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In fact one of the major myths among the customers is that these BPOs are actually not for customers, especially BPOs in the collection and sales domains.
I also thought the same at a point of time.
It was after a detailed discussion with one of these BPO call centre executives that I grew curious about BPOs.
This particular advisor had actually taken time to explain to me in detail how a certain plan for my phone connection was better than my current one.
It was then that I wanted to understand what was there for me as a customer in this entire scenario.
Once I started talking to some friends who worked in the BPO industry, my interest further developed and I tried to reach out to some of the 'think tanks' of the industry.
The good part is that as a trainer, I had a relative ease in reaching out to these think tanks.
Here's what I found out about why are BPOs useful for customers, specially in the energy and utilities segment.
Ease of payment It is easier to pay your bills over the phone.
In fact it's even easier to get a direct debit set for your bills.
But this can happen only if you're willing to understand that all Energy and utility companies are very cautious about the safety of your accounts.
They do ensure that your account information is absolutely not misused and is kept confidential.
Once you know this and trust this, it's really a relief to know that your bills can be paid directly from your account on a fixed date.
The fact that you don't have to go anywhere to pay them, or go through a complicated process for making an online payment is a value proposition in itself.
Customer satisfaction and support Irrespective of which gas service you use, or which telephone provider, one thing a business will never risk is its brand value.
Now will a business ever compromise ever with the customer satisfaction.
I didn't realize this when I interacted with the business as only as customer.
But once I started training advisors, I realized how much research and investment actually goes into the training of the advisors in business process outsourcing for energy and utilities segment.
In fact after my research and discussions with experts, when I talked to customer service advisors again, I realized that they were actually trying to constantly improve their call relevance and call quality.
They genuinely had the desire to satisfy a customer by answering all queries, making their lives easier, offering easier payment options etc.
Product Awareness As a matter of fact, these customer support and sales agents are trained intensively on the products and services that their companies sell.
They know their products and services as the back of their hand.
And the fact is that if I ask intelligent questions, I will be really able to get benefit from their advice.
It is a myth that all upselling and cross selling efforts are actually a method to squeeze more money out of the customer's wallet.
Let me ask you this - has any reputed service providers of you ever approached you for something that was totally irrelevant? Trust me if you will, but a lot of research goes into their data before they call us.
If nothing else, I think it's good to know what else exists in the market, a market that matters to us.
Be it possible upgrades regarding my gas plans, or loyalty plans and bonuses or discounts on offer; irrespective of whether or not I buy them, information is the customer's power.
In short, the main idea behind offering customer support and BPO services in different businesses is to help with customer empowerment.
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