address the complaint. Please expect a reply within 24-hours from this department.”

A closing

Your closing shouldn’t be a simple goodbye. If you didn’t already say it in the greeting, you should tell them that you appreciate them reaching out to you. Thank them for connecting with you, and ask if there is anything else you can do for them. Don’t assume that this is the end of the conversation. Also, let the customer know if they need anything else that you’re there to help them. You can also add something like “I hope the rest of your day goes well” and say goodbye. If you have a survey that you’d like to prompt them to take afterward, ask this during your closing and explain how to access it.

These points will make sure your customer feels heard, show them compassion, and it can keep them coming back.

Let’s take a few minutes to explore the customer buying experience through the eyes of the customer. This shouldn’t be too much of a stretch since everyone is a customer to someone. However, it’s often something that can get forgotten while focusing on the business end of things. But, let’s say for a minute we forget the role of trying to acquire customers and instead focus on the experience of being a customer.

Say your buying experience as a customer starts off by seeing an ad for something you want or actively seeking out something you need. You either click on the advertisement or maybe you go to Google and search for a product or service that fits your needs. If you’re shopping online, you’ll probably be seeking out additional information, especially if this isn’t a company you’ve purchased from before. If the details aren’t all listed on the website, it could get frustrating, but maybe you find a FAQ page to answer your questions. You may have specific questions about the product or service or just want to know something such as the return policy. Another step during the buying journey may be to check reviews. If you’re able to easily find answers to your questions, the company has good reviews, and the product is in the price range you’re looking for, then you’ll probably click “buy now” and finish out the purchase. However, if you struggle to find answers or the reviews leave you feeling concerned, it may make you second guess your purchase. You may not even add the item to your cart or you might abandon it altogether.

Now, you might decide to take it an additional step and reach out to customer service, if they’re easy to get a hold of, for example, if they have 24/7 support and offer an easy method for outreach. Maybe there is even a chat window that pops up when you’re on their website. In this case, you would probably reach out to customer service and get your questions answered. If you like the answers and the company has good customer support, you’ll probably complete the purchase immediately afterward.

Another thing you might take note of is what the company responded to when reading reviews. Maybe you saw one or two troubling reviews, but then you saw the company’s response, and that made them feel trustworthy again.

When you think about the customers’ buying journey, it’s important to look at it from every angle. How easy is it for customers to learn about your product or service? Is it a simple process to get a hold of customer support? How up-to-date is your website? And, how well are you responding to reviews? Consider what it takes for you to purchase a product or service, especially from someone new, and then use that information to help build a better buying experience for your customers. It can help land more sales and acquire more customers.

If you’d like help providing excellent customer support for your current and potential consumers, please reach out to us. We can act as an organic extension of your business. Call us at 877.XACT-877.