Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
2016: Phone Contacts Drop in Volume, Increase in Importance
Customers have more options than ever today when it comes to customer support. They can check the Web site, send an email, use social media, launch Web chat or even engage a mobile app. While phone calls remain popular, there is evidence that phone contact with a call center is becoming less popular. A Deloitte (News - Alert) 2015 Global Contact Center Survey found that the number of customer interactions by telephone continues to decline. It’s important, however, not to misinterpret this data and conclude that the importance of phone as a customer communications channel is also on the decline. If anything, the smaller of number of calls means that when customers DO pick up the phone, their needs are urgent and complex.
In other words, while the volume of phone calls may be declining, the importance of them is on the rise, according to a recent blog post by Monet Software (News - Alert) CEO Chuck Ciarlo.
“More people may be reaching out via email or web chat or social media, but if these channels prove insufficient the next step is a phone call -- and for the company this may be the final hope for keeping that customer's business,” he wrote. “This happens more than you might think. A recent report showed that more than one-third of customer engagements that started online or through a self-service channel eventually escalated to voice.”
While digital channels and social media may be taking some more routine calls out of the contact center, it’s still the channel of choice for more serious issues, or customer problems that haven’t been resolved by other channels. Chances are good that by the time a customer finally calls today, he or she has exhausted other possibilities.
This makes it more important than ever that agents handling phone calls are properly trained and scheduled to be available when the phone rings. According to Ciarlo, it’s a myth that the phone is going away from the realm of customer support anytime soon.
“Forget all those predictions about fully automated contact centers,” he wrote. “Agents will always be needed to provide service that machines cannot. Next, understand that a customer that has already failed to get results from another channel may be more frustrated or impatient when he or she calls. Agent training should focus on being calm and courteous when confronted with hostility.”
The last thing a frustrated or angry customer needs is to encounter long hold times and “your business is valuable to us” messages. If you have good self-service channels in place, assume that every call that comes into the contact center needs to be handled with kid gloves. Your customer may be on his or her last fraying nerve.
“Finally,” wrote Ciarlo, “Make sure agents have the technology they need to deliver an efficient and satisfying customer experience, especially if this is the last opportunity to do so.”
Chances are good today that by the time a customer initiates a phone call – it’s not exactly a popular option for most customers, but more an action of last resort – it’s not to hear a balance or find a mailing address. It’s an issue that cannot be solved in any other way but with a trained human who can pick up the call promptly.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi