| Agent |
The
person that handles calls in a contact center. Also referred
to as customer service representative.  |
| Business
to business |
Contact
that is primarily to other business. Also known as b2b.
|
| Call
blending |
Combining
the flow of inbound calls and outbound calls with other contacts
such as email or web transactions to an agent.
|
| Call
center |
A
call center is a facility that answers inbound, or places outbound
telephone calls. Call centers, also known as contact centers
or customer care centers, use sophisticated software to provide
a full range of services. |
| Continuity
program |
A
direct response offer involving systematically- scheduled purchases
over time of a set of products or of product replenishments.
|
| CRM |
Acronym
for Customer Relationship Management. Refers to a program that
provides integrated functionality for marketing, sales, customer
support and call center requirements. |
| Cross
selling |
Suggesting
to a direct response customer the purchase of an additional
product or service that may not necessarily relate to the original
product purchased but which represents an attractive and/or
limited time value. |
| Customer
service representative |
An
agent who handles customer calls and contacts including account
inquiries, complaints, or support calls.
|
| Database |
Collection
of data structured and organized for quick and easy access to
information of interest. |
| Data
mining |
The
detection of trends and associations in a set of customer data.
|
| Disposition
reporting |
|
| Next
available agent |
The
practice of routing the first contact in queue to the first
available agent. |
| Outsourcing |
Contracting
with an outside company to handle some or all contacts with
customers. |
| Predictive
dialer |
A
device used to automate outbound calls and direct them to an
agent when a live person answers. Predictive dialing screens
out answering machines, busy signals or operator intercepts
and records the results. |
| Que
time |
The
"waiting time" for delayed calls. A queue holds the
call until an agent is available. |
| Recorded
announcements |
An
announcement heard by callers while waiting in queue. This announcement
may provide information about products or services, remind callers
what information to have ready, or provide an estimate of wait
time or a better time to call back.
|
| Save
the sale |
A
call center function wherein the agent attempts to deal with
a complaint in such a way as to reassure the customer and avoid
the return of the product. |
| Screen
monitoring |
A
monitoring system that allows a supervisor/manager to simultaneously
see an agent's screen activity. |
| Script |
The
written words and logic to be followed in the handling of a
contact. A script is used to assist the agent in maintaining
focus on the content of the contact. |
| Upselling |
Suggesting
to the purchaser of a direct response product that he could
add to his original purchase in some value-enhancing way, such
as with a useful accessory or a deluxe, more fully-featured
model. |
CALL
CENTER SOLUTIONS
