Call Center Management Featured Article
Scaling Up Self-Service Lead to Better Call Center Efficiency, Lower Costs and Improved Customer Outcomes
Today, more and more companies are attempting to control the flow of incoming customer support calls by improving their self-service presence. The theory, as it goes, is that the more robust the self-service channels are, the less frequently customers will have to engage in costly live agent support. There is a great deal of truth to this. But it’s also important to keep in mind that simply slapping a few FAQs onto a Web site doesn’t count as “boosting self-service.”
How customers interact with self-service channels varies wildly by customer demographics and industry. For younger customers, self-service might be about having a dynamic and interactive mobile app. For older customers, it may be about traditional interactive voice response (IVR) with touch-tone menu choices (“press ‘one’ to hear your balance information”). If the industry is highly technical, chances are good that self-service will involve Web channels that enable photos and “how-to” video.
Determining which self-service channels are right for your customer base will involve some introspection. Analyze the calls coming into the contact center today. What categories do most of them fit into? How could they best be automated? Would your customers use automated channels?
It’s also important to remember that not all channels that get labeled “self-service” are created equal. While IVR is often included under the self-service umbrella, keep in mind that IVR was invented for the convenience of the company, NOT the customer. (There’s a reason that IVR is one of the most loathed and mocked technologies in the world.)
“When comparing phone to online self-service adoption, it’s important to acknowledge the dual—or, as many customers might say, ‘duplicitous’—nature of telephone customer service,” according to Craig Borowski blogging for Software Advice. “When customers call in for service, they generally do so to speak with a live agent; they are not necessarily seeking a self-service experience. Compared to all other channels, the voice channel is unique in this regard: It often begins when a customer is explicitly trying to avoid self-service.”
So while every company should improve the quality of their IVR experience – few companies can afford to have a live agent answer every incoming call – it’s important not to rely on IVR as magic bullet. It simply won’t work that way. For managers looking to improve the customer experience through self-service, Web and mobile channels may be where they should be putting their budgets.
Companies that make an effort to boost their online knowledge bases and FAQ sections, the searchability of their Web sites, their mobile customer experience, online discussion forums (where customers can help answer each other’s questions) and even social media presence can drastically reduce the number of routine calls coming into the contact center.
A study of call center managers conducted by Software Advice recently found that self-service is having a positive and measurable effect on both the quantity and quality of customer service issues requiring service by live agents. These call centers are seeing fewer escalation calls, lower call volume, and dramatic improvements in customer service quality.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi