{"id":4705,"date":"2020-12-10T09:46:55","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T09:46:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internal.n4engage.co.uk\/?p=4705"},"modified":"2020-12-10T09:46:56","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T09:46:56","slug":"guide-to-an-effective-inbound-call-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/internal.n4engage.co.uk\/2020\/12\/10\/guide-to-an-effective-inbound-call-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"A Simple Guide to an Effective Inbound Call Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Customer service is vital whatever size your business, whether you are a small company answering queries, a large company selling insurance or a medium-sized business processing complaints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s a problem, a customer will reach out for help, and as a responsible business you will need to provide support, be it through a call centre or small team of customer service representatives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inbound call volume can vary significantly depending on the business and the industry. This can also be complicated by employees working from home, rather than seated together in a large call centre. Customer support agents may not have anyone there for physical support, but remote working still needs to run smoothly with little or no difference to the customer\u2019s service experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at some of the ways you can ensure a successful inbound call strategy: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check the positioning of your phone number<\/span> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although it\u2019s important to speak to your customers directly, every phone call costs a company money so you must be strategic about where you place your phone number.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By requiring a scroll or few clicks to find it, you will increase the genuineness and value of your callers. If your number is front and centre on the home page, you may be inundated by all sorts of callers, not just those with a legitimate issue.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may not have the resources to handle large numbers of calls, but marketing research<\/a> shows that a website with a phone number instils credibility and trust in your visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep the customer happy <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It sounds obvious, but the customer will want one-to-one attention, so make sure their call is answered and ideally doesn\u2019t go to voicemail. Most customers will accept queues as the norm and wait with their call on speakerphone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also important that someone qualified is on your end to pick up the call \u2013 a customer advisor who knows what they are talking about and can deal with the problem efficiently. Aim for first call resolution \u2013 and ask for feedback either on the call, or afterwards through a text message or survey, so you know if and where you can improve services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evaluate your inbound call solution<\/span> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whatever your business\u2019 requirements, there is inbound calling technology out there to suit you.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re keen to bring your customer services operations into the modern age and meet demand for anytime, anywhere service, consider a multi-channel contact centre solution<\/a>. These solutions enable you to interact with your customers through web chat, email and social media messaging (as well as calling) \u2013 and deliver a consistent experience regardless of the channel.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your business has peak periods for call traffic \u2013 whether regular or a one-off \u2013 consider a call routing and management solution that sits above your SIP platform. What this means is, you can process inbound calls before they reach (and potentially swamp) your infrastructure.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Provide self-service options<\/span> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many customers\u2019 calls can be answered simply, without needing to speak to an operator. They often want to find an answer to their problem, such as checking the status of their order or the balance on their account. A lot of these requests can be handled without live assistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-service is an essential part of an integrated customer experience, and there are various options to choose from, including speech recognition, touch-tone and mobile options. Also consider systems which offer a call-back function, for customers who don\u2019t want to wait in long queues.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrate your CRM with your phone system<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Make your customer data work for you by using Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), which links your telephone system to your computer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having access to this information means agents will know exactly who\u2019s calling before they answer the phone. This removes the need to spend time going through multiple databases to confirm the customer\u2019s information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can also help the advisor field calls to other personnel if necessary, learn about previous calls, and look at relevant information stored, about the customer or the product they have bought or previously enquired about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer service representative will also be able to log the call and update customer information, which will improve the performance of your inbound call services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research your daily call centre metrics <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If your customer contact solution allows, access in-depth reports and statistics to really understand the inbound calling experience and how you can make changes to improve it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Create customised reports, or use dashboards displaying key customer service metrics. These are vital to analysing how efficiently your system and advisors are working. Metrics you can look at include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n