Call centre on Big Data
Delia Gross, Executive: In-Touch Outbound, Innovation Group
Data Analytics is going to be critical for businesses who run call centres in order for the call centre business to add value to consumers
It appears that organisations are finally realising the value of data and what this can really do for new business opportunities and in many case change the business around. Corporate organisations are researching tools to mine data in order to promote customer experience, profits and contain costs.
Data contained in call centres have historically focused largely on the product and its associated movement, agent productivity, first call resolution, real time adherence, some customer satisfaction scores and after that not much else. “Within the call centre environment there is a myriad of data outside of the mundane contact details, which have not been utilised to its fullest potential and which organisations now need to look at in order to capatilise on and start creating meaningful relationships with their clients” says, Delia Gross, Executive: In-Touch Outbound.
Predictive Analytics uses data and the predication of future probabilities and trends. Predictive analytics tools are being used to determine what is going to happen in the future whereas in the past, trends were used to try and determine the expectations of ‘the buyer’. These will include additional demographics and could assess the risk factor as well. A number of predictions will be combined with traditional analysis to forecast the new probabilities, and with a relatively certain level of accuracy. Data is gathered, and placed into a model where the predictions have been determined and then supplied to the business for decision making purposes.
Predictive Analytics will come to play a key role in the modern call centre due to its ability to monitor speech content. Through this application, speech content is monitored to determine keywords associated with customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction. It controls the agents’ use of greetings and closing to ensure they comply with company policies and legislation. The knowledge is then used to identify trends through the use of the speech analytics tool.
Similarly, through technical innovation, Business Intelligence (BI) tools can now support business demands more successfully. The new BI tools will forecast market activity, buying patterns, possible trends, customer spending behaviour and preferences, frequency and when the next purchase will be. These analytics will assist businesses to gear up to deliver on what their customers are expecting. The idea of customer loyalty will soon be entrenched yet again through these results by using the business intelligence gathered.
Call centres represents the main entry point for data and this is likely to increase with the introduction of social media platforms, live chats and online debates within the call centre environment. In order to capitalise on not only existing data but also the influx of data as a result of technological advances, the training of agents and management would need to be adjusted to address how best to report on the information gathered which will influence the business in the future. In addition to the increased focus on training, a change management project would need to be integrated into the new way of doing business. Alternative analysis will push call centres into utilizing their rich data to understand customer behaviour more fluidly.
Ultimately, change is imminent and call centres are now starting to embrace analytic tools to mine data to drive change in business. Data in call centres will become the nerve centre of the business as this is where the knowledge and information on all aspects of the business resides. It is now that this valuable data will be used extensively to move businesses into the future.
