Customer experience
Anna Gorina
27 March 2024
Share this article
Share this article
Customers typically contact call centers when they are unable to resolve a problem with a product or service on their own. The key to satisfying the customer in search of a solution is the call center experience. The call center experience is the overall interaction between the customer and the call center. This experience is affected by several factors, including processes, training, and technology. A call center must center an agent around the customer using communication skills, empathy, and problem-solving. These elements combine to provide the customer with a better or worse overall experience.
You can describe a call center experience according to the level of customer satisfaction. A good call center will strive to improve the customers experience constantly. To achieve this, you must provide each employee with sufficient training to be an effective communicator and interact with customers in a professional manner. Therefore, you could describe a good call center experience as attentive, efficient, and satisfying. This positive description contrasts with what you want to avoid: a depersonalized, inefficient, and frustrating experience.
In any kind of call center or contact center, customers are ultimately looking to resolve their problem. By the end of the call, they want to have a solution. That means a great call center answer should resolve the customer issue as much as possible. If a resolution is not possible, empathy is key. Using another channel of communication such as video can add another dimension of empathy and clarify your message to the customer. Above everything, the customer wants to be heard. As long as the call center agent recognizes and responds to this need, the customer is more likely to accept an apology if a proper resolution is not possible.
Put simply; a good customer experience has a positive effect on your bottom line. The call center’s end goal is to increase the chance for repeat business by providing customers calling your center with a satisfactory solution. 75% of customers surveyed by Zendesk said they were willing to spend more for a good customer experience. Meanwhile, just one bad experience will drive half of customers to a competitor. In a world where customers have an endless array of options, customer experience is an important differentiating factor for your brand. On the flip side, customers with other choices won’t hesitate to avoid your brand if they have a bad experience.
Call centers have evolved beyond simple inbound call centers to many different types of contact centers offering services, including outbound calls, video calls, instant messaging, and automated messaging. The more options provided to the customer, the more the center can meet their needs. The diversity of different solutions still revolve around the same principles of customer service and call center experience.
A tangible way to measure the quality of your call center experience is by using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Among the dozens of different metrics you can use, let’s focus on three KPIs.
Customer satisfaction is an essential KPI because it indicates the overall sentiment of your customers. If your customer satisfaction is low, you need to investigate what is going wrong. Otherwise, it could cost you your business!
Average Handle Time (AHT) is a metric that measures the average total time an agent spends on a call. AHT is a helpful shorthand to gauge how long calls are taking and how to allocate your resources accordingly.
Finally, the agent Attrition rate is a crucial metric to determining employee turnover. If you have a high attrition rate, you may have some problems with employee morale. Beyond these essential KPIs, software like ViiBE can offer you more control over your call center.
Working at a call center is a fast paced job that is not for everyone. Call center managers should prioritize hiring people who enjoy interacting with people and are well suited for the pace. Special consideration should be given to those who have previous experience in call center jobs. This extra care in hiring will reduce employee turnover because those finding a job in your center will be less likely to leave. Reduced employee turnover is a win-win decision because happy employees will improve the customer’s experience, and reduced employee turnover will save on hiring costs.
Knowledge management is key to keeping your call center agents up to date on the latest procedures and guidelines. By integrating a centralized knowledge base such as ViiBE’s knowledge management solution, you can redistribute know-how throughout your organization. You can use this powerful tool to train employees using customer service training videos or examples archived from past customer interactions. It can also help problem-solve to identify a pattern if there is a recurring issue. The knowledge base is just the beginning of what ViiBE has to offer.
More than most businesses, call centers rely on software to function. The right call center software can make a world of difference in your call center’s efficiency. ViiBE offers several solutions to make this happen. ViiBE’s expertise call routing management reduces call times and speeds up issue resolution by connecting callers to experts more quickly. Its virtual call center offers a more flexible solution than traditional call centers. It allows managers to monitor multiple centers across the world in real-time. ViiBE’s API integration can integrate video assistance to your existing ticketing system, taking your tech support to the next level.
ViiBE’s software has already proven its benefits in the real world. Sports retailer Decathlon was able to increase its first call resolution (FCR) rate by six times by empowering its support agents with ViiBE. ViiBE’s approach makes things easier for everyone involved. Its software integrates seamlessly into Decathlon’s pre-existing Zendesk call management software. Callers to the customer support hotline can easily connect to a video call without installing any software.
The call center experience is something you want to get right the first time. By paying attention to your customer’s needs and providing them with a satisfactory solution, you are more likely to keep that customer. The good news is that it has never been easier to give a great call center experience. While technology has rapidly evolved, ViiBE’s solutions make it easy to effectively use call center software to improve your customer service without sacrificing efficiency. Now that you know the importance of the call center experience, what steps will you take to improve it in your call center?
Join our newsletter to keep up to date with the latest news in the visual support industry.
Free E-book available now!
