Sixty years ago Peter Drucker said that “the business enterprise has two – and only two functions: marketing and innovation”. Not every CEO fully embraces it like Peter Drucker. In fact, innovation leaves many CEOs out in the cold. So while many businesses use marketing to create a competitive advantage, fewer employ innovative ways to stand out as a differentiator.

Companies that ignore innovation are placing themselves at great risk.

Given how the marketplace has changed the last 10 years or so, companies that can’t innovate won’t survive the long term.

That’s the bad news. Here’s the good news: If your company doesn’t embrace innovation, it’s a chance for you to take on a leadership role.

Spearheading a successful innovation project in your call center can not only show the power of innovation. It can also boost the bottom line.

Deriving True Value From Innovative Thinking

Experts say that companies can only derive true value from innovation when everyone in the organization practices it.

While that’s probably true, successful innovation efforts in a single department can still make a huge impact—especially if it involves the company’s inbound call center.

Improvements there can enhance customer satisfaction dramatically. That, in turn, can boost brand loyalty and corporate profits

Below are 7 tips that can help you initiate a successful innovation project in an inbound call center. They’ll help you develop the mindset, skillset, and toolset you need to succeed with innovation.

Create a mandate for innovative change

You may not be senior enough to create a mandate for change organization-wide. But you can still kick-start innovation in your organization. You just have to scale things back to either your department or to a level where you have the requisite authority.

Create a plan for Innovation

You need to create a plan for your innovation project for it to succeed. It doesn’t have to be a highly complex plan. In fact, it can be as simple as a single sentence. But it does need to tell people where the effort is going and how it will get there.

Set strategic objectives

Another “must” in the beginning is setting strategic objectives. This establishes the “rules of the road” for everyone. Without these, associates may develop their own agendas.

Walk The Talk

As the department’s leader, you need to walk the talk, to model what it will take for your people to become more innovative. You also have to model the new behaviors that you feel will facilitate a major shift in culture.

Use diversity as a source of ideas

Ideally, you want to create highly diverse teams to tackle key issues. Your job then is to teach members to overcome their limiting differences and to use their diversity as a source of novel yet productive ideas.

Provide access to creative methods

Even the most creative people get stuck once occasionally. Providing access to creative methods, tools, and experiences is vital with innovation projects. These things can help employees reframe challenges.

Encourage “good “conflict

Conflict in these situations is inevitable and desirable. But you want to encourage good conflict not bad conflict. Good conflict (constructive conflict) boosts debate and problem-solving. Bad conflict creates divisiveness.

Developing an innovative inbound call center makes a powerful impact. It enhances customer service, boosts customer satisfaction, and increases profitability.

More importantly, it differentiates you from your competitors and serves as a great complement to your marketing efforts.

If your organization doesn’t embrace innovation the way Peter Drucker did, maybe it’s time to do something about it.

Like 31West, use the 7 tips above to create a more productive, more efficient organization.

Doing so is a game-changer.

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