Accessibility is an essential aspect of providing excellent customer service. Your business must provide the right channels to customers who have problems. Phone channels provide customers with immediate service. Many companies will set up or adopt a phone centre to handle customer service complaints and requests. These call centres manage phone support queues and equally distribute calls to the service team’s representatives. Although call centres are essential to customer service teams everywhere, it can be not easy to set one up for your company.
Inbound calls are an essential part of customer support and call centres. Customers can call a company’s phone number to complain or request assistance. The companies have an in-house or remote call centre that answers the calls. Remote call centres are available for employees who work from their homes. Because employees work in different time zones, it makes it easier to provide 24/7 support for customers.
Call centre staff will use call centre tools to distribute inbound calls. Call systems can screen calls and analyze customer requests, depending on their industry. The software then transfers the call to the most qualified representative to solve the problem. This can increase the productivity of a call centre while improving the customer experience.
After the inbound call has been connected, the rep will attempt to resolve the issue within the first interaction. If this is not possible, the rep will follow up via email or, if necessary, over the telephone with the customer. The rep can establish communication expectations and continue working on the case until the matter is resolved.
Although most customer service representatives will receive inbound calls daily, this is not the only type of call they may take. Many customer service departments offer outbound and inbound calling options to their call centres.
How many calls should an inbound agent make?
It can be hard to predict how many calls your customer service representatives should receive. Inbound calls are reactive and can be influenced by many external and internal factors. HubSpot’s support team noticed a spike in calls about this issue after GDPR legislation was implemented. HubSpot’s customer support managers had to devise a strategy to prepare reps to handle GDPR-related questions and problems.
Unexpected roadblocks can make it difficult for reps to estimate the number of calls they should make. However, some call centre metrics can help you get a rough estimate. Begin by looking at the monthly call volume of your entire call centre. Divide that number by the total number of representatives to determine how many calls each rep takes in a given month. Divide that number by the month’s days to get each rep’s daily average call time.
Develop a call centre strategy.
Before hiring agents for your call centre, it’s important to establish a strategy to implement this new customer service channel. First, you must decide whether your call centre will provide technical support or proactive customer service. We’ve previously discussed the differences between customer service and support. These differences are important when setting up a phone centre.
You should focus on building a customer service centre if you primarily focus on inbound support. A customer service centre is a great way to market products and provides long-term solutions geared towards customer satisfaction. Many businesses train their employees to perform both functions. This reduces costs and expands the company’s customer service capabilities.
Hire the reps that you need.
It is not cheap to pay for labour. When starting a call centre, deciding the right number of employees to hire can be difficult. You will need to know how many calls your company can expect in a month. This will help you avoid hiring too many reps or too few. To understand how your customers interact with you, look at your product usage reports and receive customer feedback. To gauge customer engagement, it is a good idea to provide an email support channel. You could also survey your competitors and analyze their hiring patterns to determine how many agents they have.
Invest in call centre equipment.
You will need a call centre system to assist your team in fielding and disseminating calls if you want your call centre to be efficient. Avaya and Twilio sell communication software to handle calls and get them to your representatives. As your company grows, you can upgrade and expand this software.
You’ll also need to purchase the hardware your team will use. You will need to purchase essentials such as call centre headsets, computers and monitors that your reps use daily. Additional software, such as help desk tools, can be useful in providing support. Calling tools allow your team to track and record calls. A CRM allows reps to pull up valuable customer information, which can be used to improve the customer experience. These tools can be expensive at first glance but will help you grow your call centre at the same rate as your company over time.
Promote your call centre.
You’re ready to launch your new call centre. Now it’s time to share the exciting news with your customers. Your marketing and sales teams should work together to promote your new customer support channel to customers. You can also promote your omnichannel service experience to customers if you already provide support channels like email or chat. This will make you more accessible to customers and shows your commitment to customer success.
Analyze your call centre metrics and reevaluate them.
After your call centre has been officially set up, the final step is to analyze call metrics. Each call centre’s key performance indicators (KPI) may vary depending on the target audience and the needs of their customers. To determine if your call centre can provide long-term support and service, you should look at KPIs such as average talk time, abandon rates, and call volumes.
You must ensure that your daily goals and quotas are achievable and being met. You may need to review your KPIs if your team has trouble in one area. This will allow you to match your customers’ needs better. Your phone team’s performance can be continuously reevaluated to ensure they are in line with customer needs. This will create a better service experience and keep them informed.