Category: Growth

Call simulators can be nice tools when you want to provide supplemental training and practice for your agents, but they can’t replace the hands-on experience they’d get from dealing with real customers. In other words, call simulators work, but they’re not very practical for training purposes—especially in the long term. 

Instead, the best call center training stems from having your agents handle live calls, evaluating those calls, and offering them constructive feedback in areas they can or need to improve.

If you’re tunnel-visioned about using a call simulator, one of the best times to do so is during the recruiting process for new hires. This way, you can test a candidate’s performance in a mock situation that won’t have any effect on your actual customers. 

However, the way a candidate behaves and reacts in a simulation is not always indicative of how they’ll perform on a real call, so it’s important to use call simulators sparingly, if at all. 

Call Simulator: A Detailed Look

The typical call center simulation software can integrate with your existing solution and offer screening, hiring, and assessment modules to test the aptitude, personality, and technical skills of aspiring candidates.

Usually, a call simulator can be built right into your call center architecture, but depending on the solution you may have to access the mock assessments remotely. In this second case, the simulator software lives outside of your center and can be thought of as a separate training course.

The most modern call simulators have AI-generated voices, scripts, or both—with or without the help of a certified trainer—that can adapt to multiple departments and verticals such as marketing, software development, sales, accounting, and customer support.

In practice, a mock call presents the candidate or agent with a scripted sequence that they must treat like a real…

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Reputation management helps improve a public figure’s brand, gain better control over what information circulates about the figure in question, and repair damage caused by negative news pieces. It’s also an important consideration for every public personality with a fanbase, regardless of size. 

Without reputation management, for example, just one insensitive or outdated comment on a dormant social media account can cause loads of backlash and reverse years of work—even if you think everyone forgot about it. The truth is, you never know when an armchair muckraker who has nothing better to do will stir up a media scandal against you. 

And since you don’t want to be the next person posting an apology video, it’s important to know the ins and outs of celebrity reputation management so you can be prepared to prevent and manage any backlash. 

1. Own Your Social Accounts 

The first step to managing your reputation is to have an official communication channel to connect with your fanbase—because emails and press releases simply won’t cut it. 

If you happen to land in a PR crisis for any reason, social media channels serve as the first line of defense to address any issues and make a statement before things blow out of proportion. 

Meanwhile, having verified social accounts also helps keep impostors and impersonators at bay. These people often set up fake celebrity accounts to scam fans, mostly for monetary gain. If you don’t identify these accounts and address this issue quickly enough, you’ll have to deal with the backlash. 

Keanu Reeves, for example, does not have any social media accounts, and this can often land his fans in hot water (or even debt) for believing in scammers who appear credible. 

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White label reputation management involves offering reputation management services under the name of another agency. An example would be a digital marketing agency that doesn’t specialize in reputation management entering a white label agreement with a specialist reputation management agency to deliver services on its behalf. 

In some cases, certain online reputation management software can be white labeled, too. Under the white label agreement, you can pass the software off as your own, providing your clients with this highly sought-after service without having to develop it yourself. 

When You Should Partner with a Reputation Management Agency to White Label Their Services

There are a few situations when it makes sense to form a partnership with a reputation management agency. 

One is when you’re looking to contract out the labor-intensive services of reputation management but don’t have the time or expertise to offer comprehensive services of your own. Given that reputation management is fairly productized, where the service package is the same across clients, it’s often feasible to add these services by partnering with a professional agency.

Under this partnership, you could provide your clients with high-level reputation management services without having to add a ton to your plate, as long as the services are standardized. 

If you try to offer these types of reputation management services in-house, you may need to increase your staffing to accommodate the extra manpower needed to provide this service—which can be incredibly risky. This is especially true if a key client leaves your agency unexpectedly. 

However, by partnering with a reputation management agency, you greatly reduce the risk on your end. 

Another huge benefit of white labeling is that it allows you to provide reputation management services while focusing on the client relationship and not risking the extra overhead. So when your goal is to…

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Reputation management involves monitoring and influencing your reputation with the goal of both protecting and enhancing it. Given that negative press can spread quickly through news, social media, and other digital outlets, this practice has arguably never been more important than it is today. 

What Reputation Management Includes

Here are some of the core activities that fit under the reputation management umbrella.

Monitoring and making Google search results more favorable

49% of all shoppers use Google as a launching point for finding a new product. So a large percentage of people who find you will do so through Google. 

If the first information someone reads about you is negative, it instantly creates a poor first impression. An example would be coming across a slew of negative reviews or news articles about controversies and unethical behavior. When this happens at scale, it can be toxic to your reputation. 

But if what they encounter is flattering, such as positive reviews and news articles singing your praises, it’s going to help your reputation. 

This means a key part of your reputation management strategy should focus on 1) monitoring Google search results and 2) doing everything within your power to make them more favorable. 

You can start doing this by:

• Owning the domain name and social media profiles for your personal name and/or business name
• Creating high-quality content on your website and social media platforms that shows your knowledge and expertise
• Posting positive content that reflects how you want your brand to be perceived
• Publishing press releases that highlight accomplishments and awards
• Guest blogging on other reputable sites

While it’s impossible to completely control what appears on Google, you’ll stand a better chance of controlling the narrative around your brand by being proactive. Simply posting quality content across your websites…

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In today’s digital world, information spreads like wildfire. That includes information about you. What people read about you online—whether accurate or not—impacts your reputation and potentially all aspects of your life. You want the things people read about you to be true.

But keeping track of everything that appears online is time consuming. It may even be impossible to do on your own. This is where automated tools come in. Once you set them up, they do the monitoring work for you.  

I use these tools to stay on top of my online reputation. You should, too. I’ll show you how to do just that.

Step 1: Create Your Official Channels

Start with the basics: Google search. 

The top results when you search for your name should turn up information that you control. 

If you Google my name, Lars Lofgren, you’ll see what I mean. I used the strategies explained below to build my online persona. As a result, I directly control five of the top ten search results for my name. That’s a lot of control over my personal reputation.

How did I make this happen? By taking control of my name in as many ways as possible. Your name is your online currency. Protect it at all costs.

The first step is to buy the .com domain for your name. Whether you plan to do something right now with this domain doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you own it. You control what you own. It’s that simple.

You also never know what the future will bring. Maybe you’ll become famous. Maybe you’ll write a best-selling novel. Maybe you’re on your way to top podcaster status. 

The point is, your name is the foundation of your personal brand. Owning the domain for your name is…

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Data makes the world go round, but without proper context, it can only tell a small part of the story. 

At a call center, for example, the average time that agents spend on calls tells you very little about the success of those calls. If the calls are super short, it could be because callers are getting frustrated and hanging up just as much as it could be because their issues are getting resolved in record time. On the other hand, if calls are taking a really long time, it could be because the average call complexity is high enough to justify it, or simply because the process is highly inefficient. 

In any case, the industry standard of 4-6 minutes can be a useful starting point for making comparisons, but it shouldn’t necessarily be your North Star. If your agents spend more than that on each call, it doesn’t mean you are losing out on customers or sales. In fact, poor call handling and low-quality customer service are more likely to be the culprit for lost customers.

Thus, you should treat your average call duration numbers with a grain of salt—they can be useful for upper management to forecast and make decisions around things like call times, agent utilization, and staff scheduling, but they won’t say much about how hard your agents are working or how good of an experience your customers are having.

Fast or Good? The Average Call Duration Dilemma

The old debate between quantity and quality is one of the greatest conundrums of modern-day business management. Now more than ever, we have the technological means to make things faster—but that doesn’t always translate into an increase in revenue or a customer base with more loyalty.

The same principles apply to call centers. On the one hand, you…

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If you’re getting unwanted calls from people and numbers you don’t recognize or wish to hear from, call blocking is the answer you’ve been waiting for. Whether it’s relentless spam, overzealous agents, persistent recruiters, or someone from your personal life, call blocking can put a stop to all of it—and it’s easy to implement as well. 

There are several different ways to block a phone number depending on the type of device you use, such as a cell phone, a landline, or a VoIP connection. Keep in mind that it’s also possible to block calls regardless of the device.

In general, the main methods for call blocking are as follows:

• Adding numbers to the Do Not Call List
• Using built-in call-blocking features on your phone
• Contacting your service provider to block specific numbers
• Using third-party apps and devices

Be aware that some of these methods are free, some are paid, and some may not apply to specific governmental, political, or charitable organizations—which may still be able to call you under specific circumstances.

Call Blocking With the Do Not Call List

If you want a simple, free, and straightforward way to block unwanted calls from a given phone number in the United States, registering on the Do Not Call list can be done both online and offline. 

Online

• Go to donotcall.gov.
• If you are not registered, you can do so for free. Click on Register Your Phone. 
• On the next page, if you are unsure about a previous registration, click Verify Here. This will take you to the same page that the Verify Your Registration link will take you from the front page. If you are registering for the first time, go ahead and click Register Here. 
• Fill out the form with up to three phone…

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A cloud IVR (interactive voice response) system is a call center solution that combines automated voice prompts with integrated features like payment systems and access to live agents. As cloud computing has moved from niche to mainstream, most IVR operations have followed suit by migrating from on-premises to cloud-based solutions. 

The advantages of this move are apparent, ranging from greater cost-effectiveness and lower overhead to reduced maintenance requirements and more secure scalability. Meanwhile, cloud-based IVRs also eliminate the need for companies to endure the hassles of installing on-premises systems and hardware.

For these reasons and more, cloud computing is appealing to businesses. However, these benefits alone are not a reliable indicator that you’re ready to use a cloud IVR system. In fact, despite the numerous benefits, migrating call center operations to the cloud can be daunting for many businesses that still use traditional IVRs. 

Cloud IVR vs. Traditional IVR

At first, both types of IVR systems appear the same whenever users interact with their automated voice prompts. If the system is on the cloud, however, it opens the door to an abundance of new features and integrations.  

How an IVR works and why it exists

An IVR system operates like a phone tree of navigation options, with any menu item you choose branching off into other pre-recorded submenus. Depending on the depth or hierarchy of the phone tree, any of these submenus can spread into other menus. 

Whether used locally or deployed to the cloud, IVRs share similar call flows. However, various technologies are integrated into the system to make this possible, like the following:

• CTI (computer-telephony integration) is deployed to communicate and coordinate the interaction between a phone and a computer. It uses dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals, which generate tones whenever a user presses numbers on their device.

…

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You want your call center to be prepared to tackle any challenge and come out safely on the other side. While many may brush over their business continuity plans and adopt a so-called “agile” approach to potential disasters, having a plan in place will make all the difference when facing an unforeseen event.

Building your continuity plan isn’t child’s play. Typically, it will take up to two months to have everything in place. Still, the estimated time of completion depends on a variety of factors, including your business size and location.

How to Create a Business Continuity Plan for Your Call Center

Every business is different. So is every business continuity plan. If you run a call center, the following steps will help guide you to create an actionable plan.

Step 1: Understand the Risks You Need to Prepare For

Every business has its own set of risks. For some, the risks are mostly industry-related. For others, they can be related to external factors. If you run a call center, some of the risks you could face include:

• Natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, or earthquakes
• Power outages
• Internet connectivity issues
• Cyber threats and security breaches
• Health emergencies, such as pandemics
• Social and political turmoil
• Financial instability

What to do: Bring all department leaders together and consider any potential issue that might affect the well-being of your business. Once you’ve identified every important problem, think of the functions and processes you need to keep the business operational.

Step 2: Build Response and Recovery Strategies

Your response and recovery strategies should be detailed and thorough. For every potential risk you’ve identified, write clear steps you and your entire team need to follow in an emergency, such as software solutions, a boost to team effort, and automated processes. Use whatever…

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Setting up a good IVR (interactive voice response) call flow can pay dividends for your business because it can keep more customers on the line and route more of them to the exact resources they need without delays. 

Below, we’ll explore 12 call flows that you can implement in your call center straight away—plus we’ll offer some quick tips for setting up your call flows in a way that brings the most benefits while safeguarding you from the most common mistakes. 

Quick Tips for Setting Up an IVR Call Flow

If your company happens to be using some of the best call center software on the market today, then you already have access to some tools for creating a great IVR call flow. In any case, it’s important to have a strong grasp of the basics when you’re setting one up. 

Keep it simple

Along with those that provide too many menu options, call flows that aren’t clear or concise enough can lead to higher call abandonment rates and lower overall customer satisfaction due to their unnecessarily complex nature. Instead of bombarding your users with sensory overload, try to limit your main menu to a maximum of five options and keep your navigation tree simple and logical so that customers know how to use it and where to go. 

Make sure customers can speak with an agent at any time

Sometimes a caller may not understand the menu options clearly or will simply prefer to talk to a human agent as soon as possible due to the urgency of their issue. With that in mind, you should always make sure to include an option to be routed to a live agent in your main menu and submenus. 

Offer callback options

Offering a callback option gives the…

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