With an increasing amount of research telling us customers will go elsewhere after a bad telephone experience – or stay loyal after a good one – we’re often asked whether the focus should be on reducing customer effort, increasing customer experience or driving operational efficiency.
The good news is they’re all linked, and using OnBrand’s design methodology, you can achieve all three.
Time is becoming increasingly short as people juggle their work and family life, and people become quickly irritated when a poor choice of options present themselves on the phone; even more so if their call is misdirected, leading to further on hold times.
Also, if callers hear a voice that doesn’t “sound like” the brand, or if the audio quality is poor, or worse still – are the menu options are so complex that it’s hard to choose the right option – the callers are far more likely to become frustrated, choose the wrong option, and end up having to be transferred. This has two negative impacts that are detrimental to your business:
- The customer needs to put in a great deal of effort, leading to a negative experience. This is likely to damage the brand relationship.
- The call agent has to deal with the caller’s frustration. It’s not nice to be vented at, and imagine how this can affect the agent’s mood before they speak to the next customer.
- Operationally, misdirected calls are more expensive to handle, presenting the business with an immediate cost, and the potential to lose countless customers.
However, if the caller’s attention is captured with a positive welcome, and they’re spoken to in a personal way using language they understand, the caller will be happy. If they’re presented with a few short and simple options leading them to the right place at the first attempt, they will reach the agent in a positive frame of mind.
The result? The call will be more pleasant – for the customer and the agent – and your brand will be remembered fondly, and held in a positive light when customers and staff discuss you with their family and friends.
At OnBrand we have over 15 years’ experience in improving customer journeys. We take time to understand our customers’ brands, learning what they do, who their customers are and what we want customers to do when they call. We then design and produce new caller experiences to achieve the joint goals of reducing customer effort, increasing caller experience and driving operational efficiency.
Give us a call on 03333 22 00 22 or [email protected] to find out how we can help your business.
