Despite the technological advancement witnessed since the inception of the worldwide web, many businesses still depend on calls to speak with their existing and prospective clients. In fact, the demand for business calls is at an all-time high.
Many companies are setting up massive call centers to answer high-volume business calls, delight their customers, and achieve revenue goals.
However, providing an enjoyable and memorable call experience to your customers can be pretty challenging. Failure to manage your call center effectively can result in poor call experiences leading to a massive decrease in customer loyalty and conversion.
The ultimate goal of every call center manager is to ensure customers happily pick up their mobile phones to call your business, knowing they will get a great call experience.
So, what can you do to achieve this goal? Read on to discover some fantastic tips on how to create a good call experience in your call center.
Why Is Phone Support Still Relevant Today?
As businesses worldwide embrace technology, the way prospects and existing customers communicate with them has also taken a massive turn.
From traditional options such as a phone, we now have an endless list of ways customers can reach businesses, including email, social media, live chat options, and even self-help portals.
But despite the availability of a wide range of support channels, phone support’s popularity isn’t showing any signs of fading away anytime soon.
In fact, a recent report by Statista revealed that more than 44% of American consumers prefer phone support to other forms of contacting a business, such as an email (16%) and social media (4%).
So, what really makes phone support such a strong preference for customers? The answer is pretty simple; phone calls provide your customers with the rare opportunity of interacting with you one-on-one. Remember that nothing beats a human voice that empathizes with a customer.
Prospects love interacting with real people who are attentive and willing to address their concerns while fostering good rapport with them.
Furthermore, when we talk about personalizing marketing communications, there is no better way to achieve it than using phone calls. A polite and personalized phone greeting can quickly turn a negative situation into a positive one.
When customers call you because they have encountered problems with your product, the assuring and helpful voice depicted by a good agent over the phone can be assuring and comforting.
Strategies to Improve Call Center Customer Experience
Now that you understand why phone calls are still a critical component of your business, let us shift our focus and discuss some of the strategies that can help you offer meaningful experience to every customer you serve over the phone:
1. Pay Attention to the Customer Journey
Creating a good call experience starts with possessing a strong understanding of your clients and their journey. The call center might only be one part of their journey, but it must be positive for the prospect to continue with the rest of the journey.
To assist your clients and create a better call experience, it is crucial for your call agents to understand which part of the sales funnel each prospect is at.
Use business intelligence to help the call center agents figure out the customer journey. In this case, business intelligence refers to the tools and processes that play a role in identifying and analyzing information.
The information and analysis are critical to understanding customer journeys. You can use the information to identify patterns and create personalized journeys for different groups of your clients.
Deploying a call tracking and conversational analytics tool can help you utilize valuable customer journey data effectively. This is because many prospects discover your business online before calling to make inquiries or purchase.
A call tracking and conversational platform allow your call center agents to connect every inbound call to the digital journey that preceded it.
Most important, AI-powered conversational tools can accurately analyze calls and predict possible outcomes, which can help you make critical decisions beforehand.
2. Personalize Every Call
Unfortunately, the aspect of call personalization is often overlooked in customer service. Your inbound call center most probably handles hundreds or thousands of callers every day, and injecting personalization into every call might seem like an overwhelming task.
However, when customers call your business, the last thing that they need is talking to a call center agent who sounds robotic and only passes along generic messages.
It is critical to know who is on the line even before saying “hello.” A simple centralized customer relationship management software can help your call center agents trace crucial customer details based on their telephone numbers effortlessly.
Moreover, a simple act of using people’s names a couple of times in the course of the conversation can quickly turn the call tide in your favor.
While most businesses strive to share personalized emails and text messages, nothing beats calling your customers to wish them well on special occasions in their lives, such as birthdays, anniversaries, or informing them about exclusive offers you currently have.
3. Strive to Keep Minimum On-Hold Times During Calls
It is frustrating for customers when they are made to wait on- line for an extended period before they can speak to an agent. This is one of the main reasons many customers choose to hang up and call back later.
Your call center agents must keep the on-hold times to a minimum to prevent customers from hanging up. You can easily do this by ensuring that your agents are adequately staffed and prepared for the number of calls they expect on a particular day.
It is also essential for your call center agents to be knowledgeable about your company’s products and services. This will allow them to answer customer inquiries without transferring the caller to another agent.
4. Use a Script for Common Questions
It is known that most customers hate it when they are made to read from a script. However, customers repeatedly ask certain questions, and it is best for your call center agents to have a prepared response to these questions.
A script will not only help your call center agents provide consistent customer service, but it will also help them address the customer’s inquiry in a more efficient manner.
Having a script also allows your call center agents to focus on the conversation instead of trying to remember the exact words they need to say.
Ultimately, a script allows your call center agents to provide a more personalized customer service experience.
5. Listen to Your Customers
Many businesses make the mistake of thinking that they know what is best for their customers. This misplaced confidence often leads to disastrous consequences.
Your call center agents need to listen to your customers and take their suggestions and complaints seriously. Doing so will not only show that you care about your customers, but it will also help you improve your products and services.
Your call center agents should also be prepared to apologize on behalf of the company for any inconvenience that has been caused.
Make sure that your call center agents are adequately trained on how to handle customer complaints and suggestions.
6. Improve Call Routing for Efficient Resolution
Call routing is a critical strategy in customers service, especially during the peak hours. Ensuring all calls received are routed to the right department is essential to providing quality service.
Poor call routing can easily lead to customer dissatisfaction and increased support costs.
You can improve your call routing strategy by ensuring that your agents are adequately staffed during peak hours and by using a predictive dialer system.
A predictive dialer system will help reduce the amount of time customers spend on hold by automatically connecting them to an available agent.
Your call center agents should also be familiar with the different call routing options available to them.
7. Keep Call Center Agents Motivated to Improve Call Experience
If you want your customers to be fully satisfied, then you have to empower your call center agents with the necessary tools and technologies to do their job. This includes providing them with the latest technology as well as adequate training on how to use it.
It is also essential to keep your call center agents motivated so that they can provide quality customer service. One way to do this is by recognizing and rewarding them for their excellent work.
Acknowledge and appreciate the hard work and dedication of your call center agents. This will not only motivate them to do their best, but it will also encourage other members of your team to strive for excellence.
Conclusion
The success of your business depends on the quality of customer service that you provide. This is why it is essential to have a well-trained and motivated call center team.
Ensure you equip your call center agents with the necessary tools and technologies to do their job. Recognize and reward them for their hard work and dedication.
Listen to your customers and take their suggestions and complaints seriously. Improve your call routing strategy to ensure that all calls are diverted to the right department.
By following these tips, you will be able to improve the quality of customer service that your business offers.
Are you looking to scale your business through quality phone call leads delivered directly to your business phone? Talk to us today and let us help you.
