The customer need for support and reassurance has only increased over the last few years — a trend that’s unlikely to change.
This demand has left support teams feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin; during the pandemic, in fact, 75% of service professionals say managing case volume has been more challenging. And even as restrictions loosen, this stress remains on call centre teams who are operating with limited resources.
To stay afloat and ease the burden on call centres, businesses must work on proactively reducing customer service calls. Streamlined workflows and better customer engagement strategies are proven methods of reducing the volume of inbound calls and seeing operational savings — but where to begin?
Here’s why customers are calling your support team, and how customer engagement solutions can reduce those inbound calls.
Why are customers calling?
Thanks to companies like Uber, Postmates, and Amazon, customers have grown used to transparency, control, and real-time tracking, and they now expect the same from field service companies.
When there’s a lack of communication and flexibility around service appointments, customers experience stress and anxiety, which usually leads to higher call centre volume. A whopping 86% of customers say they want to talk directly to their technician on the day of service — and if they can’t, they’ll call customer service instead.
The three most common calls that customer service representatives receive are:
- Chase calls. “Where is my technician?” is a question heard frequently by call centre teams. Without opportunities to engage with their service appointment — via features like automatic email or text notifications, real-time tracking, and two-way communication — customers will call for updates and details.
- Appointment change calls. If a customer has no other way of revising their appointment or contacting their technician, they’ll call customer support to make updates or provide new or additional information (for example, to correct a model number provided or change the time of their appointment).
- Feedback calls. Customer feedback is crucial for any business, but call centres are often mired in follow-up calls when customers aren’t prompted post-appointment to provide insight into how things went.
What’s the point of reducing customer service calls?
Reducing customer service calls saves time and money — not to mention, it also increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Offering customers self-service solutions like real-time tracking, two-way communication, and notification opt-ins provides consistent touchpoints at every step of the service process, helping them feel engaged and supported. It also provides customers with a way to solve their own problems, demonstrating your commitment to their desire for control, and it helps mitigate issues earlier on, leading to fewer upset customers.
And when your staff isn’t overwhelmed by call centre volume, it gives them back invaluable time and energy that can be better spent answering more complex calls that only their expertise can solve.
A more streamlined process sets you up for fewer inbound calls, better customer service, and reduced costs.
How can customer engagement help?
Proactively engaging customers before, during, and after service appointments can reduce inbound calls.
Customer engagement should be centred around transparency, communication, and information. Automating communication via geofences frees up your technicians by letting them focus on their job while customers still receive the updates and support they demand.
What does customer engagement look like in practice?
- Real-time ETA/service tracking prevents ambiguous arrival windows that force customers to wait around all day or cancel plans, as well as reduces no-access appointments.
- Two-way communication allows customers to contact their technician if they need to reschedule their appointment or revise or add information. It also improves first-time fix rates.
- Post-appointment feedback capture lets you collect honest thoughts directly after the appointment. This both helps customers feel heard and provides your business with the full picture, as customers are more likely to give comprehensive, accurate feedback in the moments immediately after the appointment, as opposed to days or weeks later. Automated feedback requests can allow for opting in or out of a follow-up call, as well as ease the awkwardness of a customer providing candid insight directly to their technician.
Reducing calls in a call centre starts with Localz
Customer engagement isn’t just a smart strategy for reducing calls in a call centre; it’s also a prime way to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty while boosting your bottom line.
Localz can set you up for success with comprehensive customer engagement software that offers the transparency and control that customers demand of you while streamlining workflows for your field and office teams. Customisable solutions fit your unique needs, keep customers in the know without high costs, and ease the burden on your customer service representatives.
Drive value for your business by empowering your teams with the support they need, and by enhancing customer engagement with solutions that increase satisfaction and loyalty. It’s a win-win across the board.
About the Author
Jordan Kramer is Director of Marketing at Localz.
Localz are experts at digital customer engagement, combining real-time location tracking and customer communications. Localz takes the last mile complexity out of service appointments, offering businesses configurable, bolt-on solutions to make the day of service awesome and keep customers in control.
The Localz modular platform enables real-time service tracking, accurate ETAs, two-way and multi-party communication, along with instant feedback forms. Localz is proven to reduce no-access rates, call centre volume, follow-up calls and operational time while increasing customer satisfaction.
Industry-leading clients around the world use Localz, including Clarion Housing, Watford Housing Trust, Wates, RAC, HSS Hire, OVO Energy, Welsh Water, Autoglass, Rentokil, and Woolworths.
For more information: www.localz.com
