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Do You Really Know Why Customers Are Calling?
Yesterday in my blog entry, Redefining the C in First Call Resolution, I discussed how to overcome the six main barriers to first contact resolution, based on a conversation I had with Rob McDougall, president of Upstream Works. During that call, McDougall made another great point: Companies need to measure first contact resolution – not just in terms of the pure numbers of closed cases, but also in terms of why callbacks are happening. This is especially important because understanding and reducing or eliminating the sources of callbacks can cut contact centers costs and significantly improve service. It call also improve interdepartmental processes.
McDougall gave an example that would surely hit home for any contact center manager. He explained that upper management may not see it as a problem if calls are coming in to track late packages. But if a contact center manager can say that those calls are costing $10,000 per month, “that resonates,” he said. Hopefully, it will resonate enough to encourage the shipping department to improve its processes.
Discovering issues like that is why it’s so important to understand the reasons for callbacks. McDougall suggested taking such actions as surveying customers and reviewing call logs and IVR and quality monitoring recordings to learn the reasons customers are calling back. Equally important is tracking email and Web chats, which may either have been the first contact or a follow-up channel. And of course, ask your agents. They’ve got the insider view to your customer interactions.
Rob, you make a great point. Far too many executives still don't realize how central the contact center is to building valuable customer relationships in so many ways. The information available from agents, call recordings, IVR flow, post-call surveys, etc., is invaluable for giving insight into customers' preferences, expectations, and experience.
Ginger:
We talked about a lot of stuff; you’ve hit on the central issue on reporting in a contact center – feedback to the rest of the business. It’s amazing how many contact centers use their phone statistics for reporting. These get compiled in with other business metrics by some other department, and those results are reported upward. As we all know, he who takes the minutes controls the meeting. Contact centers are effectively putting their fate into the hands of other departments by not reporting on strategic business elements. And it’s amazing how much control they really could have, given their relative positioning in the business.
Regards,
Rob McDougall