Operating a successful call centre during a recession is by no means an easy task. As an industry built around cost savings and efficiency, even the smallest factor can have a significant impact on your company’s commercial viability.
In order to survive as a call centre in South Africa during 2010 you need to ensure that your business focuses on certain key areas.
Consolidate
During tough economic times a change in thinking is required. The core focus of business should no longer be customer acquisition, but rather customer retention. It is well known fact that it costs up to five times as much to obtain a new client, as it does to retain one.
Therefore one should look at developing your relationship with the existing client, through cross selling and diversifying of service offering. Once the recession is over, you will have a strong base to work from, allowing you to take advantage of new contracts in the market.
Optimise your staff
During difficult financial times you need to look at every possible competitive advantage. Build your staff up through training schemes and reward them when they excel. Instead of looking at cutting costs, maintain or even increase staff spending, while focusing on improving efficiency levels.
Call centres rely on the effectiveness of their people; by trying to cut costs you will be setting yourself up for failure.
Diversify
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as an SMME you need to look at ways to minimise your operating risk. If possible avoid focusing on clients in just one industry. Survey the market, look for up and coming industries, where there is maybe less competition than say the financial sector.
Recently there has been a definite increase in the number of government contracts, while tourism is expected to see a major increase on the back of the upcoming World Cup. It is important to look at the market from a holistic perspective, try and avoid being reliant on large corporate clients, the rewards might be high, but the risks are also far greater.
Customer Service
During the recession, you need to do everything possible to ensure your clients are happy. Go the extra mile; get your staff to perform duties outside of the client’s expectations. Focus on quality standards and service delivery, look at your competitors and see where you can improve. This should be an ongoing process, which is constantly revaluated.
Partner with the right people
Finding the right people to work with is imperative. Look for people with proven track records, who you know and trust and most importantly can deliver on promises. Leverage of governing bodies like BPeSA and find out how they can work for you.
To survive as an SMME in difficult financial times a change in thinking is required, be flexible and innovative. Focus on providing a superior service offering and the rest will take care of itself.
