Bulk SMS a cost-effective call centre solution

The current economic recession could offer UK consumers some added benefits in the form of better service levels from local businesses. Businesses trying to stay afloat and retain their market share are focusing their attention on improved customer relationships. The latest statistics released by the United Kingdom Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) show a direct trend between improved customer relations management and loyalty to the company. So UK companies hoping to make it through the recession need to be looking at strategies that will offer consumers better value-for-money leading to increased loyalty at the same time as streamlining their costs to delivery more effectively on their investment. Bulk SMS messaging has a role to play in this scenario.

SMS messaging is a simple solution that can help achieve these two primary objectives. In their latest survey, ProtoCall One, identifies cost as the biggest challenge facing call centres in 2009. With more than 56% of respondents stating that they are currently investigating virtual contact centre technology; there is a strong case for including bulk SMS and two-way SMS technology in this set-up.

Bulk SMS is an extremely cost-effective communications solution; not only is transmission of text messages cheaper than a phone call, it also effectively removes the need for additional personnel to deal with incoming queries or complaints. Because bulk SMS messages can be personalised around specific trigger information such as dates, names or identified words, it is easy to personalise communications at the same time as capitalising on bulk messaging prices.

Two-way text messaging capability means that the communication between company and customer is interactive. The wide range of applications that bulk SMS messages can be used for is astounding from order confirmations, notification of delivery, and confirmation of received queries with an automatic response time to marketing promotional text messages.

Common criticisms of call centres include the long phone queuing time, interacting with incompetent or non-expert operators and requiring the caller to repeat the same information multiple times before being put through to the relevant staff member. The call centre is a frontline interaction between the company and customer and needs to be, dare I say it, a ‘pleasant’ experience.

SMS text messaging can benefit a company enormously in this scenario. By enabling customers to text their query, complaint or request, businesses eliminate the long waiting period in phone queues, they make sure that the SMS text message is delivered to the most relevant staff member who can then respond quickly with the information that the customer needs.

Quality of service is the only real differentiator left for companies competing on the same price levels in the same market and any opportunity to improve service and customer relationships deserves to be looked into. It would be a pity if call centres did not grasp the opportunity offered by SMS text messaging to cut their costs and at the same time radically increase their service levels. Bulk SMS messaging is also one of the most affordable and cost-effective marketing mediums available to companies today.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: bulk sms, bulk SMS messages, bulk SMS messaging, bulk text messaging, Clickatell, global SMS, mobile marketing, SMS, sms gateway, sms marketing, text messaging, two-way SMS