{"id":18521,"date":"2021-05-25T08:21:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T07:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=18521"},"modified":"2021-07-22T13:01:52","modified_gmt":"2021-07-22T12:01:52","slug":"the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of the Call Centre in the Delivery of CX"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re a frequent reader of this blog, you know I\u2019m a big believer in the value of <a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/definitive-guide-customer-experience\/\">customer experience<\/a> (CX) as a competitive differentiator for brands. You\u2019ll also know that in the digital world in which we live, I believe the call centre plays a vital role in the delivery of CX, yet is often overlooked in this regard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While I have written about the need to train \u2013 i.e. enable, equip and empower \u2013 your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/contact-centre\/overview.html\">contact centre<\/a> agents to make them more effective in delivering a world class experience, today I want to highlight a few training focus areas that will not only benefit your agents, but also benefit your customers and ultimately your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Knowing the customer\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a lifelong marketer I have done my fair share of developing ideal customer profiles (ICP) for organisations. If you\u2019re not familiar with what a persona or ICP is, it\u2019s a profile that companies build that provides an overview of the characteristics of their ideal customers. Depending on if you\u2019re a B2B or B2C company the attributes may change, but overall they help direct marketing and sales in how to best engage their audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing I believe more organisations should do however is involve the call centre in these discussions and also share the final profiles with them when completed. Why? The more information we can give a call centre agent about the kind of customer they are speaking to, what their challenges are and the various ways they like to engage, the better prepared that agent will be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s no such thing as having too much information on our customer. Involving agents in the creation of, and delivering the final profiles to them, will enable them to adjust accordingly.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t<style>\r\n\t\t\t@media (min-width: 768px) {\r\n\t\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-img {\r\n\t\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\r\n\t\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-img img {\r\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta {\r\n\t\t\t\tbackground: #001138;\r\n\t\t\t\tpadding: 30px;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-copy {\r\n\t\t\t\tpadding: 0 30px;\r\n\t\t\t\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\t\t\t\tcolor: #fff;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-copy .btn-primary {\r\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t<\/style>\r\n\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta  CID-cta-2FdM5dTp IID-cta-6a1537928d90c\"\r\n\t\t\tdata-dl-custom-type=\"cta\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta-img\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/female-contact-centre-agent-working-from-home-on-the-floor-with-her-baby-daughter-is-on-the-sofa-laptop-headset-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Call to action banner\">\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta-copy\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<span style=\"font-size: 24px; line-height: 30px;\">New research: Leading UK contact centres through change. Learn from the experiences of your peers.<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"text-center\" style=\"display: block;\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"rc-cta-shortcode btn btn-primary btn-lg\" data-dl-element=\"button\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg\" style=\"margin-top: 16px; font-weight: bold;\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Read the report\" href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/leading-contact-centre-teams-through-change-report\/\" target=\"_blank\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-dl-additional-info=\"New research: Leading UK contact centres through change. Learn from the experiences of your peers.\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-name=\"New research: Leading UK contact centres through change. Learn from the experiences of your peers. | Read the report\">Read the report<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\n<h2><b>Empathy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good number of years ago my wife and I went out for dinner to a new restaurant. Excited to try out a new place our excitement was quickly doused by the experience. When a manager stopped by our table to ask how our night was going, I politely explained that the service was not at all what we expected, the food was under cooked and we were less than satisfied. Clearly defensive, he crossed his arms and asked, \u201cWhat do you expect me to do?\u201d Somewhat surprised I replied by saying, \u201cI want you to comp our meal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Needless to say, we never went back to the restaurant, but it was a good lesson on the impact a little empathy could have made. If that manager had apologised, let us know that he understood we should have had a better experience and offered to make it right, the reality is we probably would have given that establishment another chance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The same goes for call centre agents and the need for empathy. In my time in the call centre business, I know that there are times when customers can be frustrated, they can be unreasonable, they can get angry&#8230;and the list goes on. How a call centre agent replies to the customer can make all the difference in the world, and responding with empathy can diffuse a situation and turn a bad situation into a good one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, we cannot expect agents to simply know how to apply empathy; they need to be trained on how to do it \u2013 and it\u2019s not a one-time event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to turn your agents into a customer experience agent, teach them on how to apply empathy.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Being innovative<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Too many times we think of innovation in terms of technology, but when we do this we limit the definition of the word. Innovation is about how we think, how we act and the processes we use in our business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carlajohnson.co\/rethinkbook-001\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Innovation expert Carla Johnson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> says the following about innovation: \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most innovation isn\u2019t sustainable because people make it much harder than it has to be. Experts portray it as confusing and complicated so they can charge big fees. Executives make it intimidating and complex, so they appear smarter and important. Traditional innovators imply you need a special degree or training to know how to do it right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Giving your agents the training and allowing them to be innovative when solving a problem for a customer can make all the difference in the delivery of CX. It will also embolden your agents when they are not constrained and give them the freedom to be creative, which will give them more fulfilment in their roles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be argued that call centre agents are some of the most pivotal employees in the delivery of CX. Training them in these three areas will go a long way towards helping them do this, which <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.superoffice.com\/blog\/how-to-create-a-customer-centric-strategy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will only be of benefit to your business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t<div class=\"uc-expo-cta-2 style-4  CID-cta-2FdM5dTp\"\r\n\t\t\tdata-dl-custom-type=\"ctaButton\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"inner-container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Expert advice on how to meet customer expectations, manage remote employees and set agents up for success.<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"button\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"rc-cta-shortcode btn btn-primary btn-lg\" data-dl-element=\"button\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg\" href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/leading-contact-centre-teams-through-change-report\/\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-additional-info=\"Expert advice on how to meet customer expectations, manage remote employees and set agents up for success.\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-name=\"Expert advice on how to meet customer expectations, manage remote employees and set agents up for success. | Read the report\" target=\"_blank\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener\" title=\"Read the report\">Read the report<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re a frequent reader of this blog, you know I\u2019m a big believer in the value of customer experience (CX) as a competitive differentiator for brands. You\u2019ll also know &hellip; <a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Importance of the Call Centre in the Delivery of CX&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":18523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,15],"tags":[33,157],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Importance of the Call Centre in the Delivery of CX | RingCentral UK Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It&#039;s vital you train contact centre agents to make them more effective in delivering a world class experience. Cover these today training focus areas that will not only benefit your agents, but also benefit your customers and ultimately your business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carlos Hidalgo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Importance of the Call Centre in the Delivery of CX | RingCentral UK Blog","description":"It's vital you train contact centre agents to make them more effective in delivering a world class experience. Cover these today training focus areas that will not only benefit your agents, but also benefit your customers and ultimately your business.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carlos Hidalgo","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/"},"author":{"name":"Carlos Hidalgo","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/13a40a87ed33436ac05ba1963642a7ee"},"headline":"The Importance of the Call Centre in the Delivery of CX","datePublished":"2021-05-25T07:21:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-22T12:01:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/"},"wordCount":898,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["customer engagement","customer experience"],"articleSection":["Business Trends - CX","Contact Centre"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-the-call-centre-in-the-delivery-of-cx\/","name":"The Importance of the Call Centre in the Delivery of CX | RingCentral UK Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-05-25T07:21:01+00:00","dateModified":"2021-07-22T12:01:52+00:00","description":"It's vital you train contact centre agents to make them more effective in delivering a world class experience. 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Over the span of the last two plus decades, Hidalgo has held corporate roles, started his own entrepreneurial ventures and served in non-profits. In addition to his various roles and business pursuits, Hidalgo is the author of two books Driving Demand, one of the Top 5 Marketing Books of all time according to Book Authority which was published in 2015 and The UnAmerican Dream which was published in 2019.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cahidalgo_","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/carlos-hidalgo-4a805a1\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/cahidalgo"],"url":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/author\/carlos-hidalgo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18521"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}