In the hustle-bustle of modern lifestyles, there are moments when calm descends and everything goes quiet. These are the moments to relax, ponder upon life and revisit the cherished memories stored in the back of your mind. These moments are filled with happiness, especially, for those who have demanding jobs. People providing call center outsourcing services, probably have one of the most challenging profiles in the world. And, just like others, they also seek solitude, peace and calm. This is why; they sometimes go missing while taking a call.
“Hello! Hello! Hello! Is Anybody There?”
The question above is, generally, the automatic response of customers who are ‘listening to dead air’. And when we say ‘listening’, it means they are actually trying to make sense of absolutely no response from the other end. (This practice is so common that in the span of writing this article, there would have been hundreds of customers who would have asked this question in one form or another). Just guess, how these people would have felt?
Dead Air = Bad Customer Service
Simple as that! You can have the smartest people working for you, but if they do not know how to kill the dead air, they are simply no good for your business. Hence, when you are searching for contact center service providers, it is essential to ensure the staff they have understands the basic requirements of the customers. A customer care representative should be respectful, knowledgeable and above all, he should know how to keep a call going.
How to Kill Something That Is Already Dead?
Unlike, in GoT season 8, where killing white walkers (who are already dead humans) will be a herculean task for the good guys, killing dead air is not as challenging. Below are 3 weapons contact center service providers can use to kill dead air:
- Reducing the use of ‘mute’ button and using ‘hold’ sparingly – Mute button is a double-edged sword. It cuts the communication from your side and slashes the customer’s motivation (to stay on the call) from the other side. It is actually a very bad weapon utilized by call center executives that impact your client’s business adversely. Instead of mute, one should use ‘hold’ sparingly for winning the trust of customers.
- Rapport building – Tongue is probably the most dangerous weapon humans have. It can be dangerous if used wrong, but when used correctly while providing contact center outsourcing services, it can keep the customer engaged.
By using your talking skills, you can build a rapport with customers. This will ensure that you have something to chit-chat about during the duration of the call, killing the possibility of dead air.
- Verbal nods – Verbal nods are equivalent to a defensive weapon that can be used to keep the customer engaged at all times. When the call center representative is not able to get on the front foot by building a good rapport or using hold correctly, he can acknowledge customers timely to ensure the flow of call is maintained and dead air is kept to a minimum.
Providing call center services are not everyone’s cup of tea. You need people with inherent qualities to impart services appropriately. If you are unable to deploy an adept in-house team with necessary call center skills, it is best to employ call center outsourcing services that have employees with experience in wielding these three weapons.