by Interactive Northwest, Inc.
Your Call is Very Important to Us
[frame align=”right” width=”300″ height=”226″ src=”https://www.interactivenw.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/HangingGears-300×226.jpg”]Wait, is this 1990?
Let’s face it; none of us likes to wait on hold. In this technological age, customers demand efficiency from the organizations they do business with and callers are no exception. It is inevitable that call volumes will reach a point that customers will have to wait before an agent can assist them; however, offering callers the option to receive a callback as an alternative to waiting on hold gives them back their valuable time and preserves customer satisfaction.
Callers Prefer Callback to Waiting on Hold
A recent survey conducted by Software Advice found that 63% of callers prefer scheduling a callback to waiting on hold. Of those surveyed, over 50% were only willing to wait on hold for up to 5 minutes before preferring a callback; while more than 25% said they’d always prefer a callback to waiting on hold. Providing your callers with the option to receive a callback is clearly their preference and contributes to an enhanced customer experience.
Get to Know Today’s Callers
A quick look beyond the data reveals that today’s callers are much different from those of just a decade ago. With so many convenient choices for communication available, it is likely that a customer who calls your organization has not been able to get the assistance they need from a corporate website, by email, or through a live chat session and will have a heightened sense of urgency.
Consider this significant difference as well: many callers today are using mobile devices. Extended hold times force these callers to burn through minutes and battery life. Not only does this add to customer frustration, it increases the likelihood of an abandoned call–definitely a lose/lose scenario.
Giving your callers an alternative to waiting on hold by allowing them to request a callback empowers them to choose how they will spend their time and instills the sense that you value them and their patronage. While you may not always be able to avoid providing deferred service, offering a callback solution can preserve customer satisfaction and turn a potentially negative situation into an opportunity to enhance brand loyalty and extend customer lifetime value.
Effective Callback Strategy
Designing a customer-satisfying callback strategy is very important and will vary based on the types of calls your contact center typically receives. Some contact centers deal with high volumes of short duration calls, while others must field more complex calls that demand a greater level of input before the agent can provide effective call resolution.
In most situations, it is ideal for the callback application to automatically contact the customer and ensure they are on the line before presenting the caller to an agent. This “caller first” type of callback provides the greatest level of contact center efficiency by eliminating the need for agents to initiate calls.
When calls are more complex and agents benefit from a higher level of input prior to engaging with a customer, it is best to employ an “agent first” callback type. Here, the agent is presented with information prior to launching the callback to the customer.
INI SureConnect™, a Better Way to Wait
INI SureConnect offers a callback solution that supports both CallerFirst and AgentFirst methods on the same system, at the same time. INI SureConnect is easy to manage, quick to install, and integrates with other applications and back-end systems to provide better customer interaction and agent efficiency. Options like screen pop to eliminate the caller’s need to repeat information, web service APIs for click-to-callback functionality, automatic speech recognition, and touch-tone capabilities provide the ability for your IVR system to adapt to changes in your contact center requirements over time.
INI has a proven record of fast, smooth deployments of INI SureConnect with highly satisfied customers. It’s not your typical callback application.
- Works seamlessly with Avaya CMS reporting features so all of your call center data remains at your fingertips
- Custom Installed to Client and Platform Requirements
- Flexible Configuration for CallerFirst and/or AgentFirst Callback Methods
- Immediate and Scheduled Callbacks
- Support for Mobile/Web Integration
- Maintains CMS Report Integrity
- Licensed Per Queue Rather Than Number of Ports
- Fewer Ports Used Than Typical Callback Solutions*
- Solutions for both H.323 and SIP environments
Contact INI to speak with a representative about how INI SureConnect can improve caller satisfaction in your contact center and contribute to a maximized return on your IVR Platform investment.
*Single port utilized for CallerFirst configuration. Port is only used for two short durations: first to confirm the callback details and then again at the time of the callback to transfer the caller to the agent.