A Smarter Approach to Call Deflection and Self-Service

João Safara of Talkdesk shares some helpful advice for improving call deflection and self-service.

We are all someone’s customer. And as customers, we expect our issues to be solved quickly, efficiently and — if possible — using our channel of choice.

We don’t want to be transferred from one customer support representative to another and explain our issue over and over again.

Frankly, that kind of experience frustrates us and hurts our relationship with that product or service provider.

Most customers (69%) across all age groups want to contact a business via SMS, while even more (83%) want to learn about a product or service through their favourite messaging channels.

Personalization and modernization are two of the biggest trends currently driving customer experience (CX).

This, combined with uncertainty brought by COVID-19, means that the need to reduce operational costs while maintaining superior customer service has never been bigger.

Contact centre leaders have looked into reducing call volume to cut infrastructure and staffing costs. But reducing call centre calls while making alternative channels available can also be a gateway for next-level customer experience.

How to Excel in Call Deflection

There’s a misconception that call deflection is about avoiding contact. But look on the bright side: deflecting calls is an opportunity to include a smarter, omnichannel approach into your customer service so that demands are resolved without the need for a human agent.

There are various ways to achieve this. Improving and rebuilding your interactive voice response (IVR) system is a great way to present more information upfront or redirect users to the best agent available.

Automating outbound notifications can proactively provide customers with relevant information before they try to reach your support system.

Including messaging channels or direct access to a knowledge base allows you to meet customers on their own terms and provide a wider, more modern variety of options for how issues can be resolved.

This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of Talkdesk – View the Original Article

For more information about Talkdesk - visit the Talkdesk Website

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