Email Processing
Email processing is one of the fastest growing areas of outsourcing commerce today.
With small companies offering information on everything to accounts to entertainment, via the phone and the Internet, methods of processing all this are vital.
Email processing systems can provide a far cheaper service than a phone call. Costs can be worked out for E-support at around 25 cents per customer interaction, compared to $25 for a phone call. In a world where people are far more internet savvy than ever before, it is more likely they will find satisfaction via a web site than quarrelling on the phone.
Email Processing can offer a hierarchy of questions and solutions to a customer via a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. Here customers can travel around until they feel they have had their question answered, or curiosity satisfied.
Phone inquires with IVR systems are all very well for someone stranded in the countryside with only a cell phone, but with wireless laptop services coming on stream, there is so much more to offer.
Sometimes human interaction is needed to solve more complex problems with accounts etc. For this we need customer relationship management (CRM). The sharp end of this software is the Instant Messaging systems. This will enable a customer to interact with the staff at the call center to help solve their problems.
When it comes to making a phone call, this system can be integrated with the Voice over Protocol (VOIP) software. Email processing information may be gained from online surveys, but if this fails, or encounters a problem, then human interaction is needed. Many companies offer a toll-free line as part of their service. This is vital as a last resort if the company using the system is to retain any quality control and stick to the Service Level Agreements.
One of the most negative aspects of email processing is SPAM. Many service providers now offer security systems such as Firewalls that comb out unwanted emails. To this end, the customers must be in a good relationship with the provider of the emails, both to and from.