More and more consumers prefer to do business by phone. Since every contact matters when it comes to attracting new clientele and retaining existing business, it’s critical that you hire experienced call center agents who are dedicated to making customer service and problem resolutions their first priorities. Unfortunately, many call centers around the nation simply aren’t as efficient as they could be. If you want an uber-efficient call center and higher customer satisfaction ratings, it’s time to learn the secrets to efficiency. Here are four secrets you can use to supply your agents with the tools that they need to resolve an issue during the first contact.
Invest in the Right Customer Relationship Management Program
If an agent must sift through multiple programs and loads of forms just to handle a single call, it can affect how long the customer will spend on the phone. This is why it’s crucial for efficient call centers to have customer relationship management and solutions programs where all forms of communication are integrated into a single platform. By centralizing all of the forms and the reference points, you can reduce call times and allow your agents to take more customer inquiries in a single day. You can compare various CRM platforms at Compare Business Products to get a sense of what features would best suit your company.
Use IVR Options and Reduce Transfers
IVR, which stands for Interactive Voice Response, is an automated telephone system that is designed to route calls based on the purpose of the call. One way to reduce wait times, hold times, transfers and customer complaints is to use IVR options to route callers to the right agent for the inquiry. By giving customers the option and requiring them to select a response, you can get those customers to skilled agents who don’t need to hand their calls off to verify identities.
Listen to Excellent Calls to Set Goals
An employee who feels appreciated and empowered will likely perform better than one who feels like they don’t have a voice. One way to make sure agents handle calls efficiently is to listen to calls as a group. By highlighting the positives of a call, you can show agents they’re doing things right and address common issues the agents as a group might need to work on.
Look at the Cost-Per-Interaction Instead of Other Metrics
There are performance measures that are used almost universally around the contact center arena. Unfortunately, putting too much focus on measures like handling times and cross selling conversions doesn’t allow the company to see the outcomes of the call. Instead of key performance metrics, make the shift to focus on customer value, sales, number of contacts per issue or net promoter so that you can calculate the cost-per-interaction.
What everyone’s doing isn’t necessarily what you should do when you’re trying to make a more efficient contact center. Be sure to find the best phone systems and the best CRM programs. After you’ve done this, adopt new policies that focus less on competition in the workplace and more on efficiency.
