Market Research Call Center

To develop a successful business and make informed decisions, company managers need to have up-to-date information about the market, competitors, consumers, etc. Of course, one can rely on intuition or, as they call it, on an entrepreneurial instinct. Nevertheless, in matters that require accurate data to solve, intuition has little use. Since the quality of the decision depends largely on the accuracy of the available information. The wider is a company's product line, the more research, and operational data it would need.

One of the most effective options is using call center research. Experienced marketing research operators have effective communication skills and are able to establish contact quickly. They can win the respondent over, get them talking, and, as a result, discover the required information. Thus, the following kinds of data can be discovered with the help of the market research contact center:

• User experience stories;
• Impressions of the service;
• Information about preferences;
• Awareness of advertising campaigns;
• Knowledge of competitors and their marketing efforts.

In this article, we are going to discuss outsourced call centers and the services provided by them, particularly, market research services.

What Is a Call Center?

A classic call center is a dedicated customer support department that services incoming and outgoing calls with the help of specially trained agents.

The first automated call center appeared in the 1950s in England. It was founded by the Birmingham Press and Mail telephone company. The mechanical switching devices already allowed distributing the incoming and outgoing calls between live operators depending on the load. With years, the degree of automation only rose. Modern outsourcing service providers offer highly effective and secure AI-supported cloud appliances for their customers' convenience.

What Services Do the Call Centers Provide?

In general, most call centers provide the same range of services. Let us review the major ones.

Incoming calls

• Providing technical support. Helps customers to resolve issues related to the usage of products or services provided;
• Processing orders. Assisting the customers in choosing a product or service (consulting, providing answers to frequently asked questions, working with arguments), confirming and placing orders;
• Supporting hotline. Round-the-clock aid provided to existing and potential customers.

Outgoing calls

• Attracting potential customers. The main goals are to introduce the brand, products, and services to potential clients;
• Telemarketing. One of the most efficient sales channels of the day. Allows promoting goods and services, making contacts, creating demand, and highlighting the main advantages of the offers;
• Conducting surveys. Collecting and analyzing information about customer knowledge and opinion, experience in interacting with company products and/or services. Depending on the objectives of the study, as a result, you can evaluate the level of marketing activity success; segment the target audience; etc.

Call Center Market Research Services and Preparation Steps

Conducting marketing research includes several important preparatory steps. First of all, it is necessary to determine the key objectives of the study. Based on the goals, a method of implementation is chosen. Next, the general population is determined (the general population consists of representatives of a certain group, carriers of some important attribute). Finally, a sample is selected (a smaller model of the general population).

For example, it can be married women, 25-45 years old, with middle and higher income levels, playing sports on a regular basis at least twice a week. The more exact the sample, the more respondents (opinions of which must be discovered during the survey) are required to make results sufficiently reliable. If gender and age parameters are important to us, then it will be enough to interview 400 respondents. If it is necessary to add one more feature, another 200 people must be added to the sample.

Before making contact with a respondent, it is necessary to draw up a questionnaire or guide for the study. It must be prepared to take into account the marketing and business goals of the company. You can do it yourself or attract a respective expert with relevant experience.

Benefits of Collaborating with the Outsourced Call Center

It is important to keep in touch with customers by monitoring the quality of customer experience, tracking the level of satisfaction with goods and services, receiving relevant feedback, etc. This will help to make the company competitive and ensure revenue growth.

If the company employs an internal contact center, it needs to invest in infrastructure, employees, staff training, and many other issues. According to a study by Market Research, the organization of an in-house call center requires about 50-70% more funds. Market research outsourcing allows for saving investments and time, as well as avoiding additional operating expenses in the future.

Call Center Growth Factors

Every company strives to develop and expand, improve the experience of customers and meet their expectations as best as possible. Among everything else, this is dictated by market conditions and competitive pressure. Statista research evidences the main growth drivers for contact centers around the world.

Thus, 85 percent of the service providers in the call center industry stated that customer experience and expectations are the main driving force behind the development of their organization. The criterion of customer service improvement is in second place with a result of 78 percent. Only a bit more than half of the companies (56%) mentioned business growth.

We can conclude that any successful outsourcing vendor must meet customer requirements in order to occupy a high market share. Consequently, companies that offer market research call center services, due to their ever-growing experience and competence, provide better results than most of the in-house departments with similar functions. Moreover, taking into account the efforts spent, contracting the outside call center is much more profitable, both in terms of resources and the quality of the result.

Call Center Market Research Pricing

The cost of call center services can be calculated in two ways. The first payment option (hourly rate) is charged according to the amount of time call center employees have spent serving the calls. In the second case, the payment is assigned according to the results measured by KPI (key performance indicators).

The price of a specific call center market research can be charged through two types of payments - preparatory and monthly:

• Preparatory payments assume compiling and affirming the questionnaire and interaction scenarios. Also, these include payments for the formation of a contact database and operator training.
• Monthly payments cover the costs of telephone calls, the work of agents, and project management.

There are other factors that influence pricing. For example, if the work schedule of the contact center involves early morning or late evening calls, weekend or holiday shifts, etc.

All these features of pricing are individual and may differ for each separate call center.

High-quality Outsourcing Call Center

Simple Contact has more than 400 trained employees with college degrees at least. This indicates their ability to quickly and efficiently assimilate knowledge. This is important, as operators must have a full understanding of the business processes before starting to work on the project.

At the preparation stage, agents additionally develop the skills needed for a specific project. The training is conducted by qualitative teachers. The company has about 20 dedicated trainers, each with its own specialization. All our employees also regularly practice English with native speakers.

Our Fields of Expertise

Over the years, thanks to our customers, company employees have gained expertise in telecommunications, financial services, aviation, e-commerce, and retail. Having mastered such areas, now we can confidently cope with projects of any complexity.

One of the most interesting cases was cooperation with the airline. The agency has set a goal: to ensure an increase of at least 30% in airline ticket sales. In the course of the project, 80 operators served customers in three languages. Customer support was available 24/7 and about 2,300 incoming calls were served.

Conclusion

The importance of marketing research in modern business cannot be overstated.

Its main goal is to reduce the level of uncertainty in the category and provide information for competent decision-making. This can be done by analyzing the market and the competitive environment, consumer preferences, and familiarity with brands. The objectives of various marketing studies are numerous, individual, and depend on the goals of a particular company.

The call center is an effective basis for polling and questioning. Operators, by virtue of experience and communication abilities, become the brand's strongest agents. They can easily involve the interlocutor in an open conversation and receive honest answers, gathering robust marketing data for analysis.