It Might Be Easier Than You Think to Manage Large Call Volumes
It Might Be Easier Than You Think to Manage Large Call Volumes
Many firms deal with high call volumes on a regular basis. The odd rise in call volume can happen to every organization, from utility providers dealing with winter service problems to retailers dealing with holiday calls and physician’s offices dealing with the turmoil of cold and flu season.
High call volumes are one of the benefits of cyclic enterprises, but they can also be a liability. While a sudden rise in customer interest may be appealing, if your receptionist is overwhelmed, it may irritate clients and harm your brand. Fortunately, managing big call volumes is easier than you might think—at least if you utilize an interactive voice response solution.
Voice Response That Is Interactive
Voice response that is interactive
IVR stands for interactive voice response, and it is an automated call center system that takes incoming calls and routes them to the relevant parties without the use of a live agent. To answer calls and offer customers with the information they need quickly and efficiently, IVR employs phone menus and auto attendants.
Here are some examples of how you can utilize IVR to streamline your calls and effectively manage high call volumes.
Most Commonly Asked Questions
Voice response that is interactive
Simply installing interactive voice response isn’t enough. You must also optimize it in order to boost productivity and make it work for your company. One method to accomplish this is to include commonly asked questions on your phone menu so that callers can quickly and easily find answers to their most pressing questions without clogging up your receptionist or customer care employees. Callers can use simple key presses or voice responses to interact with your menu and get answers to their questions.
Knowing what questions to ask, on the other hand, necessitates familiarity with your consumers and their requirements. To prepare for a busy season, speak with your customer support and/or sales teams to determine the most often asked questions. These should be added to your FAQ phone menus.
Routing of Calls
When customers need answers quickly, the last thing they want is to be shuffled from department to department by someone who can’t help them. During busy periods, interactive voice response can simply redirect calls and keep your callers satisfied, relieving you of the burden. Ask callers a series of specific questions to ensure that they are routed to the correct person the first time.
Another idea is to obtain as much information from callers as possible before transferring them to a representative. This will reduce the amount of time spent on live calls, if they are required, and keep your systems functioning smoothly.
Intelligent Routing
Voice response that is interactive
Even if you’re routing calls and answering FAQs, your call center may be overloaded with callers who require live assistance at times. Use IVR to reroute calls to less busy times or your company’s website if the call wait duration exceeds five minutes.
You can also practice load balancing with interactive voice response by directing incoming calls to the next available customer care person. This ensures that during peak times, all of your agents are available. Furthermore, use skills-based routing to route high-priority calls to specialized agents with better experience managing these types of calls.
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