Contact centre customer service agents are on the front line of marketing. By answering questions and logging customer queries agents are unintentionally creating a very valuable database of information. When you really think about it, customer service and market research dovetail perfectly together.
A one stop shop
A BPO organisation with both customer service and market research in the same building is a goldmine of customer interaction practices that can create profitable bonds between you and your market base. A company’s customer service and market research departments can become quite disjointed due to the fact that they rarely mix. This is perplexing because the blend between the two can be a catalyst for profit.
Data Mining
A contact centre with a market research department means information is shared easier between both parties. This allows the data mining process to be implemented and reviewed quicker. Because a call centre deals with customer enquiries and logs information on a regular basis they have the ideal means to store information through CRM software. It’s a process that comes naturally to a customer service agent as all the calls they receive require some sort of data mining through the asking of closed and open questions, and also there is a natural conversational flow that customer care agents are adept at. For this reason, the data will be mined in a more personal and hospitable manner.
Data Protection
Information collected in a call centre is backed up to combat loss in the event of a disaster such as flooding for example. Consumer confidentiality is a key element in the contact centre industry. This is also paramount within Market Research projects.
In the contact centre, all information collected is linked back to one specific individual. On the other hand, market research focuses on % of respondents and not in sensitive information. This guarantees data protection and anonymity of the respondents.
When a company is seeking out a market research agency all these points give you reassurance and allow you to rest easy while vital research is being carried out by professional customer centric agents.
Experienced Staff
Market research campaigns generally require a large number of people to be contacted through qualitative or quantitative surveys. Call centres can also provide you with a dedicated phone number that increases the contact rate per campaign. This contact rate is higher in a call centre than anywhere else due to the experience of the staff and superior customer/product knowledge. When starting a new campaign for a product or service it is routine for the centre to familiarise their staff with the new product/service through training, research and learning the script of the client. The constant flexibility a customer service agent must exhibit is a key point with regards market research campaigns.
The lines of communication in a call centre are more frequently used and aid in product/service knowledge because of the shared information factor. For example, an issue with a product rarely goes unnoticed because of the community of agents that view and communicate issues with each other as they arise. This is why information is more accurate as you are dealing with an experienced workforce using tried and tested methods.
Conclusion
The advantage of choosing to outsource your market research to a company with an in-house contact centre is that it’s a one-stop shop. Having all your customer in one place is convenient and improves time management. It increases the amount of data that can be mined and increases the accuracy. Policies and procedures are adhered to so data is more securely protected. A contact centre offers additional services such as email handling, live chat and an experienced workforce.
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