Customer service is at the heart of any business and their operations, making customer service agents an integral part of any business. These agents offer their services either in person or via communication channels, one of which is over the phone.
Hence, a call center agent is a customer service agent who communicates with customers over the telephone, usually via a contact center. But what exactly does that entail? Does it mean simply making and answering phone calls? Not quite.
A call center agent performs a number of functions that are more than just picking up calls. They also do the following:
Inform customers and prospective customers
Call center agents make outbound calls to potential customers to inform them of available products, services, and deals.
Agents usually try to persuade new prospects by offering deals, discounts, and other incentives to sweeten their propositions. In many cases, it is call center agents who make the case for a company’s products to potential customers.
Respond to incoming customer calls
Responding to customer questions and complaints is an integral part of an agent’s job. Call center agents are at the frontline of providing solutions to customers’ problems.
Agents are sometimes provided with a script or template with answers for common questions. If needed, agents can transfer customers to more appropriate personnel if the problem is above their skillset.
However, businesses now hire call center agents with specialized skillsets, or they provide training to new employees to enable them to tackle specific problems. Agents also make use of skill-based automatic call routing (often via services like brightpattern.com) to only send calls that have to do with that area to the specialized agent.
The bottom line is that call center agents, specialized or not, are required to help solve customer problems. All call center agents should be versed in effective ways of handling customer complaints.
Participate in sales
Sales may not always be a part of the job description, but if a company is running outbound or inbound marketing campaigns, then a call center agent may be called upon to sell to potential customers. Call center agents should always be seeking to gain skills that help them improve their sales.
Process customer requests
Call center agents not only listen to customer complaints, but they also process requests. Not every customer that calls has a complaint. Sometimes they might want to switch to a new product, or upgrade their subscription plan, or have some other request that might require changes to their account. It is a call center agent’s job to help them or transfer the request to someone who can.
Keep records of customer calls and transactions
Transactions with customers are documented for reference purposes, to help identify customers and their needs to facilitate future interactions, and for quality assurance. All this is done by call center agents.
Perform other industry-dependent tasks
Some tasks that call center agents perform are common to all industries, while others are dependent on the industry the agent offers their service. For example, at a food delivery service, a call center agent would also take orders. If the agent is a sales agent, then they may also be responsible for processing payments.
To be able to carry out these duties on a day-to-day basis, call center agents must possess certain qualities. Call center agents must be active listeners, ask the right questions, be patient and calm, communicate clearly, be able to handle surprises, and be convincing.