Increase Customer Satisfaction with Call Deflection Technology

Reduce customer service wait times during high volume periods using call deflection technology for a better customer experience and better bottom line.

Articles published May 23, 2019

As customer care teams it’s always our goal to help the customer, but when calls spike and customer service wait times are long, that can be easier said than done. With an omnichannel solution and call deflection technology in place, your contact center can better provide alternate channels to satisfy your customer needs quickly.

Proactive Call Deflection

With proactive call deflection, you have advanced about any kind of software upgrade, planned outage, or product launch that may affect your customers. That advance notice allows you to prepare for the anticipated spike in calls and make plans to proactively manage customer expectations through available call deflection solutions. Updating the website and interactive voice response (IVR) messaging ahead of time can give customers a heads up that the event is taking place, provide a timeframe around the occurrence, and help set expectations. This messaging can be used both to alert customers of the potential for longer hold times if they experience issues as well as recommend alternative channels for getting in touch with customer service.

Omnichannel Solutions Provide Options

The beauty of an omnichannel solution is the seamless integration of multiple customer communication channels within one customer service platform.

Use a Call-Back Queue

When customers call the contact center and are put on hold, a call-back queue helps relieve tension of a wait time. The customer simply confirms their call-back number then the automated queue holds that customer’s place in line and calls them back when a customer service agent becomes available.

Offer Self-Service Options

Customers want answers quickly, and in certain instances, self-service options can be an easier, more efficient solution than waiting to speak to a care team representative. Chatbots can be a great way to help provide solutions to simple-fix questions. While customers are on hold, messaging can highlight chat as an alternative solution. If the system detects that a customer is calling from a cell phone, it can even send them a text with a chat link for faster service.

Chatbots and SMS messaging can reduce call load and free up contact center agents. While one agent can only be on one phone call at a time, it’s easier to manage multiple chats and SMS messages simultaneously. With an omnichannel system in place, you not only already have these alternate communication channels available to customers, but also service history available to agents, which can help provide faster resolutions.

Of course, with enough advance notice, you can be sure to schedule more agents to work at the time you anticipate calls to spike, which can also help ease the burden of high call volume.

Reactive Call Deflection

In the digital world in which we live, it’s inevitable that technical difficulties will arise without warning. When that happens and customer service calls start to spike, don’t fret, you can still fall back on many of the same call deflection methods you would use proactively.

Website and IVR messaging can be updated on short notice to alert customers that you are aware of the current situation and redirect them to the self-service options available through your omnichannel solution. When you partner with a contact center, it’s even possible to adjust the schedule of your customer care team and engage work-at-home agents on the fly to increase the pool of customer service representatives available to take calls and chat with customers.

Cost-Saving Technology

Because of the one-to-one nature of phone calls, they are one of the most costly channels for a contact center. Self-service channels like chat and SMS messaging can help cut costs as agents efficiently handle multiple customer requests at once.

Implementing call deflection solutions during call anomalies can lead to reduced call volume and wait time, faster resolution of issues, and increased customer satisfaction, which all stand to help your bottom line.