A career in Call Center or a BPO company is more than a mere “pick up a phone and that’s it” thing. Like other professions, it takes skills, knowledge, and expertise to excel. Yes, some accounts are easier, complex, exciting or not-so-exciting than others. So, what are the types of accounts in a call center?
For BPO newbies and for those who are thinking of having a career in one, we would like to help you out to avoid the confusion on what’s in store for you. Also, it would be great to have an idea to know which account suits you best. I have categorized it into 4 major accounts to avoid information overload and in a grave effort to simplify it for you:
1. Inbound Calls:
This first types of accounts in a call center mean the calls come into the center or answering services. Below are some of the different types of services in this account.
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Products and Services:
This field is the broadest LOB (line of business) among the bunch. Products such as clothing, food, office supplies, and electronics are the most common and usually, customers can place their orders over the phone. Services such as hotel bookings, telecommunications, or even logistics can also be handled over the phone. The term “inbound sales” is created so customers can be offered with different products as well or an upgrade on their current one.
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Banking and Finance Accounts:
it covers account services (credit cards or savings accounts), loans, investment banking, retail financial services and a whole lot more. They can deal with a simple card replacement to mortgage planning.
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After Sales (Products and Services):
Customer service does not end after the purchase of a certain product or service. Since customers would need assistance from replacements to account changes, most companies provide after sales service to take care of their customers.
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Technical Support:
although it still belongs to after sales, I think it needs to have a different citation for its complexity to mere humans and tech morons (like me!). These angels with their abundance of patience will walk you through the process to solve a specific problem in your product. It covers all technology-related products.
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Administrative Coordinator:
it’s not surprising to know that multi-national companies and start-up businesses also outsourced their admin tasks. There are job openings these days for Virtual Assistants and Human Resources Coordinator (to name a few) in different BPOs. Although their tasks are not limited to inbound calls.
Here’s a sample Inbound order-taking call to give you an idea:
2. Outbound Calls:
For this types of accounts in a call center, outbound calls focus on making calls going outside. Here are the different types:
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Sales Calls:
This is the 1st thing that usually came to our minds when we hear outbound calls. During the early stages, outbound calls were done to make sales. Appointment setting can also be placed under sales calls for it’s a potential sale closure.
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Lead Generation:
Leads are needed for advertising, sales, and updates. Companies would always want to tap new customers and one way to do so is to conduct extensive research on the available data that they have.
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After Sales:
Yes, there are representatives who checked on previous callers if they experienced quality service when they called! Call center representatives are not only graded for call quality but also for customer satisfaction (CSAT).
3. Chat / Email Support:
Due to the increasing demand for providing quality service, a customer has an option to deal with his inquiries or problems through chat or via email. Some say that this type of account is less tiresome for (of course) it doesn’t require you to use your voice in your 8-hour shift.
4. Back Office:
What happens after the call? For concerns which need further investigation, time and coordination to be resolved, these are the people who do the job. The term “back office” is coined for these are the tasks which are not seen by the customers.
Ready to dive in? Check out our CSR Jobs or post your resume here and we will be glad to help you find the perfect BPO job for you!
Feature image credit: enosisbd.com
Video credit: Delonix Consulting & Gary Zaydman
