Profit from Customer Service Call Centers
Companies are constantly looking for ways to grow their business by selling additional products to existing customers. In fact, some companies have begun using their inbound customer service call centers for this purpose by making product offers to customers when they call with a question or for service. But, are customers receptive to this approach and what are some keys to successfully selling during service calls into call centers?
In today’s show we talked about these issues and more with my guests Maddy Sheprow, Division Vice President of Strategic Solutions, and Rich Brose, Director of Research Consulting – both from Maritz.
Maritz recently conducted some research on this subject and talked with 1000 customers of financial services institutions. Of the people they talked with, 1/3 were offered a new product by the customer service rep. 75% of that one third agreed to listen to the offer. 25% were seriously interested in the offer adn 15% bought on the spot, and 40% wanted more info!
What does this mean to your company? Your customer service call center could be a gold mine for increasing revenue! And, just to prove the point, the Bank of New Zealand uses this approach and 35% of their total retail revenue comes from their customer service call center. That's inbound calls folks -- they're coming to you and you're making money off it. Sounds like a no-brainer.
Well, of course there are issues to contend with and the foremost one is to not treat this as something to be done to your customers. This has got to make sense for your company, your customers, and you have to focus on need and value, not just upselling and "adding fries to that order." In a nutshell, you have to ensure there is total alignment of the company's focus on customer experiences.
Tons more was discussed. If this sounds appealing, make sure you listen to the show.
-- David Kinard, PCM
Comments
Yes, I agree, "bumping the order" is an age old marketing strategy, like the boss used to say when I was a bond broker in San Francisco - "go for the hat trick!" - so here's a new challenge I put out there for marketing guru's..... "Give it away today!" What small thing can you give away today that doesn't actually cost us anything, but will keep em comin back??? Case in point - I am currently annoyed at one of the major banks. I "whoopsed" at the ATM and deposited a huge check into my savings by mistake, meaning to post it to my checking.... Knowing I had a kabillion dollars in the bank, I happily paid my bills... And, without noticing, my overdraft kicked into high gear... And kicked me in the shins, and higher up too, with an OD protection fee. Well I was annoyed so I went into (well known bank) to ask that the money be transferred into my checking to pay my bills, and reverse the fee, as I had made a mistake and obviously had the intent to put the money into my checking, not savings, as evidenced by my concurrent bill paying spree... Nope, that was not something the (rather dim bulb) teller could help with, and was directed to the black phone on a vacant desk to call someone somewhere, as NO PERSON IN THE (well known)bank could assist. So, I sat down and made the call and was chewed out by the person I spoke to, so I asked for their supervisor. (Long wait later...) I spoke with the supervisor who (reluctantly, as the well known bank may become bankrupt if the did this) agreed to refund half of the $20. fee) since I had been with them (X) years and had never OD'd before... Wanting desperately to leave the bank and get on with my life, I agreed, and asked her for her name, which I wrote down in my checkbook. Documenting the date and person that agreed to refund $10. of the $20. fee. (Maybe I didn't actually push the wrong button on the ATM, maybe it was a glitch???) Needless to say, I happened to notice this notation in my checkbook the other day, and scrolled through the deposits since that day, and (not surprisingly) there was no $10. deposit. Now I ask you this: How many people will I refer to this (rotten stinking) bank in the future? (0) and is that worth saving this mega bank $10.???? So here's my challenge to markateeers everywhere... Give it away now... Empower and celebrate employees who can give something away on the spot... "Yes Ms. B, we can fix that right now, just a moment..." "Yes Mr. A, we can correct that and reverse that charge right now, my manager encourages us to fix things at the lowest possible level..."
How powerful would THAT be? In the meantime, know of any good Credit Unions? I am DONE with Mr. Mega Bank!!!
Posted by: Penny Gould | May 5, 2008 6:23 AM