Lending institutions of all sizes are looking for strategies to improve the efficiency of customer care and simultaneously lower operational costs. The volume of borrower inquiries during the past 12 months has stressed the call center resources of many lenders, especially smaller institutions such as community banks, regional banks, and credit unions. Lenders hoping to boost call center resources have been surprised by the difficulty in finding employees to hire. The key to any successful call center operation is the technology and systems that orchestrate day-to-day activities. Many call centers are long overdue for upgrades that require a considerable financial investment.
As a full call center outsourcing service provider for more than 30 years, we fully understand the challenges lenders face. In recent months the number of lending institutions inquiring about call center outsourcing has increased significantly. If you’re considering full call center outsourcing, here are four compelling reasons why the strategy makes sense for auto lenders.
#1 No Longer Worry About Staffing
With full call center outsourcing, you will never have to worry about finding qualified employees or training them on your techniques and processes. Instead, those responsibilities are now handled by the provider who operates on a scale that ensures the call center is always staffed by competent lending professionals who can efficiently handle the full spectrum of borrower inquiries.
As an added benefit of outsourcing, you will be able to extend support hours to include evenings, weekends, and even round-the-clock, if needed. Furthermore, in support of an increasingly diverse population, the best outsourcing providers offer native language support for customers whose first language is not English. That capability alone can be powerful in efficiently resolving customer inquiries and building customer loyalty.
#2 The Ability to Handle Both Inbound and Outbound Calls
A well-established full call center outsourcing provider will handle both inbound and outbound calls. Inbound calls cover the full range of borrower requests from simple “how can I?” questions regarding access to online services and password resets, to lease maturity management, to the most complex issues involving delinquencies and defaults.
If you don’t already have an outbound program in place for lead generation, cross-sales, or retention, an outsourcing provider can be a value-added partner in executing these programs to boost business. Call center professionals focused exclusively on the lending industry have the negotiation skills to generate new leads, increase the number of auto loan applications, and boost customer retention.
#3 Technology Investments Deliver Greater Efficiency and Quality Service
It’s difficult for smaller lending institutions to invest in the latest technology that will provide world-class support. However, full call center outsourcing providers continually invest in innovative technologies that significantly enhance the efficiency and quality of customer service.
Despite the “call center” name, the best full call center outsourcing providers cover all communication channels including:
- Text
- Web chat
- Telephone support
And for phone support, intelligent virtual assistants driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) bring improved response times. In many instances, they provide customers with the information they need without the assistance of a call center agent.
AI-powered messaging simulates human conversation through voice or text commands to interact with the caller and determine the reason for the call. In the best cases, an interactive voice response system provides the caller with the information they need by guiding them through a series of steps to capture the required information.
For calls that require agent assistance, an interactive voice response (IVR) system helps identify the reason for the call and routes it to the appropriate agent. Detailed account information such as lease or loan terms, payments, and a history of previous customer interactions automatically appears on the agent’s screen as soon as the call is connected. The IVR system also offers the option for a callback while maintaining the caller’s position in the queue, which minimizes the customer’s call waiting time.
#4 Analytics and Surveys Drive Improvements
Seasoned lending professionals and innovative technologies provide a solid foundation for efficient, high-quality customer service and allow the call center outsourcing provider to gather detailed data on call volumes, types of inquiries, average wait and call resolution times, and numerous other metrics that characterize call center performance. This data is regularly analyzed to ensure call center staffing levels that minimize wait times, identify potential bottlenecks that impede call resolution, and uncover additional opportunities to improve customer service.
Full Call Center Outsourcing: The Quickest Route To Improved Service and Lower Operating Costs
An established call center outsourcing provider operates on a scale and has the resources that far exceed smaller lending institutions. Experienced lending professionals competently field a wide range of lease and loan questions, and staffing levels can quickly be adjusted to meet demand. Innovative technology investments facilitate a better level of service than an individual lender could provide and help ensure efficient processes across all contact channels. Regular analysis of performance data ensures agreed-upon service levels are being met, if not exceeded. For auto lenders looking for the quickest route to improve customer service, full call center outsourcing is the solution.
Getting Started
defi SOLUTIONS is a leader in providing full call center outsourcing services to hundreds of lending institutions throughout the United States. defi also provides a wide range of technology-enabled managed servicing outsourcing services to help lenders more efficiently and cost-effectively manage leases and loans. If you’re struggling to provide these services in-house, contact our team today to learn how outsourcing can help you achieve your business goals.
