Why CX Can’t Afford to Hang Up on the Voice Channel Related Articles Podcast: Channel Shift: How can we safely move customers from one channel to another? When Is It OK to Hang-Up on a Customer? 23 Considerations to Make Before Implementing a New Digital Channel The Future of Voice in the Contact Centre © BigBlueStudio - Shutterstock - 1115099333 Filed under - Industry Insights, Customer Service, CX, EvaluAgent For years, we’ve heard the phone is going the way of the rotary dial. Yet despite the meteoric rise of digital, customers still crave a human voice for support. Why? Because customers value effectiveness over efficiency. And recent research reveals the voice channel remains the gold standard for problem-solving. In a sea of robotic chatbots and impersonal messaging, a real human voice can provide rapport, empathy, and reassurance. It cuts through the noise in a way text struggles to match. Phone Dominance Defies Expectations You’d think with the growth of messaging, chat, and self-service that voice interactions would plunge. But the voice channel still handles about 65% of contact centre traffic in the US and UK. This persistence surprises many. We’re told millennials and Gen Zers are allergic to phone calls. Yet they too gravitate to voice, especially for solving complex issues. So why does voice dominate? Because for customers, it delivers unmatched first-contact resolution – a top satisfaction driver. In a recent survey, consumers ranked first-contact resolution as a priority. In speaking with them, it was clear real-time problem diagnosis and reassurance by phone can’t be replicated. In the UK, younger groups valued politeness and convenience. But older groups prized short queues and one-call resolution above all. In the US, older customers similarly prioritized quick, comprehensive solutions. Voice enables agents to investigate issues and reassure customers in the moment – something digital channels struggle to match. Voice Fixes Problems, but Needs Fixing Too Unfortunately, current voice channel metrics lag. Since 2017, UK speed to answer rose 253% and US speed rose 46%. Abandonment and cost per call also increased substantially. Yet customers endure this friction because they trust voice will solve issues. In fact, the UK’s preference for phone calls to solve complex and urgent matters grew during the pandemic, despite digital gains. Why? In uncertain times, the voice channel offered security and solutions. Up to 27% of UK and 39% of US digital enquiries still require phone follow-up for full resolution. Voice remains the standard for untangling multi-layered issues. Effectiveness wins over convenience. It’s Time to Reinvest in Voice Our research in partnership with ContactBabel challenges assumptions that digital channels innately improve CX. And it suggests that the value customers get from voice isn’t fading anytime soon. So how can contact centres nurture voice capabilities alongside digital? Optimizing IVRs and Bots to Reduce Repetitive Calls For example, improving speech recognition and natural language processing to better understand customer needs and provide solutions without agent transfer. Analyzing Interactions to Identify and Fix Failure Points Impacting Resolution Sentiment analysis on call transcripts can pinpoint areas of customer frustration and confusion for agents. Improving Training and Knowledge for One-Call Resolution Building a knowledge base with step-by-step troubleshooting guides and video modules that agents can reference to resolve issues. Orchestrating Seamless Cross-Channel Journeys Integrating data and workflows across channels to enable consistent information sharing and hand-offs between voice, digital, and in-person. The Future of Voice Is Digital Since customers tolerate phone frustrations for the sake of resolution, refocusing on the unique value of voice paired with digital upgrades is key. Contact centres can deliver what customers want, human connection and the fast resolution of problems, while also striving to bridge the insight gap and delivery improvements with the help of AI. Phone persists for a reason. For true omnichannel mastery, optimize digital solutions that enhance the performance of voice channels. This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of EvaluAgent – View the Original Article For more information about EvaluAgent - visit the EvaluAgent Website About EvaluAgent EvaluAgent provide software and services that help contact centres engage and motivate their staff to deliver great customer experiences. Read other posts by EvaluAgent Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper. Author: EvaluAgent Published On: 14th Dec 2023 - Last modified: 19th Dec 2023 Read more about - Industry Insights, Customer Service, CX, EvaluAgent Recommended Articles Podcast: Channel Shift: How can we safely move customers from one channel to another? When Is It OK to Hang-Up on a Customer? 23 Considerations to Make Before Implementing a New Digital Channel The Future of Voice in the Contact Centre Related Reports White Paper: Voice in a Multichannel World White Paper: Artificial Intelligence - Its Place in the Contact Center White Paper: Consumer Duty Compliance Through Effective QA The Essential Team Leader Playbook Contact Centre Reports, Surveys and White Papers Get the latest exciting call centre reports, specialist whitepapers and interesting case-studies. Choose the content that you want to receive. 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