Optimizing Call Center Performance with Automated Voice Messaging
1 Nov, 2007
By: Debbie BraunertTraditional outbound call routing technology, such as predictive dialers, was intended to improve resource utilization in the call center by adjusting the pace of outbound calling based on the number of available agents. Ironically, this approach has done more to reduce agent productivity. In fact, up to 60 percent of live customers hang up on dialer-initiated calls during that two-second pause between picking up the phone and being connected to a live agent.
Moreover, agents spend an inordinate amount of time on low-value activities: leaving voice mail messages, asking for the right party or helping customers choose from a predefined set of responses. In addition, more than half of all connected calls result in answering machine pickups, depending on the time of day; and when an agent leaves a message, it may be rushed, incomplete and is often inconsistent from one message to the next. Wasting an agent’s valuable time on these mundane activities also results in boredom and fatigue, exacerbating already high agent turnover rates. Call centers need a dramatic platform shift to achieve operational efficiency-- and better customer experiences.
The Value of Automated Voice Messaging
Low-value activities can be performed by automated voice messaging systems for a fraction of the cost of more traditional customer contact methods, including the use of live agents. For outbound calls, many businesses now rely on professionally recorded voice messages to capture and hold the customer’s attention, while ultimately providing with the option to connect to a live agent. All the upfront work of dialing the right person is offloaded, freeing agents to work on high-value interactions where the customer prefers to speak directly with an agent.
With automated voice messaging, recordings commence immediately, alerting callers to the relevance and importance of the call upfront to reduce the number of hang-ups. In addition, because leading voice messaging solutions offer virtually unlimited calling capacity, this approach has additional advantages such as significantly lower cost per call and the ability to reach a far greater number of customers than with live agents. And more important the rate of positive customer responses is vastly improved. Before the call is transferred to a live agent, the automated system first verifies that the right person has been contacted. Additionally, since the person has opted to speak with an agent, he or she is far more likely to respond positively to the offer.
For example, a provider of medical alert services is required by law to contact its customers each month to test its service. The provider found it could complete 3,500 outbound calls per day using an automated reminder alert instead of manually dialed agent calls, which took three to five times longer. With this novel approach, the firm reduced customer contact costs by more than 90 percent.
Similarly, the Wall Street Journal maximizes subscription renewals through this low-cost channel. The daily newspaper uses a monthly e-mail campaign to reach subscribers whose credit card numbers have expired, but only secures approximately 12 percent of the needed updates. By augmenting this approach with automated voice messages, the newspaper reaches approximately 50 percent of the remaining targets live, immediately boosting the success rate by nearly five percent.
What’s more, this approach also frees agents from the tiresome work of leaving endlessly repetitive voice messages. Instead, agents are able to spend more time engaging with customers and handling complex transactions, which greatly enhances their overall job satisfaction and boosts agent morale.
Improving Caller Satisfaction
Automated voice messaging preps agents just prior to receiving each contact. As part of the right-party verification process, the system can capture information such as account number, last four Social Security digits and other relevant data, and “whisper” this, along with the customer’s name, to the agent while the call is being transferred. This saves the agent time in determining account status and reduces customer frustration because they don’t have to repeat information they already provided.
Putting Customers in the Driver’s Seat
While many customers prefer to speak with a live agent, there are situations where a customer prefers an automated solution that gives him or her a greater sense of control over the call. Experience shows that customers find it mentally taxing to engage with an unknown party on a cold call. Attempts by a live agent to solicit information can be very off-putting to some consumers.
Alternatively, many people find a polite, automated voice message preferable to dealing with a stranger. Take third-party collections for example. It’s a common response to become defensive or uncomfortable when you are confronted with a delinquent payment. This is often due to people’s reticence to discuss embarrassing or unpleasant subjects with another person. Most customers are more likely to take action sooner if they are approached in the context of a private, non-confrontational phone call, which results in better outcomes for the collector. For example, a leading credit union reduced more than 75 percent of outstanding customer debt in less than a year and increased the number of promises to pay by 65 percent using an automated message rather than a live agent to remind customers about late payments.
Putting Your Best Foot Forward
The communication and delivery skills of agents can vary widely, impacting a customer’s impression of a business. Automated voice messaging alleviates this concern and ensures the consistency of high-quality messages. The ability to script and record the best version of your message, conveyed by a well-trained professional voice talent, yields higher response rates. When customers receive a prompt, courteous and effective message that clearly states the purpose of the call, they are more likely to respond appropriately. It’s like using your best agent with your most compelling message on every single call.
Catering to a New Customer Mindset
Just a few years ago, using automated voice messaging to engage customers was unheard of. But in today’s self-service culture, customers expect more control over their interactions, from ATM machines to online ticket agencies, to on-demand cable movies. People want to control the pace of transactions to suit their needs. That’s why automated voice messaging is becoming so prevalent in customer care and collection applications. What’s more, savvy marketers are adding voice messaging solutions to their arsenal of campaign tools. Automated voice messaging has an advantage over traditional communication methods in that AVM campaigns can be executed much faster and at a significantly lower cost than direct mail promotions or e-mail campaigns, for example. Automated voice messaging campaigns also offer greater capacity and flexibility. A company can easily personalize messages based on the time of day or customer’s gender, for example, and execute virtually thousands of calls within a day. And instead of being restricted to normal working hours, automated voice messaging can intensify call rates at optimal times to penetrate customer lists faster. Auto-adjusting call rates can be easily adapted in response to the changing number of agents and other factors.
The Bottom Line
Automated voice messaging shatters the old myth that only live agents will yield the best results and actually has shown in some cases that it outperforms direct mail, e-mail and live calling campaigns. Using this technology, businesses can be alleviated of some of the frustrations of dialer delays, agent performance challenges, capacity mismatches, phone-phobic customers and other issues weighing down call center performance. Boasting unlimited capacity, personalized messaging and lower costs, automated voice messaging vastly increases the scope and effectiveness of outbound customer communications, such as welcome messages, fraud alerts, credit card updates, claims status, delivery notifications, statement changes, customer surveys and a host of other interactions.
