Call Forwarding: What is It and Why is It a Must for Your Business?

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

November 22, 2021

6 mins read eye

Table of content

Let’s say, you are in a long meeting and don’t want to be disturbed. But you’re also expecting an important call from a client that you just can’t afford to miss. What do you do?

Simple—you redirect the incoming call to an alternate number that belongs to a colleague or a supervisor and let them handle it while you get done with your ongoing meeting.

The call forwarding feature lets you stay connected at all times, no matter your circumstances, location or time zone.

Thus, whether your company is an enterprise or a start-up waiting to spread its wings, the call forwarding feature can improve the customer experience your business delivers by leaps and bounds.

Why is call forwarding a must-have feature?

According to Microsoft, about 36% of customers agree that the most frustrating aspect of a bad customer service interaction is their inability to resolve issues quickly.

Call forwarding ensures your customers get quick and reliable customer service without any delays. It can be enabled in both traditional and cloud-powered phone systems and help you stay connected with your customers round the clock.

Furthermore, with constant advancements in technology, you can also enable call forwarding on a single smartphone and avail its benefits anywhere, anytime.

Call forwarding also comes with additional benefits like call recording and call routing, which help you track and analyze data and route calls accordingly.

It’s not surprising then that different industries have embraced call forwarding as a standard feature.

So, how does call forwarding work?

In the beginning, call forwarding only meant redirecting incoming calls to another number. But ever-evolving technology now offers advanced settings that have redesigned the entire support experience.

When a customer tries to reach your business phone service provider, you receive an incoming call. This call then gets transferred to the destination number with the help of the call forwarding feature. Consequently, you can answer the call from anywhere, anytime, without making your customer wait.

The added perk?

You can set up call forwarding within minutes and get started instantly!

This feature comes with several options that allow you to customize how, when and to whom the calls are forwarded.

The call forwarding feature can be used in different ways and each brings its own benefits:

1. Call forwarding: You can forward all your incoming calls when you are away from your device or on an official break from work.

2. Call forwarding when busy: This call forwarding feature is useful when you’re expecting an important call. It forwards all incoming calls when you are speaking to someone else on the line.

3. Forwarding unanswered calls: You can enable this setting when you are in a meeting or in an arrangement where you may not be able to answer your phone.

4. Forwarding calls when you are unreachable: You can redirect calls when you’re in a low reception zone, have no phone signals or even if your phone’s battery is dead. This setting prevents you from missing any important calls.

How can call forwarding benefit your business?

Needless to say, call forwarding can enhance the customer experiences you offer.

Here are some additional advantages of call forwarding:

1. Improved customer service

The experience every caller has with your company’s customer service team has a huge impact on their overall journey.

According to Microsoft’s 2018’s State of Global Customer Service Report, 61% of customers say they’d stop doing business with a company after a poor customer service experience.

Though communication can be facilitated over a range of channels such as emails and chatbots, having an organised and effective support system on call is integral for every business.

When a call is being forwarded, some essential things to keep in mind are:

Make sure the caller is connected to a relevant agent who can answer their queries
In case of an international customer base, employ agents who are well versed with different languages and can offer support accordingly

2. No missed calls

Unlike earlier days when landlines were the only means of receiving and making calls, the advent of smartphones and fast-paced global Internet connections has transformed the current work scenario.

From missing important calls to receiving every call on your preferred device and location, the technology has come a long way. In fact, you can even forward business calls from office phones to home phones, providing employees flexibility and comfort levels like never before.

3. Cost-effectiveness

Enabling the call forwarding feature eliminates the need to invest in extra hardware. You can set up multiple phone lines at minimal expenditure using cloud technology and begin to use the feature soon after.

Another way call forwarding encourages cost-effectiveness in a business is by reducing the need for a special team that redirects calls based on callers’ needs.

All of this can be turned into an automated process that does not demand human intervention.

4. Dynamic work-life balance

If your employees are expecting a call post working hours, they can use the call forwarding feature to forward the call to a phone that is accessible to them off-premise

Similarly, call forwarding can be restricted to function only until a few hours after work so as to make sure employees don’t receive too many calls at odd times after they have left the workplace.

However, the call can be rerouted to the IVR system (self-service menu) so that your customers are not left with unsolved queries.

Advanced call forwarding features also include on-hold music, voicemail facilities and the ability to forward calls to multiple phone numbers at the same time.

5. Increased professionalism for the company

Customers highly appreciate companies that go the extra mile to cater to their needs and make them feel valued.

You can use call forwarding to extend support to your customers whenever they need it.

The added bonus?

You can look professional and enhance your credibility while doing so!

Call forwarding allows your customers to reach out to you via a business number on their end, even if you answer the call on your personal phone.

This not only makes you look professional but also adds convenience to your customers as they need not search for different numbers to contact you at any given point in time.

Moreover, your agents no longer need to give out their phone numbers to keep track of customer support services when away from the office.

Therefore, call forwarding helps you maintain professionalism during all your interactions even if they happen post working hours.

How to choose the right call forwarding service?

Each call forwarding service varies from another. While some may allow you to forward calls to unlimited phone numbers, others may come with an upper limit of the same.

Some other features to consider when choosing a call forwarding service include:

The price of the service
The ability to export calls
Availability of advanced features such as call recording and call routing
The system’s ability to maintain call history, etc.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, call forwarding ensures greater flexibility of business operations and improved communication for all organizations. It eliminates the need to work directly from the office and enables you to cater to your customer’s needs from anywhere.

With a turbulent increase in hybrid working trends, more and more companies are opting for call forwarding as it allows their employees to stay productive from anywhere around the globe.

No matter how large the scale of a business is, always being present to attend to your customer’s problems and demands is a must.

Try Acefone’s cloud telephony solutions today. Contact now.

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Acefone Editor

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Acefone provides a broad range of cloud communication services to businesses of all sizes, which includes Hosted Phone Systems, Free Phone Numbers, and Cloud Contact Center Solutions. Being the UK's leading provider of VoIP service provider, we always strive to provide excellent customer service and high-quality custom solutions to our customers.

5 Ways to Boost Customer Satisfaction Through Text IVR Surveys

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

November 19, 2021

6 mins read eye

Table of content

Customer satisfaction and customer surveys

According to Microsoft’s Global State of Customer Service Report, 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company.

Needless to say, customer satisfaction should be the topmost priority of every business, regardless of the kind of products and services they offer. Customer satisfaction has time and again proven to be one of the biggest Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for businesses.

That said, it is difficult to measure true customer satisfaction. However, one of the best solutions to this issue is to directly ask them using customer surveys.

What are customer surveys?

A survey designed to understand the customer’s perception of an organisation is known as a customer survey.

It includes various questions related to their thoughts about the brand’s products and services, their purchase experience with the brand, whether they think the products are appropriately priced and what their overall perception of the business is.

These surveys can be a set of multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions or a mix of both.

One of the most widely used methods of surveying customers is to collect their feedback via text-based formats. IVR surveys in text format are also becoming increasingly popular.

These are simple and easy to understand messages for the customers, with several ways to record a response or collect feedback from them. IVR surveys also help a company maintain a better track of its customer data.

Using features like bulk SMSes or SMS blasts, a wide range of both current and potential customers can be interacted with at the same time.

An introduction to IVR and text surveys

Text-based surveys are one of the most convenient methods of communication between a business and its customers. These surveys help in maintaining a collection of customer feedback, facilitating opportunities to elevate the customer experience.

Indian’s have a diverse range of mobile devices. While the majority, over 800 million people are now active smartphone users, there still exist users of older phones. The good news—text IVR surveys can be conducted on both, smart as well as normal mobile devices.

Businesses can conduct different types of surveys to obtain data. Some examples of commonly used surveys to collect feedback on a macro level are:

Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys: NPS surveys are used to get an idea of how many customers are willing to promote a brand they have used. These are mainly used to test a company’s customer loyalty
Post-purchase surveys: As the name suggests, post-purchase surveys are essentially done right after purchase to understand the customer’s overall buying experience
Customer Effort Score (CES) surveys: These surveys help businesses understand the efforts that a customer had to put in to complete a purchasing cycle

Features like bulk SMS (Also known as SMS blasts) can be used to reach a large audience at the same time.

How do customer surveys help build customer satisfaction?

Customer surveys help businesses achieve many goals. They’re able to identify service gaps and pain points for customers and fix issues accordingly. Moreover, companies can reach out to aggrieved buyers and offer compensations, discounts and vouchers to make up for any inconveniences.

Additionally, surveys also help businesses predict customer needs and demands and alter their offerings to suit the same. Thus, organisations are able to proactively devise better strategies and stay ahead of their competitors.

Explained below are five of the many ways in which text and IVR surveys can help with a business’ customer satisfaction goals:

1. Customers feel valued and appreciated

The distance between what your business is delivering and what the customers expect can be effectively bridged with the help of text surveys. Acting upon customer demands and ensuring your customers feel valued, both help in boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The disconnect between what is expected and what is offered can be removed once buyer feedback is collected regularly. If buyers know their ideas and expectations are actually taken into consideration, they are more likely to do repeat business with your company.

Frequent IVR text surveys can be sent out to several customers, at the same time, using the SMS blast service.

These surveys are one of the simplest and least obstructive methods for collecting and maintaining customer data and feedback. They cut through the marketing clutter of unending voice calls and promotional emails.

In fact, this data can also be used to offer personalised services via IVR technology.

2. Increasing customer engagement

In today’s time, when practices like social distancing are overshadowing most offline interactions for the entire world, keeping in touch with customers is one of the most important steps that a business can take to work on its customer engagement levels.

89% of customers worldwide expect organisations to give them the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinions in the form of feedback. Following up on a post-purchase basis, demanding regular feedback and checking in on customers can all be done via text messages.

For this, tools like automated IVRs come in handy. These IVRs do not simply automate the calling process, but can also pre-determine quality of leads, thereby improving conversion rates.

Additionally, companies can reach out to leads using SMS blast services and inform them about upcoming discount offers, sale offers and other such events.

3. Strengthens company-client relationships

A business-client relation is based on trust, which can be fragile. While the former can make mistakes in fulfilling exactly what is expected, the latter may be left dissatisfied despite all the services they are offered.

However, in such a scenario, there is no way that the business does not address the issues of buyers. Unhappy customers will not just leave, but may also negatively talk about your business to friends and family, or post it on social media.

By using text surveys, businesses can follow up with customers to find unexpected loopholes. Once followed upon, these can be fixed with repair measures to smoothen the overall sales process.

4. Proactive customer engagement

Traditional customer interactions relied heavily on prospects reaching out for information. Proactive customer engagement, on the other hand, is when a brand maintains constant interaction with buyers throughout their purchase journey.

During proactive customer engagement, a brand tries to resolve customer concerns even before a purchase decision has been made.

A proactive customer experience can be created only when a business tracks and analyses customer data. This data can be easily collected through the use of text-based IVR surveys.

5. Listening to customer demands

Polls are an interactive feature offered by IVR systems. Customers can be asked simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions or those with multiple choice. Such interactive feedback collection methods can help businesses gain deeper insights into what a customer wishes from their favourite brands.

Buying experiences can be improved with the incorporation of feedback measures that use hyper-personalisation techniques. Different sets of interactive text surveys can be designed for different sets of audiences, sent using SMS blasts.

Such ways of communication not only help improve the customers’ perspective about a company but also help strengthen the business-buyer relationship.

Conclusion

As advanced technology becomes accessible to buyers and sellers, it is the perfect time to create highly customised IVR surveys for your business—one’s that not only ask questions specific to your products and services but also help with efficient management of customer data.

Therefore, right now may be the best time for every business to look into its customer service techniques, understand every scope that there is for improvisation, and immediately get to work!

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Expert Opinion: Boosting CX to get more referrals by Alan Pennington

Himani

Author

Expert Opinion

November 18, 2021

6 mins read eye

Table of content

Businesses nowadays are struggling to upgrade their customer experience strategies to reduce customer churn rate and increase revenues—leading to a better position in the market!

According to Forbes, ‘’Customer experience is today’s business benchmark.’’ Therefore, we can say that it is evolving as the new norm for brands.

Customers these days have a plethora of options to choose from. If you want to retain them, you must improve their experience across all the touchpoints in their customer journey.

Besides, there are various resources available on the Internet that educate users on making a buying decision.

Therefore, businesses must deliver a remarkable customer experience that grows their brand awareness.

We recently got an excellent opportunity to interview Alan Pennington, a freelance CX and EX special advisor. With more than 12 years of experience in the customer service industry, Alan has witnessed all the ups and downs in the business sector.

Alan Pennington has also been listed in the ‘Top 25 Global CX Thought Leaders and Influencers 2019’ for doing a remarkable job in the industry. Alan is currently the deputy chairman of a leading US-based CX software business, SuiteCX. Along with this, he is the special advisor on CX in Deloitte and co-founder of Mulberry Consulting.

Alan has also written The Customer Experience Book that has received enormous appreciation and splendid feedback.

So, without further ado, let’s walk through the inspiring journey of an acknowledged CX expert, Alan Pennington.

1. What factors influenced you to enter the field of customer experience?

Alan: Back around the turn of the century, customer experience was just in its infancy. It was dominated by research businesses that made you aware of the problems with your customer service but not how to fix them.

Advertising agencies, too, created outstanding campaigns to create demand and built expectations that the operations could not deliver. There was a significant gap in the market for a firm to take the research and advertising spend and translate that into deliverable experiences.

While it’s true that just because there is a gap in the market, it does not necessarily mean there is the market in the gap. Fortunately, our hunch turned out to be true!

2. According to you, what is the real definition of good customer service?

Alan: In my opinion, the actual definition of good customer service is delivering brilliant basics, meeting your customer’s expectations and finally adding that little something extra when it is least expected.

3. Being the deputy chairman of SuiteCX, what steps should every business follow to deliver an incredible customer experience?

Alan: Being in the industry for a decade, I would like to share the following steps that businesses should follow to deliver an exceptional brand experience to their customers:

Great experiences don’t happen by accident; they happen by design. Therefore, you must invest time in preparing well-defined business strategies and practical approaches.
Not every interaction you have with a customer is of equal importance. Hence, you need to map out all of those touchpoints from the outside and use data to understand the critical moments in your customer’s journey. Also, you must look carefully at how these experiences are designed.

The SuiteCX provides the perfect framework to assimilate all the touchpoints and data to evaluate and capture both—the need and the actual changes.

4. What are some common myths that newcomers have when entering the field of CX?

Alan: In my personal opinion, some of the most common myths include:

CX is very complicated.
It is an expensive undertaking.
It is a project; when actually, it is a never-ending journey of changes and adjustments.

5. How does it feel when you see your name listed in the top 25 CX Thought Leaders and Influencers 2019?

Alan: I am constantly humbled by the feedback and to be seen by my peers as a leader in the CX/EX space plus, having recently been described as an industry legend too, is the pinnacle of success for me.

6. What practices do you follow to tackle a frustrated customer?

Alan: I take them back to basics. I destroy the often held myths that prevent leaders from fully embracing the huge commercial wins by integrating CX/EX into their business strategy and solution toolkit.

This gives people the confidence that they can succeed, and I go ahead and prove it to them. Now you have a fully engaged sponsor.

7. Based on your experience, what are some common mistakes businesses make that hinder their customer service?

Alan: They spend too much time fixing recurring problems rather than redesigning the experience based on the known issues.

Data, information, and research are too often used as reasons not to act—“we need more data”, which means it is not turned into actionable change. Often, the default is to create a vast programme and wait for 2-3 years. It might take years to deliver, and in the meantime, the world might change.

You need to make hundreds of tiny changes that require little or no governance changes when it is a collective cross-functional approach. In fact, making a lot of small changes might take your CX to the next level. Just like in the words of Nike, “Just Do It!”

8. What strategies do you personally follow while creating a business plan for the operations group?

Alan: I focus on real-time in year deliverables to engage as many individuals as possible across various operations and demonstrate a line of sight business measurable improvements.

Businesses must focus on the quarter ahead but with an eye on the longer-term cumulative goal and ensure that their deliverables are customer outcomes-focused.

So, start with what you want to achieve, by when, and then create the plan of action.

9. We know that The Customer Experience Book is a hit. We would love it if you could share some insights from it.

Alan: Remember that

CX is not input; it is the output of activities that happen inside your company.

When it comes to CX, we are in the memory business. It is about designing positive memories and attention to detail is critical to success.

Also, customer-centricity is rarely the answer; it is about dialling up the CX component of your business strategy to the right level for your brand position.

10. Are you working on any new book? If yes, we’d love to know more about it.

Alan: I am writing a novel at the moment and have started working on a follow-up business book that centers around the ROI of CX. It focuses on the growing area of the employee experience, which I see as the next big thing in the world of customer experience.

The bottom line

Alan Pennington is a great believer in practical advice. He focuses on direct actions that can effectively impact your customer’s experience.

With tremendous experience, Alan believes that a positive customer experience is the backbone of your business success. It is because satisfied customers become the loyal ones when served with care.

Businesses may consider it an extra effort to focus entirely on customer experience, but it is worth it.

If you are looking for effective cloud telephony solutions to enhance your customer service, you are at the right place. Acefone offers advanced cloud solutions that will help you improve your business communications.

Get in touch with our experts today at [email protected] or call us at 1888-859-0450 .

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

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Himani

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Himani is a content writer at Acefone. She is an avid blogger and Youtuber as well. She loves to explore the miraculous world of technology. Connect with her on Linkedin

Are VoIP Phone Systems Needed in a Cellular World?

Karan Beniwal

Author

Phone System

November 15, 2021

4 mins read eye

Table of content

The world of communications has come a long way since Alexander Graham Bell whispered “hello” into his first telephone prototype.

Today, everyone has a mobile device in their hands, so much so that the total number of cellular mobile phones has surpassed the Earth’s total population.

No doubt, mobile technology has revolutionised the cloud communications industry. Allowing individuals to connect at a moment’s notice, almost anywhere in the world, mobile devices have helped people across the world come a bit closer.

These devices have also helped the business world, with every businessperson now connected to every other through their mobile phones.

With the introduction of the smartphone, the industry underwent another revolution. No longer were mobile devices only capable of calling other devices, but they allowed for new mediums of communication—text, email, video, and social media.

The Internet was in the palm of the hands of everyone.

This fast progress shunned people away from traditional telephone system. Take a peek around your house. Do you still own a landline? If you do, when was the last time you used it to make a call?

The same has become the story for businesses as well. With an email machine right in the hands of businesspersons, the utility of a phone system seems outdated. However, from a business perspective, phone systems are still highly beneficial to standard operations.

Let us look at why:

New age systems are cost-effective

When mobile phones were introduced, businesses were taken in by their features and ease of access. Shortly thereafter, they began to see a negligible difference in the costs of a phone system and a mobile device.

Thus, industries began to lobby for mobile phones.

However, new VoIP systems offer services for a fraction of the cost of legacy phone systems. Travelling across the Internet, VoIP has often been dubbed as the “future of communications” by leading industry experts.

Built with specific features for specific functions

While smartphones offer a wide range of features to an individual user, businesses have different requirements from their communication devices.

Cloud-based phone systems now offer features specifically tailored to businesses of all sizes.

Are you a small business and need an auto-attendant to receive calling customers? Thinking of expanding your business to other locations while retaining the same number?

Or are you an enterprise aiming to reduce costs by experimenting with automated communications?

New-age Voip phone systems offer features such as IVR number, detailed analytics, and multi-channel solutions to cater to all these and many more requirements.

VoIP phone systems ensure high-end security

Every business demands security on all fronts, especially communications. Steve Jobs had famously called the iPhone project ‘Purple’ to prevent leaks. It wouldn’t be farfetched to say organisations are paranoid about breaches in their communication systems.

With widespread movements against phone giants like Apple over privacy concerns, a business phone system is built for trust and security. Taking advantage of the cloud, service providers offer guaranteed protection to all your communications.

Not just that, they carry out regular security and patch upgrades to ensure Business phone systems remain immune to the threats of data theft and system breach events.

Some standard security measures that organisations can rely on include end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, role-based authorisation, and more.

VoIP phone systems are now mobile!

The main concern with traditional systems was their inflexibility. Office floors were covered in seemingly never-ending wires, and yet working away from the desk was unimaginable—keeping employees confined to their office premises.

Those who had field jobs struggled too, owing to the lack of a portable communication system. All these factors led to a rise in the popularity of mobile devices.

However, modern business phone systems are now accessible on the go.

Thanks to the cloud, businesses can now access their phone system portals on smart devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops from anywhere in the world. All they need is an Internet connection.

Summing up

The world has truly gone mobile. The good news is that so have VoIP phone systems.

However, replacing one with the other is not ideal.

Like the adage, “You should always keep your personal and professional life separate”, so should you keep your personal and VoIP phone system separate.

Moreover, with specialised business features on modern-day VoIP-based phone systems, smartphones are losing the race for business communication dominance.

If you are interested in VoIP based business phone systems for your organisation, please contact us at [email protected].

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Karan Beniwal

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Karan is a communications graduate with a passion for film and writing and is on an indefinite journey to search for and capture stories from around the world. He is currently exploring the world of content marketing to bring to life the products and services we use every day. Connect with him on Linkedin

Is Hybrid Remote Working the Future?

Karan Beniwal

Author

Operations

November 11, 2021

5 mins read eye

Table of content

After almost two years of working from home, employees are now returning to the office, with many others expecting to arrive back soon.

Our time away from offices has shown us a new way to look at the operational structure of companies. When lockdown restrictions began to take effect and workers were told to convert their living rooms into offices, work from home became the new normal. While most were reluctant to adapt to it, soon, both employees and employers did see the benefits of it.

Besides being highly cost-efficient to businesses, working from home improved employee productivity and enhanced work efficiency.

Moreover, with technologies like cloud communications, remote work became a go-to option for several industries across the world and why not. The cloud offers better speed, reliability, and security.

In fact, multinational companies, like LinkedIn, have already allowed employees to choose between remote working or working from offices, ushering in the new age of hybrid working.

So, what is this new model of work? Will it be sufficient to garner the same level of productivity from employees? Are hybrid work systems becoming the new normal?

What is hybrid remote working?

As the pandemic dragged on, employees became comfortable with a remote working environment. Even managers, who might have initially dismissed the new normal, began to see the ease of working remotely.

Before we analyse the pros and cons of a hybrid working environment, we should first understand what a hybrid work system entails.

A hybrid system is built on the foundations of flexible work. Managers develop a mix of remote and in-office working schedules, allowing employees to choose from the two.

Hybrid systems come in all shapes and sizes. Every company, every department within that company, can decide on a different approach to hybrid systems. The pandemic has proved that some teams can work from home with complete ease, while others might require visiting the office spaces.

The best of both worlds

Remote work found its way in our daily lives. However, as worldwide cases began to dip and a section of the employees became eager to return to their offices, companies began to work out new forms of models.

While remote working was the rage in 2020, 2021 saw the conversation shift to hybrid systems—a mixture of remote and office-based teams.

Put simply, the current times may just well be a transitional phase.

As companies try to return to normal, building upon the benefits understood during the pandemic would be foolish. Thus, let us make a case for the benefits of a hybrid working system in a world without a pandemic:

Increase in productivity

Hybrid models are seen with an eye of scepticism by managers, just like remote working was in its initial days.

Managers believe that offering choices to employees about their preferred method of working can result in decreased productivity of individuals as well as the team.

However, research by Microsoft says that 82% of companies boast of productivity at par with pre-pandemic levels. This is often attributed to the flexibility that remote workers have.

They choose their working hours, allowing them to focus on tasks when they are at peak productivity. Cutting down on commute times also has significant mental health benefits.

With remote working reaching the same levels of productivity, a hybrid system is bound to enhance the work structure at companies. Allowing employees to pick their in-office work days will help them prioritize their workload and achieve the assigned goals. By integrating hybrid work structures with the right digital tools like remote team monitoring software by Intelogos, for instance, businesses can not only maintain but also improve productivity while fostering a positive and flexible work culture.

Safety and security

While cases have started to decline globally, and vaccines are now readily available in all countries, the world is still fighting the virus. The constant threat of the disease still has a lot of people worried about their health.

A hybrid system, therefore, offers people the security of their job from their homes, with the occasional office visits.

Additionally, with teams allowed to work remotely, employees do not miss out on much work, even if they choose to stay back home. Thus, a hybrid model provides them with a sense of safety from the onslaught of the pandemic.

Rethinking office spaces

Office designers are always briefed on creating a specific type of work environment. However, architects always have to consider a heavy workforce that can be easily accommodated in the office spaces.

This has led to the creation of the decade-old office space structures, with cubicles separating team members from each other.

With a hybrid working system, companies can rethink their office spaces.

With a drastically reduced workforce attending the office at a given time, open spaces can be introduced to redesign the offices. Not only does this allow for more creative flow, but employee happiness is also shown to increase by working in open spaces.

Cost-effective

It goes without saying that with a reduced workforce visiting offices, employers get the added benefit of saving on expenses.

These can include rent, office supplies, etc. All of these resources can be re-invested in building up a more technologically sound and productive environment, which allows a hybrid model to flourish.

Is hybrid the new normal?

The pandemic has undoubtedly changed the business landscape. While many would shun the benefits of remote working, in an effort to go back to the good old days, the benefits cannot and should not be overlooked.

Employees who have experienced the remote working systems want to continue with it. And, with almost two years of remote working, companies have no solid ground to push for an in-office setup. Thus, hybrid is the next logical step in this direction.

The role of technology should not be amiss in this discussion. The pandemic struck us at a time when our devices were capable of allowing a new form of work.

If you are yet to employ these technologies in your operations, contact us at [email protected] to better understand how cloud technologies enable you to manage a more efficient hybrid workforce.

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Benefits of Hosted IVR system for small business India

Yukti Verma

Author

Contact Center

November 9, 2021

5 mins read eye

Table of content

Implementing a hosted IVR system is a fantastic way to make your small business stand out. When used correctly, they can give your small business communication a professional touch, irrespective of the industry you operate in.

The hosted IVR system, or Interactive Voice Response system, is an automation tool that helps your small business build relationships with customers using self-service options. It helps them navigate to the right department by themselves on the first call and even increases the retention rate.

With this article, we highlight some ways your small business can benefit from hosted IVR services.

Build relationships with hosted IVR services

Hosted IVR systems can be programmed in ways that customers receive highly personalized experiences with every call.

This detailed personalization helps you build stronger customer relationships and offer a superior level of VoIP customer service, making you stand out.

For instance, Acefone’s IVR systems for small businesses in India allow you to personalize calls using custom greetings, specific product messages, service updates, and more. You can plan and execute such messages for your customers based on different categories to add a personalized touch to the call.

Hosted IVR systems can also be programmed to address returning customers by their name and communicate in their preferred language.

Navigate better with hosted IVR systems

The beauty of a hosted IVR system is that it gives customers the opportunity to choose which department they need to connect with.

By installing a hosted IVR system in your business pbx system, you can prepare for every customer enquiry that comes your way. Based on the caller’s inputs, the hosted IVR system informs you of the call’s nature, giving you an upper hand.

More so, according to Salesforce research, 63% of customers expect businesses to be aware of their needs and expectations. Hosted IVR services enable you to prepare better for every query and get to the bottom of it on the first call itself.

If you have different departments, the IVR can also direct the caller to the person best placed to answer the query. This means no frustrating call transfers and much less time spent on the phone for both customers and staff.

Save time & expenses with Hosted IVR services

Arguably, the most popular benefit of a hosted IVR service is that it saves time. When callers are directly sent to the department related to their query, both agents and the caller end up saving valuable time.

With customer support being faster than ever, consumers dislike staying on calls for long periods. With the hosted IVR system, customers are fast-tracked to their solutions resulting in a lower amount of dropped calls.

Additionally, with less time spent on each call, there are more opportunities for agents to convert more leads into customers.

When agents spend less time looking for the right person to answer a question, they can focus on other tasks such as answering more calls, making your business more profitable. They can deliver quick and superior customer service and improve the brand image.

Have lesser mistakes with automation

With agents there is always scope for human error. From missing calls due to unavailability to transferring calls to the wrong destination.

With the hosted IVR system, mistakes are much less likely to happen. Hosted IVR systems don’t get distracted by other tasks or become overwhelmed by high call volume. IVR solutions can answer each call automatically and place it in a queue during peak times.

This inbound call center management solution gives your agents room to focus on priority tasks rather than merely answering and diverting calls. Agents may miss calls for several reasons, but a hosted IVR system will ensure no call goes unanswered.

With more calls answered, your small business is surely to increase conversions. Customers also appreciate being routed to the right person in the first call, rather than waiting and hopping between calls.

Promoting Self-Services with IVR systems for small business in India

The modern customer is out for quick resolution to their queries. While human agents provide the most personalized service, there are several instances where their time could be better spent elsewhere.

For instance, a customer calls a contact center solution to inquire about outstanding bills. The first connected agent shall transfer the call to the billing department for further processing. The customer will receive the desired information after shifting through several calls only.

On the contrary, a hosted IVR system takes the caller’s input, directs them to the right department, and then connects with an available agent. This entire process takes less than half the time taken by an agent to resolve the case.

24/7 availability with Hosted IVR services

A hosted IVR system can be in operation even when your small business is closed. Acefone’s hosted IVR services enable customers to leave agents voicemails if calling beyond business hours. You can also set personalized messages to inform customers of business hours or address FAQs.

No matter the time of the day, with a hosted IVR system you can ensure the availability of a communication channel between your small business and customers. Hosted IVR systems for small businesses in India give you access to endless possibilities for customer engagement and call management.

At Acefone, our experts help you set up your hosted IVR system as per your small business’s requirements and provide a seamless customer experience 24/7.

Get an IVR system for your small business in India

From enhancing your customer experience with personalisation to boosting agent productivity and saving money— hosted IVR systems are a simple solution that can have profound effects on your small business.

To find out more, call on 1800-121-7777 today for a discussion with our friendly team.

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Yukti Verma

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Yukti is a content marketing enthusiast with a soft spot for Saas. She loves weaving complicated concepts into simple stories. When not at work, she is found reading books or watching movies.

Skill-Based Routing is the Secret to Call Centre Success

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

November 8, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Although there are many contenders for the top position among modern call centre solutions, skill-based call routing has to be one of the main ones. With skill-based call routing, the future of call routing is here.

Skill-based routing is a cloud telephony feature that analyses customer data when a call comes in and automatically routes the caller to the agent equipped with the best skills to address the issue.

The feature prevents the unnecessary transferring of calls between agents and improves customer satisfaction rates.

Imagine for a moment a typical day at the call centre of a bank or financial services company.

A customer needs to speak with the loan department and is only comfortable conversing in Hindi. However, an English-speaking call agent from the credit card department picks up the call.

It’ll take a while for both to understand each other and even longer for the call to be routed to the appropriate agent. The customer finally gets a resolution but only after several transfers and going round in circles.

This is definitely not the kind of customer service you want to be known for.

With skill-based routing, the scenario is quite different. After the customer calls, the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system determines the caller’s requirements based on voice or keypad inputs. Then it directs the call to the most suitable agent.

 Skill-based routing versus more conventional routing methods

Skill-based routing is all about intelligent call redirection. It determines the skills a customer requires and matches them to an agent who possesses the said skills. Of course, agents can have multiple skills and be cross-trained in many areas. This information can be fed into the customer relations management (CRM) and IVR systems for effective routing.

While call centre analytics can help you predict the volume of calls to a certain extent, there will be times—say during the festive season—when the call centre is overwhelmed, and callers have to wait a bit before they are attended to.

In such a situation, the automated call distribution (ACD) system will route calls so that they are answered at the earliest. The priority of call centres is always to answer calls as fast as possible.

However, this may not always be the best strategy.

 Queue-based routing

The most basic call routing system is queue-based routing. In this system, the caller will hear some version of this message: “All our executives are currently busy. Your call will be answered shortly. Thank you for your patience.”

Basically, your call is queued up behind customers who dialled the call centre before you. In queue-based routing, customer calls are queued up one after another. This could be based on language preferences or the service requested, and so on. But, essentially, calls get assigned only to one queue.

Skill-based routing, on the other hand, takes a more intuitive approach. It makes an assessment of the skills required to address a particular call and sends the call to an agent who has the right skill sets and is free to take the call. In skill-based routing, various parameters can be set up to route the customer to the best possible agent.

 ACD routing

An ACD system uses the power of automation to enable quick service support to the caller, without taking the agent’s skills into account. In the case of an ACD, there is always a possibility that the agent will not be able to resolve the query, and the call will have to be transferred to a more suitable agent leading to more waiting time.

This is not what you as a business want. In fact, you should be looking to improve the first call resolution (FCR) rate.

An ACD system, first introduced way back in 1973, works well when large numbers of calls have to be handled and distributed in a call centre. ACD has its typical call distribution rules like caller ID, call traffic, etc.

The technology is really at the heart of a call centre’s operations. It works in tandem with a cloud telephony system and IVR to route calls appropriately.

In skill-based routing, which takes the customer’s requirements and the skills of available agents into account, there might be a bit of waiting, but the issue is likely to be resolved once the call goes live.

Skill-based routing, in essence, is a more evolved version of ACD.

The pros and cons of different call routing systems are well worth considering when shopping around for call routing systems for your call centre.

With skill-based routing, the customer doesn’t have to figure out who the best agent or department to talk to would be. The IVR system does that for the customer.

 How skill-based routing benefits your call centre

The improvement in communication technology has only enhanced customer expectations. Over time, services and offerings have also matured and become more complex. This calls for more specialised call centre staff to handle customer issues and requests.

The size of call centres needs to go up as well, which is why cloud telephony is such a great solution, where team sizes can be scaled up or down as required at highly competitive rates.

In skill-based routing, the system takes several factors into account to decide who is best placed to service an incoming call. These include the caller’s identity and profile, their IVR inputs, and so on.

A good skill-based routing system will be able to route the call to the best agent possible. If you offer omnichannel support, this may not necessarily be restricted to call representatives. In fact, you’ll be tapping into a larger talent pool. This avoids multiple transfers and enhances the customer experience.

The measurable benefits of skill-based routing

At this point, you may be wondering: does skill-based routing really make such a big difference?

Here are a few ways in which it is hugely beneficial:

Skill-based routing improves the first-call resolution rate, reduces the first response time and average handling time (AHT), and enhances agent productivity. It also frees up executive-level managers to focus on more critical tasks.
With skill-based routing, call centre agents can more effectively support customers since they will only receive calls they are skilled in resolving. This is great for agent morale. They can also deepen their skills in the process.
Since skill-based routing is customisable, it can be updated as requirements change to help streamline your workflows.
Skill-based routing does not benefit the call centre alone. The customer gets a better experience too, increasing customer retention and enhancing loyalty.

 The growing importance of omnichannel support

Nowadays, customers communicate with a company in a variety of ways. Gone are the days when the only way they would reach out was by picking up the phone and dialling a number.

They still do that, of course, but they also email, chat and connect through social media channels (where they can be very vocal and your damage control skills have to be on full and effective display).

With omnichannel routing, you can communicate with your customers constantly and consistently. You’ll be able to respond to their issues in a quicker and best possible manner. Customer needs can be met in an agile fashion, and interactions can be warmer and more personalised.

An excellent cloud-based system will have omnichannel capabilities, letting you address your customers’ needs on any device or channel in a proactive manner.

 Some call centre solutions to keep in mind when choosing an IVR

Choosing the right kind of IVR system for skill-based routing is of the utmost importance.

It must have functionalities like queue notifications, queue opt-out option, CRM integration, automatic call-backs, option for SMS updates, IVR command optimisation which offers the most popular options to new callers, and context preservation.

A few things which would be nice to have are personalised messaging based on past interactions, voice activation, a variety of hold messages to prevent boredom, and reporting tools to get a quick sense of the customer experience, including the IVR experience.

 Empowering agents with skill-based routing

Thanks to skill-based routing, support representatives are now experts in their niches, and not just agents who handle customer queries mechanically. In this redefined role, they can take pride in their work and in the enhanced sense of responsibility.

Not only is their role more interesting, but they also learn new things on the job and get to sharpen their skills. Skill-based routing, therefore, creates a balanced approach, where the quality of the experience of both customers and agents is in focus.

The division of labour created by skill-based routing is helpful for call centres too. No longer do all the agents have to be trained in a broad-based, minimal skills manner. With skill-based training and specialisation, a better staff is created, enhancing productivity, customer experience and, ultimately, business results.

The future of skill-based routing

As with all modern call centre solutions, skill-based routing is also evolving rapidly in an effort to become future-ready. Newer call-routing techniques like intelligent routing and contextual routing are emerging at the forefront of the innovation as a direct offshoot of skill-based routing.

In contextual routing, any information that the call centre may have at its disposal is used to route the calls in a relevant manner. The caller may have a simple query but a long record of negative feedback, for instance. In such a case, it will route the call to a more experienced agent.

Intelligent routing harnesses the power of AI to route callers and comes with a range of benefits. It provides real-time customer insights to support representatives, improving the quality of follow-up conversations.

If the caller is lax with payments, it could point to financial insolvency. Equipped with this information, a call centre agent can handle the call more sensitively.

The importance of CRM integrations cannot be emphasised enough.

Businesses can personalise customer experience further by integrating skill-based routing with their CRM. This way, not only are customers directed to the most suitable agents but representatives also have immediate access to customer profiles, including a history of previous interactions.

Such data is invaluable for the call centre agent. It enables them to offer better and more personalised services.

A robust CRM coupled with skill-based routing is a win-win situation. Going forward, skill-based routing is definitely going to be the most important way of routing calls.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

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How and Why to Get a Free Phone Number in the UK

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

November 3, 2021

6 mins read eye

Table of content

No matter how rapidly technology advances, it can never replace the connections humans build with each other. This is why, even today, when customers have myriad tools to gain query resolution, they still prefer to connect with a contact center agent over a phone call.

It is this need for human interaction that makes free phone numbers an ideal solution for businesses of all shapes and sizes. These numbers are free to call for customers, thus enticing them to contact you without any worries of costs.

Free phone numbers also make your business look more professional and show potential leads and your clientele that you care about them. Better yet, you’re able to achieve all this and more without

You can use your free phone number with your hosted phone system in many different ways, and reap the various benefits it offers.

This article will explain exactly how to get a free phone number and the reasons why you might want to consider getting one for your business in the UK.

How to add a free phone number to your business phone

The answer really is simple: use your hosted phone system’s online portal to add and connect a toll free number to your business.

Alternatively, you can ask your service provider, who will be able to do this for you. Either way, you can have a free phone number added to your VoIP phone system in just a few minutes.

Since your free phone number services will be hosted over the cloud, you can access these services from any device of your preference. No matter what time your customers call, they will be put through to your selected devices or contact center agents quickly and seamlessly.

Each call can be tracked, so you can clearly see the return on investment you get from your business number. Simply go through the analytical reports on your online portal to view the number of calls made to any and all of your phone numbers.

This gives you the chance to see which numbers are effectively generating inbound leads and which are no longer needed.

Why add a free phone number to your phone system?

This answer isn’t so simple. There are a number of reasons why a free phone number should be added to your VoIP phone system.

You should think carefully about the direction you want your business to take to see if a free phone number fits your plans.

For marketing purposes

Many people avail a free phone number for marketing purposes. By deploying a free phone number for a specific campaign, you can monitor the leads generated and other metrics too.

A free phone number also gives the impression to customers that your business is national. So, if you are looking to do some marketing outside of your locality, then a free phone number will ensure that your efforts don’ go to waste.

You can take your marketing efforts a notch higher by opting for a free phone vanity number. A vanity number increases the recall value of a brand with alphanumeric characters. So, if you, run a pet shop, your free phone number can be 0800-738-7467 or 0800-PET-SHOP.

To break down barriers

Another reason to add a free phone number to your arsenal is to break down any potential barriers between your business and customers.

When the financial implications of a call are removed for the customer, they are likely to reach out to you. With increased calls comes an increased opportunity to convert new leads. With a great team of customer service representatives on hand to answer your calls, this of course will lead to more profits in the long run.

To deliver amazing customer service

What better way to wow your customers than by giving them free access to your support team. Not only does this make your business appear more open and trustworthy, but it also allows you more opportunities to fix any problems that may occur.

Research by Moneypenny shows that 68% of individuals have the perception that companies with free phone numbers care more about their customers.

Similarly, you can also get a free-to-call number to show customers you care enough to invest in opening up the lines of communication between them and your team. It will also ensure your customers that you encourage interactions.

You will be able to build better relationships with customers, get to know their needs, alter your products and services accordingly, ultimately increasing retention and, of course, sales.

To remove geographical restrictions

If you operate nationally but still use a number specific to one area, then you could be missing a trick. Customers are much less likely to call a business they perceive as being outside of their area. They may feel that customer service might be lacking, or they may just want to deal with someone local.

In addition to this, by not using a business number, you are missing out on adding that professional touch to your business. Customers are likely to not call a business if a personal number is associated with it.

You can even get an international free phone number and establish your presence on the other side of the globe. By removing geographical restrictions you are essentially opening up your business to a whole new range of audiences, which can only be a good thing.

To stand out from the crowd

Another great reason to use a free phone number is to stand out from the crowd. Many of your competitors probably aren’t using these numbers, so you will immediately stand out in the crowd. Customers will recall your brand as the one that cares for its customers and will make the extra effort.

Additionally, free phone numbers are often catchier and easier to remember than traditional numbers.

To increase call volume

Put simply, if you want more calls to your business, add a free phone number. Research by Moneypenny further states that 65% of people stated that they would be likely to call a free phone number.

So, if you want increased calls and more opportunities to sell your services to customers then a free phone number is a proven strategy for your business to try.

Take advantage of all the benefits a free phone number can bring

Free phone numbers are a really simple way of elevating your business to the next level. You can show customers you care by opening up the lines of communication and offering access to your support team free of charge. Or you can design catchy marketing campaigns that leave a strong impression in your audience’s minds.

If you’d like to discuss how a free phone number could work for your business, get in touch with our expert team today on 1888-859-0450 or just drop us an email at [email protected].

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Why is Effective Communication Important?

Saurabh Sharma

Author

Business Communications

November 2, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Communication plays a crucial role in our personal and professional lives.

It is a fundamental social skill that helps us build and enhance relationships with friends, colleagues, and family members by helping us express our messages and ideas.

In the workplace environment, good communication also helps minimise errors and optimise productivity. Poor communication, on the other hand, results in employees doubting their skills and abilities in the organisation.

In fact, communication is an art. It comes naturally to some, while others struggle to articulate their thoughts and feelings in a conversation.

One can miss out on their dream job, struggle to progress in their career, and lose potential customers and substantial deals due to poor communication skills.

This blog will help you gain a better understanding of effective communication and its importance in a working environment.

What is effective communication?

Effective Communication

Effective communication is vital for the success of a business irrespective of its size and domain.

It refers to the process of exchanging ideas, thoughts, and information in such a way that is understood by both—the sender and the receiver.

Effective professional communication includes explaining the company policies to your clients and answering their queries about your products and services.

It improves the relationship between a company and its clients, increases employee engagement, and enhances the overall efficiency of the team.

In simpler terms, the ability to get your message across is the difference between closing a deal and missing out on lucrative business opportunities.

Additionally, effective communication also plays a significant role in a remote working environment. When employees understand their roles clearly, it results in improved performance.

Therefore, management must ensure seamless communication internally to keep all the employees on the same page.

The importance of effective communication

importance of effective communication 1

Communication, whether written or oral, plays a vital role in the development of an organisation. It helps you attain your business goals, understand your employees better and perform basic management functions, such as planning, organising, and motivating.

It allows you to facilitate healthy relationships among your team members, provide constructive feedback and increase loyalty towards the organisation.

Thus, management must encourage its employees to adopt good communication habits to boost team spirit and build camaraderie.

Here are some ways effective communication can enhance your workplace environment and help your business thrive:

Improved team building

Improved Team Building

Honest communication among employees helps build a solid team. In fact, open communication between staff and managers creates a positive work environment and boosts everyone’s morale.

Good communication strengthens relationships, encourages fruitful brainstorming sessions and creates a sense of belonging among employees. It keeps their spirits high, which helps them resolve issues faster and more efficiently.

On the other hand, ineffective communication leads to confusion, misunderstanding and affects teamwork. Thus, the management should listen carefully, mindfully deliver their message and practise ways to communicate effectively.

In simpler terms, when employees are on the same page and have clarity about their work, they go the extra mile to achieve company goals and don’t let you down.

Resolved problems and mistakes

Problems and Mistakes

A clash of opinions is inevitable in a working environment, given personality, cultural or linguistic differences between coworkers. Employees may be burdened by an overwhelming workload or frustrated due to personal concerns.

But long-term misunderstandings can be avoided with effective communication.

Effective communication is not just about who is right and wrong. It’s about having an open and honest conversation to ensure everyone’s ideas are heard and needs are met.

On the other hand, displaying a lack of enthusiasm, disrespecting co-workers and seniors, and communicating vague guidelines and instructions comprise poor communication. These create silos and friction between colleagues. And siloed working results in reduced efficiency and collaboration, ultimately hampering the growth of the organisation.

Management can avoid these issues by assigning a mediator who can help with conflict resolution. Another way is to have one-on-one conversations with the parties involved.

Team building exercises like role reversal and identifying points of agreement and disagreement can also help.

A better work atmosphere

Work Atmosphere

Effective communication plays a crucial role in creating a healthy work environment for everyone in the company. It promotes a two-way flow of information between employees and management, which in turn eliminates confusion and frustration.

When employees are allowed to communicate their problems to the management without any fear, they receive effective solutions. This enhances their job satisfaction and performance.

And when managers clearly communicate the business’ targets to their team members, everyone is able to come together and achieve the common goal.

Therefore, expectations must be clearly laid out and leaders must avoid information overload to reduce uncertainty and ensure that everyone understands what is expected from them individually and collectively.

To effectively do so, leaders must connect and engage with colleagues and subordinates regularly. Employees should be encouraged to share their ideas and give feedback on processes to improve systems. Additionally, managers can organise group activities, workshops, team lunches, and run employee satisfaction surveys.

They should also discuss employees’ professional ambitions and endeavour to align individual goals with the company’s goals.

Along with that, managers can attempt to learn more about their team members’ skills and past work experiences. They may discover that their colleagues can actually wear multiple hats at work.

For instance, let’s say that you hire a customer service representative. But when you have an open conversation with them, you learn that they have extensive marketing experience as well. In such a scenario, you can encourage your employee to handle different responsibilities and even take an internal transfer into another department if they are interested in the profile.

Effective communication will help you create a balanced work environment and ensure all employees feel comfortable and satisfied with their work.

Amps up productivity

Productivity

Effective communication leaves little room for misunderstanding. It helps build good work relationships, improves time management, enhances productivity and fosters staff cooperation.

Open conversations allow managers to assign employees tasks based on their talent, identifying which employee would be best suited for the job. Doing so will improve team effeciancy and employees will take accountability for their work.

For instance, if one of your employees is well-versed with Microsoft Excel, you can ask them to manage spreadsheets. This will help you get work done faster but will also keep your team’s morale up since you won’t have assigned the task to a team member who doesn’t enjoy working with the tool.

Additionally, in a work environment where everyone can express themselves freely and share their opinions, employees tend to suggest out-of-the-box ideas.

All you need to do is cultivate an environment wherein employees feel confident offering innovative solutions without worrying about unhealthy criticism. Encourage them to challenge each other’s ideas and co-develop strategies to refine operations.

Better yet, reward successful innovative ideas by sharing them on social networking sites like Linkedin.

Excellent communication ensures that your employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities. It allows them to be proactive in their work and encourages them to push the boundaries when it comes to their contributions.

Satisfied and happy employees are the best brand ambassadors any organisation can have.

Remember, if your employees can transparently communicate and feel they can grow and flourish, your company will witness growth, both internally and with its customers.

After all, a team that feels good delivers better results.

Conclusion

Communication at the workplace is not a one-way street going from top to bottom. It’s more than that water-cooler gossip, fun work memos, and office banter. It includes clarity, consistency, and commitment to be effective.

And effective communication is the backbone of businesses irrespective of their scale and size. If you can interact freely, honestly and openly with your colleagues, you will promote trust and loyalty amongst your employees.

Thus, shift your focus to building good relationships with your employees. Take measures that enhance the overall efficiency and productivity of your organisation.

At Acefone, we help you build strategies and deploy solutions that can redefine communication at your organisation internally and externally. Contact us at 1888-859-0450 or drop an email at [email protected]!.

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Saurabh Sharma

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Saurabh is a content writer at Acefone. He is a fan of standup comedy, football, and Hindu mythology. He is fond of travelling to unexplored places, meeting new people, and having newer experiences that enrich his soul. Connect with him on Linkedin

6 Call Tracking Metrics You Should Pay Attention To

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

October 27, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

What is call tracking?

Call centers are the frontline workers for your business service. They are often the first touchpoint for customers for both pre and post-sale activities. With the right marketing practices, calls within a contact center can increase. Call tracking software is nothing but a tool to analyze these inbound calls.

Reports suggest that inbound calls have a 30% higher conversion rate than other web activities. But what marketing campaign or tactic led to a particular phone call? Did the call result in a conversion, or was the client lost?

To answer these questions, you need to implement a call tracking service. It will show which ads are generating calls to the business, allowing you to focus your budget on what works and attracts qualified leads. You can integrate call tracking software into your CRM and analyze the customer journey from your online dashboard.

Having the ability to track the customer journey provides numerous advantages, such as:

Customizing communication for various audiences
Saving time and money on attracting quality leads
Increasing sales and customer satisfaction

Now it’s time to concentrate on call tracking metrics that can help to improve your marketing campaigns and inbound strategy.

6 most important call tracking metrics to measure

1. Call volume

Call volume is the total number of calls a customer support department handles in a given period. Many businesses divide their call traffic into two categories:

Agent-answered calls
Automated system-processed calls, like those from interactive voice response (IVR)

This metric shows attribution statistics. It defines the success of specific ads and the contribution each advertising channel makes to sales. This information helps you better analyze your return on investment (ROI).

Detailed call volume reports reveal crucial call trends and are just as vital as collecting data on website visits. Suppose you are conducting A/B testing. Then, the number of calls illustrate the visitor’s reaction to your changes and helps you determine whether to introduce the modifications or leave things as they are.

Although the connection between increased calls and a new CTA isn’t so explicit, it can give insights into what works and what doesn’t.

Another benefit of measuring call volume is tracking SEO and PPC progress. Let’s take a Google My Business account as an example. How will you optimize it? The steps include:

Filling the forms with clear information
Adding fresh images
Responding to all comments and reviews

But are these undertakings beneficial? Call volume, along with other figures, will answer this question. If they increase, you can set new goals for driving more calls.

Refer to the image below that demonstrates how call tracking tools can represent call volume.

call volume

2. First-time callers

These are people with no prior experience of communicating with a company. First-time callers represent new business and potential buyers, so they require a different approach compared to repeat callers.

Existing customers are familiar with a particular account manager or support agent, so you direct them to their partners. On the other hand, first-time callers may require a specific type of business sales agent.

But there’s more to success than just a proper communication strategy. Callers have patterns that you can translate into data. This information helps customer service employees in providing the next first-time caller with a better experience.

Another piece of advice is to leverage whisper messages. These are notifications to customer support representatives that offer information on what ad the caller interacted with before dialing your number.

For example, a new lead clicks on an advertisement for an “eCommerce security audit.” The recipient will know how to serve that caller’s needs best or send them to the appropriate department.

3. Call duration

Having a lot of calls a day is good. But is there any sense in them if they last for less than a minute?

The link between duration and conversion is direct. The longer you communicate, the likelier the conversion. An uninterested customer won’t waste that much time talking to the company.

Try to engage callers in long, but meaningful conversations. And here, I emphasize that extending your discussion just for the sake of duration is out of the question.

An appropriate call duration means a support representative covers all the needed information, be it a sales presentation or a customer support call. What does the buyer need to hear? What time does the specialist need to say it while being concise?

Finding the right balance of content and duration will keep customers engaged and interested. Missing the mark will frustrate them.

The below image illustrates Acefone and Zoho integration to understand how long each call lasts and which campaigns result in the most successful calls.

call duration

4. Call location and time of day

How can call tracking boost marketing? It tells you when most conversions take place. While tracking the time of the day may seem frivolous, this information is essential for any advertising campaign, regardless of the services or products you offer.

This data shows if there’s a link between call frequency and the time of day. For example, do you have a spike in calls in the evenings or on Monday mornings? When does the demand for the services increase or decrease? Track these trends and use them to organize PPC ads better. The below image of the Acefone dashboard demonstrates where you can find this information.

call location and time

Suppose you’re a restaurant owner. After measuring call tracking metrics for a few weeks, you’ll notice that people call more around noon on weekends to book a table.

What are you to do with the rest of the week? It’s possible that working hours on weekdays aren’t popular for calls, especially if the restaurant is far from tourist routes.

The obvious choice in this scenario is to boost ad spending from Thursday evening through the weekend while reducing the number of advertisements from Monday to Thursday. In addition to this, you can also offer special deals or alter the message to attract the customer’s attention on low-traffic days.

The same applies to geographical areas. Businesses must target advertising and adjust bids for a specific criterion if the location of the leads is known. This way, it becomes possible to display the ads more or less frequently depending on where people are searching.

How does this help you financially? You save money on advertising in areas and time periods where no leads are generated.

5. Landing page performance as a call tracking metric

When visitors open your landing page, how do you engage and start the communication? There are various options that you can offer for contacting the company, including:

Adding a contact form to get in touch
Using the on-site chatbot to start an online conversation
Providing a virtual phone number

What happens when you count only on-site conversion? The conversion rate will appear considerably lower than if you collect statistics on the number of forms filled and messages left on the online chat.

Call tracking helps to compare inbound calls and form submissions in a customer journey. Which channel converts? Which one generates more revenue?

While form submissions may be easier to get, you may notice that calls are much more profitable. As a result, you must optimize the landing pages and PPC campaigns according to your needs.

6. Call source

Let’s assume you display the same phone number in social media channels, newspapers, ads, newsletters, and landing pages. How do you evaluate which campaigns and advertising generate the most calls?

That’s where Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) can help. It means using unique call tracking numbers for each channel. As a result, the call source becomes clear, allowing you to determine which channel the prospect has come from.

DNI provides the following benefits:

You can track separate campaign performance and compare their success with the same messaging
Dynamic phone numbers adjust to a prospect’s location and are displayed automatically so that customers won’t get confused with a list of different phone numbers on your website
Effective number management, that is, recycling unused numbers for future campaigns

To Sum Up

How can you understand the actual outcome of your call tracking and the whole marketing strategy? You need to leverage figures or call tracking metrics, including call volume, first-time callers, call duration, time of day, location, and contact source.

Complex marketing solutions need careful measuring of all conversions, so you can benefit from integrating call reports into your corporate CRM system. For example, what if it’s possible to cut down on costs during weekdays? Or learn whether the used social media channels generate more phone calls than newsletters?

You can pivot your marketing strategy as necessary by answering these questions and ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

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