Phone An Expert: Level Up Your Customer Service Game With Jeff Sheehan

Diksha Gusain

Author

Expert Opinion

January 8, 2021

7 mins read eye

Table of content

Economics is the story of supply and demand. As a business, learning the key characters of a market is important. You may supply the best product, but to reach the climax of the story, you need to connect with demand as well.

That’s where customer experience comes in. In a saturated market, the connection you build with your clients is what sets you apart. Therefore, providing exemplary service should be one of the top priorities for any successful business.

Here’s someone who can really help: Jeff Sheehan is a highly-skilled CX advisor and author from Dublin. With more than 25 years of experience in the field, he’s seen all the ups and downs of industries and tracked customer service trends actively.

He has worked with major organisations like Apple, Motorola, KBC Bank, and more. Recognised as a Top50 Global Thought Leader in November 2020, he has also authored a book on customer experience management.

Here are the highlights from our exclusive interview with him as he breaks down customer experience for modern businesses. Read on to get a headstart on your CX efforts and witness high business productivity.

Q1: Let’s hear about your journey in the field of customer experience.

I’ve been working in customer service in the technology industry since 1995. Starting as a field services manager, I led a team of field engineers in data centre computing and networking environments, and performed client service as well.

It was a comprehensive experience that set me up well. It paved the way to try out service sales, web hosting channel development, service desk operations, business process outsourcing, and consulting.

I’m fortunate to have a diverse background from working in technologies, commercial business, and customer service domains—all of which set me up perfectly for a role in customer experience management.

Q2: What do you think is the most important aspect of being a customer experience professional?

In terms of one’s background, I think having some depth in customer service is extremely important because it allows you to empathise with your consumers. You’re able to understand the dynamic tension between how your company operates and how that impacts real people.

Whereas in terms of making an impact as a CX practitioner, the answer would be leadership—especially the communication and collaboration aspects. The major problem most CX professionals face is the lack of authority to ensure necessary changes are being made. You need to earn your influence by communicating and collaborating with stakeholder colleagues and bringing them along with your ideas for positive changes.

Q3: How have CX trends changed over the years?

Customer service has transformed itself in so many ways, but here are three particularly significant examples.

Tactically, companies have adapted their operating models so that contact centre issues that cause friction for customers can be identified—in products, services, and processes. Earlier, we’d operate with more people to respond to higher demand, but now we realise that each call indicates something upstream in the business may not be working. Now we make use of data abundantly, and therefore, are able to better address the root causes of client issues.

Operationally, the Internet has changed so much in terms of the way things are marketed, transacted, serviced, and supported. The streams of data coming into businesses now are astounding and a real goldmine for understanding customers in depth. There’s no need for trial and error when you can tap into resources to gauge customer preference and behaviour patterns.

Strategically, a customer’s experience with a brand is now seen as a key dimension of differentiation in a world where everything is accessible via the Internet. Whole industries have been transformed by the Internet, and they’ve all embraced customer experience management as part of their strategy for their way forward.

Q4: Can you share some tips that businesses can follow to streamline their customers’ journey?

One of my favourite tips is this: Your processes are not the customer’s journey! Talk to your clients. Understand how your products and services are used in their lives and what they expect out of you. Then you can build your journeys around how customers want to buy, not how you want to sell. Believe me, there is a huge difference.

Q5: According to you, what are the missing elements in improving customer experiences that businesses are not aware of?

I would say journey orchestration. It is basically the process of bringing the customer’s experience to life and orchestrating journeys across all of the touchpoints—so they’re consistent, seamless, and easy to work with.

This allows you to eliminate confusion and overcome organisational silos. Journey orchestration includes aligning details such as digital copy and design consistency. Or maintaining the same messaging on the website, mobile app, and contact centre.

Regardless of whether journeys are digital or analogue, journey orchestration ensures they are working from the same “sheet of music”, as it were.

Q6: What’s the best way to ensure a seamless customer experience?

I have to say that journey orchestration, as I explained earlier, is the most effective technique. However, it’s worth noting that while ‘seamless’ sounds great, people need a little bit of friction to make an experience memorable.

For example, IKEA makes us walk through the entire store in one direction. Starbucks makes us wait for our name to be called for our coffee pickup. Apple has customers wait in a queue for a personalised sales and support experience, especially when the store is busy. These are small instances of friction that are deliberately put to make the overall experience connect the customer to the brand.

Q7: Irrespective of the type of industry, what advice would you like to give to businesses for improving their customer experiences?

For any new business, you absolutely need to define your mission, vision, values, and brand promises first. These things begin to set expectations with customers and will guide the types of customer experience your business wants to deliver.

For existing businesses that want to re-examine the experience they are offering, I’d say you should re-examine the values you espouse and the promises made or insinuated by your brand. Check if your customer feedback indicates their alignment.

It is very fashionable, for example, to say on your website that your company believes in sustainability. But if you mail paper documents to customers or don’t use recyclable materials in any way, your credibility is shattered at once.

Be clear about what your business does—and how—so customers know what to expect from you and you know what you’re aiming to deliver. If your business doesn’t set the expectations, the customers will, and you may never meet, let alone exceed those expectations.

Q8: Would you like to share some tips from your upcoming book Customer Experience Management: A Practical Guide For Getting The Job Done?

One point I’d like to make, which I’ve written about in my forthcoming book, is concerning leadership. I emphasise that the CX leader role, regardless of your actual job title, is indeed a leadership position. The CX leader may have positional authority over some staff and some processes, but it is unlikely that they’ll have authority over all of the stakeholders and resources involved with customer service, experience, or centricity.

This is where it becomes crucial to lead with influence, and advocate for the customer in every effort you are involved with as a CX leader.

Conclusion

Certainly, these tips by Jeff Sheehan stem from years of experience in customer experience management. By taking his advice into account, we hope, you’ll see a noticeable difference in your client relationships and therefore, better business performance.

разные способы получения и погашения займа

Acefone helps you put together a communication solution that suits you and your clients best. Using top-of-the-line tech, from dialers to downloadable data, you can design a contact center solution that fits your needs perfectly. Empower your contact centre with cloud-powered tools and ensure your agents are equipped to work productively and profitably at all times. This comes with a speedy, handheld onboarding process and 24×7 support should you ever have any questions. Try it yourself with our free trial. You can reach Acefone’s expert support agents at 0800-084-3663 or send an email to [email protected].

About the Expert:

Jeff Sheehan is a CX Consultant and Strategic CX Business Advisor whose specializations involve translating strategies to tactics and using them to improve customer experience and interlinking organizations by linking CX strategy and organizational transformation with analysis of the people, process, and technology infrastructure needed to execute the CX transformation.

He is also the author of a bestseller, Customer Experience Management Field Manual: The Guide for Building Your Top Performing CX Program in 2021 and was internationally recognized as a Business Strategy, CX Thought Leader, and Influencer in 2021 and 2022. You can learn more about Jeff’s opinions on his LinkedIn.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Diksha Gusain

Author

Diksha is a junior content writer at Acefone. As a tech-lover, she aims to bridge the gap between tech articles and non-savvy readers. She’s equally interested in pop culture and worldly affairs. And in her free time, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or discovering new music for her chaotically diverse playlist.

5 Ways You Can Implement Cloud-Enabled WFH Post COVID-19

Yukti Verma

Author

Expert Opinion

January 7, 2021

5 mins read eye

Table of content

After the global widespread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming increasingly clear that work from home is here to stay. So, is your business ready for a remote working model in the long run?

To keep employees safe, many companies have implemented a work from home policy—however, these policies were implemented quite quickly for most businesses and staff may not be as productive as they could be with a more robust strategy. So now is the time for business owners to start thinking about a long-term solution to ensure that their staff can complete all of their tasks seamlessly.

In this article, we will explore how businesses can prepare for a remote work environment in the longer term. Cloud communication solutions can help you effectively manage a business, regardless of geographical barriers. Let us explore some more features of this technology.

Improve team collaboration

A big concern for businesses with their staff working from home is isolation. Staff’s mental health could start to deteriorate and they may start to feel disconnected from the workplace if they do not have regular contact with their teams. Team cohesion is built over a long period of time, and working from home should not damage this hard work.

To keep everyone on the same page and ensure collaboration no matter where team members are, you can use the call conferencing feature on your hosted phone system. This feature allows staff to easily keep in contact with each other and conduct team meetings. These meetings can ensure that employees are all caught up with projects, and can be a good alternative for chatting and catching up in the office.

As a manager, you can use the call conferencing feature to update staff and distribute work without having to call each employee individually, saving your valuable time too.

Furthermore, teams can also use instant messaging features to stay in touch. Instant messaging can be a great way for staff to communicate freely without having to create long email threads. These messages are quicker and keep your inbox free for important messages. Encouraging staff to collaborate and keep talking is imperative in these trying times.

Do away with geographical barriers

One of the main features of a hosted phone system is its portability. Your staff can work from anywhere in the world with just an Internet connection, and from any compatible device too.

Employees will be able to work in the same way as they would in the office, with all outgoing calls appearing from their office number—even if they are using their personal mobile. This means that customers will not notice any difference in the professionalism and level of service offered.

The effectiveness of cloud-based communication services almost renders the office obsolete. If you have a hosted phone system, you can manage everything from your own devices using an online portal and staff can work as normal—so there may not be a need for a permanent office post-COVID-19.

With remote working implemented through your hosted phone system, you are now not restricted to hiring talented people in your locality, you can hire eligible employees from anywhere in the world!

With so many opportunities for growth, it’s no wonder that many businesses have already implemented a work from home policy to save time and money.

Manage staff from anywhere, on any device

As a manager, you may be concerned about managing your staff when they are working from home. With a hosted phone system, this is no problem. You can manage every aspect of your phone system and monitor employee performance from any compatible device. Companies can now manage complete contact center operations remotely!

By simply logging into your online portal, you can access employee performance, call waiting times, call costs and much more. You can also add or remove channels from the online portal, so you can bring in more staff to answer calls at busier times. With access to detailed information on your staff performance, you can actively manage your team from home.

If companies are to start working from home permanently, it is important to keep employees engaged and developing—not letting their training slip. You can use the online portal to listen to call recordings and use this information to help train staff members using these as mock calls.

Should a customer complaint arise, you can effectively deal with them using these call recordings too.

Keep data secure

Many businesses will be concerned about security if staff are working from home on a more permanent basis. With Acefone’s cloud communication solutions, you don’t need to worry about security issues.

Our hosted phone systems keep all data securely in the cloud. Our storage is fully compliant with PIC, FCC, GDPR, and CPNI, so your data is safe. Even with staff working on their own Internet connections (which may not have robust security measures in place), your data remains safe from attackers.

Staff should be encouraged to take precautions and safeguard the data by locking their devices when not in use so data remains confidential.

Acefone also stores your data in different locations, which adds an extra layer of security in the event of physical damage to office premises. If something should go wrong with your phone system, we can easily get it up and running––you don’t even need to leave the security of your home.

Even while working from home, you can rest assured that we will keep your data safe so you can focus better on core business tasks.

Work from home with your hosted phone system

A cloud phone system provides a range of amazing features which allow you and your team to work effectively from home for as long as you need to.

Cloud communication solutions remove the need for a physical premise without compromising on professionalism and service, and so it is the perfect solution for businesses finding themselves having to work from home on a more permanent basis.

If you’d like to find out more about how hosted phone systems can help you effectively work from home, call our team today on 1888-859-0450 .

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

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.

A 2021 Guide to Winning at Social Media Customer Service

Acefone Editor

Author

Editors Choice

January 6, 2021

6 mins read eye

Table of content

Back in the day, customer service began with exchanging messages through posts. Then came telephones––users could contact the companies at specified working hours to get their issues resolved.

Later, this era of telephones was overtaken by the Internet. Email communication was considered fast and cost-effective. Fast forward to today—social media channels rule the customer service arena.

Everyone, irrespective of age or economic status, uses social media these days. Its power is such that it can help your brand rise and fall almost instantly.

So, why leave this medium of communication unexplored? Businesses have begun to utilise social channels to build trust among their target audience and deliver seamless service.

The first thing customers expect is spontaneity when it comes to support. Social media is the way to go, since it is totally real-time and keeps you on your toes.

What is social media customer service?

As the name suggests, customer service delivered through social media channels like Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn to name a few, is called social media customer service. This medium helps you reach out to a larger audience and strike the right chord with them.

How is social media customer service executed?

According to a Smart Insights report, simply responding to a social media complaint can increase customer advocacy by 35% and brand loyalty by 65%.

However, like any other marketing strategy, social media customer service demands a systematic implementation. This is not an overnight process. For example, you may consider dedicating a workforce to social media service or just dovetail it with pre-existing teams.

Here are some points to keep in mind:

Decide what channels you will be focussing on.
Zero down on the type of messages you’ll use for this purpose.
You may choose from infographics, blog posts, videos, or podcasts to feed your target audience with relevant information.
Take care not to provide an overdose of information to viewers.
Share updates about your product or services with clients periodically.

With this brief idea, let us see how to use social media customer service to win over customers in 2021!

1. Begin with active brand monitoring

The first step to kickstart your social media customer service is proactive monitoring. Track social media for any mentions of your brand or keywords related to your offerings—closely and consistently.

You also need to determine the various channels your customers usually use or prefer engaging with. This monitoring system will help you identify negative and positive reviews of your business.

For example, say a customer buys something from your e-store and comments about the delay in delivery without tagging your brand. If you have a monitoring system in place, you will be easily able to identify this comment and reply.

You can explain the situation, apologise, and assure them that this will not repeat—or even offer a special discount as compensation. This proactive move will leave the customer happier, along with showcasing strong brand presence on your social media channel.

2. Shortlist the type of comments getting responses

All your comments may not get responses—and some may even attract negative replies. Your team should be well equipped to handle such situations. It is important to identify and filter the comments that are most important and need to be responded to immediately.

It’s also worth noting that social media channels are not dedicated customer support platforms. They may attract different types of comments. Given the Internet culture of this day, beware of feeding trolls. Also, make sure to set strict guidelines, pick critical issues that need attention, and manage problematic comments with care.

3. Let no comment go answered

Social media channels are open to the public. Though this unrestricted access is advantageous, it comes with its own set of challenges. Customers are closely watching you—free to comment about your brand in public. This can include feedback, reviews, complaints, or trolls.

Your teams need to be able to handle any scenario diplomatically. Moreover, you should remain transparent and deliver the necessary message professionally.

Let’s take an example. A customer bought your product online, but damaged it during unboxing. They demand a refund because of the sheer speed of the damage. However, your refund policy only allows for manufacturing defects—not user mishandling.

As much as you may want to oblige the customer, you can’t change set policies based on these encounters. So, it’s important for your agents to be able to convey the message reasonably and with minimal conflict.

4. Maintain a dedicated support channel

There are several customer service channels these days, including phone support, email, chat support and many more. However, social media channels need a higher level of monitoring and tracking capability.

This method demands spontaneity and caution when it comes to the type of responses provided. This is because a phone call or email message is between your representative and the customer whereas a conversation on social media is open for the public to witness.

You should make sure to specifically train a set of astute representatives to handle your social media customer service division with utmost diligence.

5. Separate the public and the private

Your interactions with customers will be mixed. Some may end up being pleasant, others quite decidedly not so. You need to identify conversations that must be directed to a private engagement.

For example, interactions that need personal customer information should be directed to a private chat. Or agitated customers who are tough to handle can be invited to privately resolve the matter. These moves will avoid public altercations and also facilitate open discussions between the customer and your team.

6. Avoid defensive reactions

Over time, you’ll surely face tough situations wherein the customer is inconsolable and uncompromising. You should ensure that these issues are properly escalated and taken care of immediately. The last thing your business needs is for agents to indulge in defensive reactions like deleting a negative comment, blocking a user, or not responding at all.

Train your team to offer mutually beneficial solutions. Seek the help of superiors if required. Take extra care to avoid an argument online with customers. These precautions will save your brand from dealing with negativity.

7. Track and measure your efforts

Like any other marketing strategy, social media customer service also requires appropriate tracking and measurement of metrics. The more data you collect from your social media channels, the more effective your tracking and your service will be.

Monitor any techniques that you may have used to handle customers. Check on different types of comments and responses on your forums. Most importantly, check your key performance indicators like first contact resolution, rate of customer satisfaction, customer retention, and rate of issues resolved.

Furthermore, you may consider customer survey responses to determine the level of customer satisfaction. This kind of tracking system not only helps you analyse your marketing strategy, but also allows you to identify staffing requirements for peak times when you may need additional workforce.

For example, there may be a time of the year when your audience seems proactive on social media channels. Identifying this period will help you launch specific campaigns on social media best-suited for your target audience.

Parting words

Humans are social beings—and social media gives us the platform to connect with them on a large scale. As we enter a work culture where the lines between formal and informal are starting to blur, social media acts as an effective way to connect consumers and businesses.

It takes just a single comment to build or spoil your online reputation. Hopefully, the above-mentioned points will throw light on the importance of social media customer service and a few ways about how businesses should incorporate it into their marketing strategy this 2021.

To know more about how cloud communication solutions can help you maximise business efficiency, talk to our experts on 1888-859-0450 or email us at [email protected].

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Acefone Editor

Author

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.

Some Fantastic Tips to Win Customers During Outbound Calls

Yukti Verma

Author

Contact Center

January 5, 2021

6 mins read eye

Table of content

Outbound calls can be a crucial part of your sales strategy, so it’s important to make the most of every single one. As salespeople, we know that customers aren’t always receptive to outbound sales calls.

However, there are ways to ease the customer’s reservations and turn a cold call into a productive conversation!

To some sales professionals, outbound calling can be a daunting prospect. No matter what stage of your career you are in, you can always improve your techniques to make outbound calls as painless as possible.

This article will explore some top tips for winning customers during an outbound call, and show how to convert as many calls as possible into sales and profit for your company.

Confidence is key

How can you expect customers to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself? Confidence is important for any business communication. Salespeople who remain confident even in the face of rejection or questioning are much more likely to convert that customer.

If you can confidently talk about your product or service, consumers will be much more likely to trust you and have the same confidence in your brand. If you ever need help in bringing out the sentiment, a script can help you get across all the important points—but be prepared to go off-script if the customer asks questions or engages with you.

When you’re making outbound cold calls, often the customer will never have heard of you. People are generally suspicious of unexpected calls and find them a nuisance in their busy lives. However, a confident sales team can encourage individuals on the other end of the line to open up and are much more likely to keep their attention.

Be more human

Alongside confidence, the tone of your conversation is important to engage a customer over the phone. Consumers are tired of robotic-sounding salespeople, who make it clear that they are required to make a certain number of calls and don’t really want to engage. This strategy simply will not work in your outbound calls.

We know that customers want to feel valued. Speaking to them on a more human level is a great way to engage them and have your call stand out as not just ‘another sales call’.

Hold a more natural conversation and answer questions in a genuine manner, rather than strictly sticking to a script. This makes clients more likely to purchase from your business and therefore helps you turn a profit.

A free-flowing conversation ensures you get a good idea of what that customer is looking for, and you can gain more insights into their business. This information can then be saved securely in your hosted phone system for your sales team to revisit with the customer on a follow-up call. You end up potentially selling even more products or services!

Listen to customers and gain more insights

If you’ve had a natural conversation with a customer, they will have revealed information about their business needs. They would’ve even mentioned something about their personal life. If you can take these details into account, you’ll understand how to gel well with the clients and cater to their inert needs.

Acefone’s hosted phone systems come equipped with an online portal, which all your team members can access at any time, on any device. This portal gives staff the opportunity to save detailed notes on customer accounts. Therefore, insights into client preferences can be stored securely here for the whole team to use on the next call.

Furthermore, if you listen to consumer issues before telling them how your product or service can help solve all their problems, customers are less likely to feel like they are listening to a ‘hard-sell’. Hard selling puts most people off, as it does not take a customer-centric approach and gives a poor impression of your business.

When making an outbound call, sales teams should always add value to the customer. So hard-selling should be avoided, and rather, you need to encourage your team to listen and engage with customers.

Make sure you are prepared for calls

With the current COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are working from home. This could mean that your workspaces now have more distractions than usual—from children to pets! When you’re making calls to prospective customers, it is imperative that you stay free from distractions and won’t be disturbed.

Disturbances can make a salesperson come across as unprofessional. While people will be more lenient during the pandemic, there is only so much patience a customer will have—particularly with an unexpected call.

To ensure a distraction-free call, make sure your workspace is clean and free of clutter. This means you will be much less likely to have your attention taken away from the call. It is also important to ensure that no one will interrupt you, so tell family members that you are not to be disturbed, so you can simply focus on the customer.

With a hosted phone system, sales teams can operate from anywhere in the world, simply with an Internet connection. They can use any device they want to and can benefit from call flipping. Meaning you can take a call on a laptop and seamlessly move it to your mobile device, keeping up with the demands of a busy sales person’s life.

This also helps you move away from distractions easily and the customer will never know, even if a flat battery or faulty laptop equipment almost ended the call!

Build a rapport

A great way to have a productive sales call is to build a rapport with a customer. Use their name often and try to find something you can connect with them over. This may mean doing a little research pre-call to find out something about their company or looking at their LinkedIn profile to see some of their recent posts or interests.

With social media, it is much easier to find common ground, even with a stranger. This personal approach will be appreciated by the customer.

Chances are, you don’t want to sell to this client just once. Having a rapport with the customer will mean that they will find you more likeable, and more relatable than a robotic salesperson.

Consumers are more likely to buy from someone they like, so building a rapport with the customer from the first call is an important way to create a lasting relationship and potentially increase future sales.

Conclusion

Outbound contact center solutions can be a great way to make a customer’s life easier, by proactively bringing solutions to their problems to them. You essentially cut out their need to trawl the internet for services.

Although these calls can be viewed negatively by customers, if you approach it correctly and are prepared for these objections, you can transform this negative experience into something productive and useful to clients.

If you’d like to find out how a cloud hosted phone system can help you be more successful in your outbound calls, call our team today on 1888-859-0450 or drop an email at [email protected].

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

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.

6 Reasons Why You Need Free Phone Numbers For Marketing Campaigns

Yukti Verma

Author

Contact Center

December 31, 2020

6 mins read eye

Table of content

Effective and out of the box marketing can help businesses build a strong brand image and reach out to a larger number of customers.

Businesses, both established and new, strive to create a great brand image and make consistent marketing efforts to establish their growing presence in the business world.

Customers may not recognise your products and services, but an effective marketing campaign brings your business in the limelight and helps finds the right audience. Free phone numbers are an important part of any marketing campaign. Using 0800 numbers in your marketing campaigns can enhance your brand in a number of ways, some of which we are going to explain in this article.

There are plenty of benefits of a free phone number and they can act as an important addition to your marketing campaigns. Here’s how

1. Open lines of communication between you and your customers

A free phone number opens up more lines of communication between you and your customers for a number of reasons. Mainly, as the callers are not charged for making calls on these numbers, there is no financial barrier to them calling you. Essentially the customer has nothing to lose, but everything to gain through your exceptional service!

Free phone numbers for marketing campaigns show customers that you are open to communication and are not placing any barriers between you and them. A business that encourages two-way communication is much more likely to win customer’s trust than a company which is difficult to reach, or costly to keep in touch with.

By using free phone numbers in your marketing campaigns, you give your customers an overall impression of being easy to deal with and a collaborative brand—something which many modern consumers are looking for.

2. Increase the professionalism of your business

Deploying free phone numbers imparts a professional edge to your business. That means your customers can directly call you on these numbers in case of any query. This makes your business appear more professional as you have a dedicated support team to get back to your customers.

No matter how big or small your business might be, you can use a freephone number in your marketing campaigns to add another layer of credibility to your marketing.

Often smaller businesses use mobile numbers if they are on the move—which can raise questions on how established and credible the business is. This issue is solved by using a free phone number with a hosted phone system, as customers will simply be directed through your hosted phone system to whichever device you are taking calls on—no matter where you are.

So small businesses can rest assured that they also can benefit from the extra layer of professionalism put across with a free phone number.

3. Increase your sales

Using a freephone number for your marketing campaign opens up communication, which can in turn increase your sales. With more customers able to proactively call you, your customer service team have more opportunities to sell your products or services to warm leads. Since customers initiate calls on these numbers, they might have a clear intention of either purchasing the product or doing further research. Each call can be turned into a lucrative sales opportunity for your business.

With a hosted phone system, you can use cloud call center solutions to handle those extra volumes of calls you will receive with a free phone number. Cloud call center solutions allow customers to call your free phone number and be directly connected to the next available agent, who can work from wherever they want to on their compatible devices.

Instead of struggling with the volume of calls, you can hire remote call center representatives to handle the work and ensure that you can make the most of every customer interaction.

4. Track calls from each marketing campaign

When you spend time, effort and money on a marketing campaign—you want to ensure that you get the maximum return on investment. With a vanity number or free phone number, you can use an online portal to track exactly where each and every call came from.

Smart tracking through your hosted phone system means it is simple to pinpoint where you get the most engagement from. Putting a different vanity number on each marketing campaign means that you can closely monitor calls, and put more budget into the channels that work for you.

Using these analytics can give your marketing team extensive insights into your customers and what they respond to, and this can be used to make effective campaigns in future. Using your online portal, you can access call recordings and see exactly what the customer called about through the detailed notes available to all of your agents.

By looking at the data you can then make more informed decisions and deliver personalised marketing experiences which drive profit.

5. Easy to remember vanity numbers

By creating a free phone vanity number, you can boost your marketing campaigns with an easy-to-remember number. Lots of successful advertising campaigns have used a memorable or catchy phone number which relates to their product or service, and this number can often become an extension of their brand!

For example, an online pizza delivery service can create a vanity number like 0800-GET-FREE-PIZZA to offer product discounts and promotional offers.

By choosing the right vanity number, you can create a marketing campaign which stays on top of your customers’ mind. These are great for radio campaigns where customers may hear a message about your business, but not have the number in front of them. By using vanity numbers you can help customers recall your number and get in touch with you at no cost to them.

A vanity number gives your marketing team a great opportunity to be creative and have a phone number which not only is memorable but helps enhance your professionalism and credibility too.

6. Create international marketing campaigns

A free phone number eliminates the hassle of changing your phone number according to your geographical location. This means that customers from across the globe can call you for free, opening up your business to a worldwide audience.

Overseas customers might not want to call a phone number which is clearly for a business in a different country. Even though your business is perfectly capable of handling their needs, you might miss out on this opportunity purely because your marketing contained a number with a different area code.

To ensure your marketing campaigns have a great impact internationally, a free phone number is a perfect addition. Not only does it remove cost to customers, but it means your geographical presence is not going to get in the way of a potential sale!

As this article shows, a free phone number can be an important addition to your marketing campaigns for a number of reasons. Whether you want to come across more professionally to prospective clients or want to take your business to an international audience—a free phone number can help you market to almost anyone in the world in a professional and engaging way.

If you’d like to find out more about toll free number with a hosted phone system, call our expert team today on 1888-859-0450 .

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

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.

Why Cloud Services Are The Backbone of The ITES Industry?

Acefone Editor

Author

VoIP Phone Service

December 30, 2020

6 mins read eye

Table of content

A typical IT environment demands servers, hardware, licenses, and software installation. Acquiring and maintaining these can be a tedious process that requires a sizable amount of funds, along with extended deployment cycles.

The emergence of cloud services has freed the IT/ITES industry from these herculean tasks. Cloud services enable businesses to virtualise IT systems and access applications on the internet through web-based tools. This saves infrastructural costs and other hassles that come with the upkeep of tradition hardware.

In fact, this survey states that the adoption of the cloud has increased three times, from 19% to 57%, amongst the organisations surveyed.

So, what exactly is the reason for this widespread demand for cloud services?

Let us delve into it.

What Are Cloud Services?

Cloud service enables you to access applications over the internet. This model is contradictory to the conventional method of using applications through servers placed on-premises. Applications on the cloud allow easy and centralised access to important data and files and offer complete scalability. They are completely managed by a cloud service provider.

Having said that, check out why cloud services are considered the backbone of the IT/ITES industry?

Boosts workplace productivity

Undeniably, the ongoing pandemic has shaken the way businesses function. Organisations have been pushed to explore ways to improve team communication, productivity, and collaboration in a virtual environment. Cloud services have proved to be a strong medium in this regard.

For example, even when your team members are working from home, they don’t need to depend on servers and hardware on-premise. They can simply access official documents through their personal device.

Furthermore, sharing files, video conferencing, or live streaming to catch up with colleagues from anywhere across the globe becomes child’s play. These capabilities help you perform at a consistently higher level, thereby positively impacting workplace productivity.

Even when it comes to reaching out to talented individuals, irrespective of their locations, cloud services make it possible without adding any extra costs.

Helps reduce the total cost of ownership

The most significant advantage of cloud services for the IT/ITES industry is cost savings on infrastructure. Typically, you may need to spend a lot to set up an on-premise IT environment.

Cloud services eliminate infrastructure and equipment costs. All you will need to do is specify your needs to your cloud service provider and your virtual environment will be ready to use.

Furthermore, cloud services come with an added advantage of zero maintenance. Your service provider is completely responsible for the maintenance of the entire set-up. This enables you to keep working at optimum capacity without having to hire a team, especially for the upkeep. This saves you a lot of administrative costs.

Enables to remain updated

Cloud providers keep all hardware and software updated in the best interest of their clients. Thus, upgrading your systems is a task that will also be taken care of by your provider.

This will free you from obsolete technologies and help you deliver optimal performance. You will stay on par with market demands and trends while working with cutting edge technology.

Allows better focus on core business

Though undervalued, this is an important advantage of using cloud service. Transitioning to cloud allows you to deploy the majority of your IT activities to the provider.

This enables you to re-allocate resources and capital on core tasks and helps you better utilise your time and workforce. The end result is enhanced productivity and performance.

Provides stepped-up security

With an on-premise setup, businesses often find it hard to adhere to security compliance measures, resulting in a compromised environment. This concern is eliminated with cloud service.

Businesses enjoy security measures such as multi-factor authentication, firewalls, end-to-end encryption and more. Moreover, providers ensure that their services comply with the latest security protocols. Thus, cloud services offer a state-of-the-art, less resource-intensive way to protect your sensitive data.

Ensures Backups and Disaster Recovery

With cloud services, your data is stored in centers around the globe in a distributed manner. This adds to the reliability of the services, makes sure a copy of your data is always available, and allows quick and effective data recovery in case of an emergency.

Furthermore, cloud disaster recovery is significant as it enables you to maintain a backup of your entire IT infrastructure in a separate location, which is not the case with standard on-premise backups.

Offers better scalability and flexibility

IT/ITES systems need to change with shifting demands and trends. However, increasing on-premise infrastructural capacity needs a considerable amount of funds which often forces organisations to use unfit systems. A dynamic advantage of cloud services is its capability of scalability.

Cloud services add value by easily scaling up and down based on your operational needs. For example, if your organisation is facing a surge in developmental requirements, all you need to do is notify your service provider. While he looks after the scaling process, you can continue to work uninterrupted. Again, you may size down to your initial infrastructure when the demand reduces.

Thus, the scalability of cloud applications not only allows you to promptly meet an unexpected rise in demands but also eliminates unwanted expenditure on idle infrastructural space.

Furthermore, cloud services are a boon to IT/ITES companies during mergers and acquisitions. They facilitate easy integration of applications when compared to traditional systems.

They also eliminate the need for massive investment and resources to migrate applications. Both the organisations can simply begin to function without any interruptions.

Allows Rapid Deployment

On-premise IT systems may result in operational hiccups and take weeks or even months to fully implement applications.

However, deploying cloud applications is a time-efficient process, to say the least. With all the state-of-the-art technologies and security protocols available, you are equipped to deliver your best. Cloud services back you with mission-critical solutions that help you in rapid deployment along with substantial benefits and minimal provisioning time.

Reduces the Carbon Footprint

Organisations are increasingly focussing on minimising the impact of their operations on the environment. Cloud technology helps achieve this goal as one provider can offer his services to several businesses. This helps in equal distribution of resources and reduces wastage.

Furthermore, their scalability also allows organisations to cater to their operational needs without taking up any additional infrastructural space.

It must be noted that organisations that have an on-premise data center cannot enjoy these benefits. They may either end up over-provisioning their IT environment or may need additional space to keep pace with their growing needs.

Cloud services take charge of this aspect and help businesses strike the right balance. They also reduce carbon footprint, thereby positively impacting the environment.

Parting Words

The benefits of cloud services are innumerable. They are vast and can be realised by organisations only when they begin to use it consistently. Hopefully, all the points that we just discussed will offer better insights into some of the advantages of cloud services and justify why they are considered to be the backbone of the IT/ITES industry.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Acefone Editor

Author

How Customisable Pricing Plans Are A Plus in a UCaaS Solution?

Yukti Verma

Author

Unified Communication

December 29, 2020

7 mins read eye

Table of content

Businesses have left no stone unturned to provide uninterrupted services to their customers amid the current pandemic situation. With the majority of the workforce working in a remote environment, it has become cardinal to explore mediums that ensure unified and streamlined communication across a distributed working setup.

Though fully-established organisations have the luxury of opting for communication systems irrespective of their pricing, SMBs are compelled to choose from the solutions that fit their budget. However, they shouldn’t compromise on the quality of services or features offered. This constraint is taken charge by Unified Communication as a Service model (UCaaS).

Let us understand more about UCaaS.

What is UCaaS?

Unified Communication as a Service is a cloud-based communication system ideal for businesses of all sizes. It comes with several features that include telephony and voice, audio and video conferencing, real-time messaging, and presence.

Adopting UCaaS has numerous advantages. To begin with, it eliminates the need to invest in any physical infrastructural set-up on-premise, being a cloud-based technology, setting up UCaaS is completely taken care of by your service provider. Also, your service provider will work on continuous updates and maintenance. This means you will have the advantage of tapping into the latest disruptive technology in the market at no additional costs.

Not just this, but UCaaS comes with customisable pricing plans that suit every specific requirement of your organisation. This comes as a boon in disguise for SMBs since they can choose the pricing plans according to their requirement and upgrade whenever they want.

So, how do these customisable pricing plans prove to be another feather in the cap of unified communications? Check out right away!

1. Boosts the adoption rate

According to a report by Markets and Markets, the global UCaaS market size is expected to grow from USD 15.8 billion in 2019 to USD 24.8 billion by 2024. This is a compound annual growth rate of 9.5%.

The key factors driving this growth are the increase in demand for UCaaS in large scale organisations and SMBs along with the growing preference towards mobility and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).

Unified communication as a service aims to eliminate issues that you may encounter during communication with your connected workforce. It majorly focuses on delivering high-end voice communication. However, it is coupled with the capabilities of AI that include intelligent call routing and sentiment analysis.

UCaaS has the competency to escalate a message from the customer to a phone call or a video call if the need arises.

Traditional communication systems demand the need to establish an on-premise infrastructure setup that may consume a lot of costs. Moreover, not all organisations are equipped with the technical know-how to develop and accommodate a communication system.

UCaaS is a cloud-based communication system that offers centralised communication across a distributed environment. Your service provider ensures to facilitate and take care of all the initial infrastructural and technical requirements. This means you will be charged only for the services you have opted for.

These benefits help to attract more organisations and compel them to use the UCaaS model in their working environment to ensure undisrupted services. Again, the capability of UCaaS to offer uninterrupted services improves productivity and growth of organisations thereby creating a win-win situation.

2. Offers better scalability

The current pandemic situation has left several businesses grappling to survive due to major economic slowdown and reduction in sales. Consider a scenario where you have adopted an on-premise communication system. You may have spent a sizable amount on the initial infrastructure.

As these systems demand continuous maintenance and updates, you may have to hire a dedicated team for consistently updating this communication system.

In the middle of this pandemic, when your employees work from a remote environment, there are chances for your usage levels to decrease or even increase based on the need for your products and services. Your on-premise communication may not be able to adjust based on your infrastructural requirements.

This may either result in you wasting the infrastructural space or working with a lack of the same.

This huge concern is taken care of in cloud-based UCaaS systems. Your service provider will be able to size up and down based on your specific infrastructural requirements. You will just need to inform them when there is a need.

The feature of customisable pricing helps reduce money spent on unused and idle infrastructural space.

3. Proves to be flexible

UCaaS comes with features of high-end flexibility and can be used based on the particular needs of your organisations. This cloud-based communication system drives uninterrupted operations across geographical locations.

Now when your employees work from remote locations, they will need to be equipped with tools that support them during work. This includes file sharing, document updating, and file transferring to name a few. They may also need access to centralised repositories of data. Integrating different business tools within your organisation might help streamline this entire process.

UCaaS offers customisable pricing plans that are best suitable for your requirements. You will need to inform your service provider about the details of the integrations required. Your payment includes just the additional development work implemented.

This kind of flexible approach supports you from adding state-of-art capabilities to your technical environment whenever required in a hassle-free manner.

4. Ensures additional benefits in disaster recovery, security, and business continuity

UCaaS, a cloud-based communication system, comes with disaster recovery capabilities that ensure business continuity. A cloud system makes sure to take constant back-up of your data.

This enables you to immediately restore business-critical data in case of a crisis. Disaster recovery includes many features like data transfer facilities and archive data repositories. They may also include data processing tools.

You will need to choose the features your organisation will need in case of a crisis. You should consider several scenarios ranging from a cyber attack to a fire in your data center. Again, this doesn’t mean that you cannot scale up the features. You are free to add capabilities to your list when you need them.

Furthermore, your service provider will ensure that your communication system is compliant with industry security measures. However, as your business includes customer sensitive data, you may prefer to add a few more security procedures based on your market need. This can be easily incorporated by your service provider.

Making sure of business continuity even after downtime is one of the major capabilities of cloud-based communication systems. This primarily includes identifying and checking for resiliency synchronisation in between business processes and IT infrastructure.

However, your service provider may perform a complete business continuity consultation if you need it. This will include steps like an assessment of your communication system, planning, designing, implementation, and testing of the system.

Your bill is solely based on the plans and features you choose. This ability to customise and adjust according to your requirement makes UCaaS the most preferable communication system amongst businesses.

5. Provides cost-effective services

As mentioned above, UCaaS does not need an upfront investment for the initial infrastructural setup. It offers you access to enterprise-level technology without additional costs. You will not need to spend on hiring a dedicated technical team to maintain the communication system.

All these are taken care of by the service provider at no cost or minimum expenditure. If you require additional updates or access to extra technologies, your bill is customised based on your tailor-made needs. This nature of customisation helps reduce IT spends along with helping you to dedicate your time and funds to core business activities.

Parting Words

The need for organisations to have a unified communication system in place has grown over time. Businesses will have to cut across geographies to collaborate amongst their teams and also augment their customer base.

Unified Communication as a Service proves to be an effective system that helps organisations establish hassle-free connectivity. Hopefully, the above-mentioned points offer a peek into a few of the advantages of customisable pricing plans UCaaS provides to businesses.

Contact Acefone at 1888-859-0450 or send us an email at [email protected] to get your UCaaS solution today.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

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.

Break Away From Annoying IVRs—Follow This List of Do’s and Don’ts

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

December 28, 2020

7 mins read eye

Table of content

The hard truth about Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems is that customers do not prefer them. Sometimes, all a caller wants is to speak to an agent and get their doubts solved pronto.

Though businesses incorporate an IVR system intending to cut down on call centre costs, they end up earning frustrated clients––so much so, that sometimes, callers may simply skip the menus altogether.

For example, they may press the designated button ‘zero’ to speak to an agent even if their issue does not need human intervention. In such cases, the purpose of the IVR is entirely lost.

This presents a serious dilemma: How do businesses strike the right balance between delivering maximum customer satisfaction and slashing down costs?

Let’s try to answer that.

We’ll begin by first discussing how businesses go wrong in implementing IVRs. Don’t:

1. Have one generalised system for all customers

IVR systems route consumers through different menus to ensure agent intervention only when it’s really needed. This helps them focus on critical issues while simple queries are resolved by the system itself.

Implementing one common route for all kinds of callers can have them moving around between departments aimlessly. Unable to find the answer they’re looking for, they’re bound to get irritated and may even cut the call.

You can’t risk losing premium customers or turning away new leads with this treatment. Not only will you probably lose opportunities to your competition, but your reputation will also be tarnished among clients and their peers.

2. Use complicated and unfriendly navigation

IVR systems are known to be mundane. But things get even worse when your menu includes industry or brand-specific jargon that goes above callers’ heads.

Faced with a variety of choices—and not understanding half of them—clients are likely to approach you in a sour mood, seeking clarity, and chances are you might lose them.

3. Have a lack of third-party integrations

An IVR system does take in customer information with its key responses, but it does not provide a holistic view of the caller’s context.

When a client returns with the same issue, the IVR alone cannot fetch information about their previous interactions. Instead, customers end up explaining the issue all over again. This lack of integration with other channels/tools makes your agents look uninformed and makes for an unpleasant experience for your callers.

4. Keep an outdated system

Customer demands and business offerings change with time. Often, there can be minimum or no coordination between teams managing the IVR and service offerings. This means that a change in the business offerings may take time to get updated on the IVR recording. People who use the service at this time may suffer due to the absence of synchronisation.

5. Forget to measure performance

Your IVR system is efficient in lowering call centre costs and reducing the number of calls routed to agents. However, it does not monitor these calls or tracks them to gauge performance. If you don’t opt for a feature that analyses all metrics, categorises them, and derives insights, you lose out on critical information.

6. Inappropriately incorporate promotions

Though it can be tempting to load promotional content right at the beginning of the voice response, customers may find it annoying. Most of the advertisements may not be relevant to the clients and will result in an increased wait time for them. This will, in turn, hurt their overall experience with your brand.

So what can you do to rise above such issues? Here’s all you need to know to make IVRs pleasant and convenient for users.

7. Facilitate multi-function/advanced IVRs

A multi-functional IVR system can access prior customer interactions. So when a repeat client calls you up, they are presented with a set of menu options customised to their needs.

This ensures that the query is either resolved within the menu or is appropriately forwarded to an agent if required. This intelligent call routing avoids customer frustration, increases first call resolution rate, reduces the need to internally transfer calls, and controls the number of consumers returning for the same issue.

8. Provide a callback option

Quite obviously, no caller wants to be put on hold. However, even effective forecasting may not be able to predict a surge in call traffic that necessitates call queues. In these cases, it is best to allow clients to ask for a callback at a time convenient to them.

This option also helps maintain the position of the customer in the queue. Furthermore, it allows them to manage their time well—they can go about their day’s work without having to wait for an indeterminate amount of time. Assured in the knowledge that their query will be answered soon enough, they remain happier with your business.

9. Use a high-quality voice persona

According to the 7-38-55 Rule developed at UCLA, 38% of comprehension of spoken communication is based on the way that words are spoken.

A high-quality voice persona that has a natural flow can have a positive impact on your reputation. Disjointed speech showcases your brand as uncaring and stereotypical. You should focus on the recording quality and select the right voice for your IVR system.

The more natural and conversational your voice recording is, the more comfortable your clients will be while using it.

Furthermore, an IVR with proper scripting elicits trust and assures the customers with an optimistic view of your brand.

10. Limit your IVR options

The most dreaded part of using an IVR is punching in numbers. Long menus that seem to lead nowhere except for more menus can turn your customers off pretty quickly.

Instead, focus on presenting short and simple menus that are easily understandable and user-friendly. These options should have a clear flow of information and allow the callers to easily connect to an agent if necessary.

11. Keep customers informed

Keeping consumers on hold for long may result in high call abandonment rates. Instead, you should use your IVR to announce the status of the call queue and the average waiting time. Do keep in mind that the callers should receive timely updates about their position in the queue.

You can also program the software to offer callbacks and send reminders about scheduled callbacks.

12. Appropriately order your menu options

Your IVR menu should be framed keeping in mind the customer demands. Analyse call data to derive frequently asked queries, and accordingly design the auto-attendant’s script and options.

Based on this data, the first IVR option should be the area that generates maximum traffic. Realigning your script this way will reduce the time a client spends on reaching the right option.

Ideally, the menu option numbers should be placed after a short description of the departments. This will give the customers sufficient time to process information and make better choices.

13. Maintain consistency

Customers don’t want to be surprised by your brand every time. What they experience once is what they take as the norm, and it’s what they will expect the next time as well. Therefore, it’s important to provide a consistent—and pleasant—experience every time.

The best way to do this is by adopting an omnichannel approach. All your customer-facing channels should be synchronised and consistent. IVRs should be able to integrate with other communication channels in your organisation.

This will keep the system informed about consumer history and context, resulting in consistent and informed interactions. It will also save the callers’ time by eliminating the need for them to repeat information.

Parting words

Customers do find IVR systems monotonous. However, there are ways for you to enhance your system and make it more attractive to users. The goal is to ultimately have happier and loyal customers while saving costs.

Hopefully, all that we have discussed in this blog provides an elaborate peek into how IVR systems are not utilised appropriately and ways to make it more interesting and convenient for your customers.

Still, got doubts about IVRs and how to get them for your business? Get in touch with our sales team at 0800-084-3663 and start your cloud journey now!

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Acefone Editor

Author

How Cloud Communications Have Helped The Government Navigate COVID-19

Diksha Gusain

Author

Contact Center

December 24, 2020

7 mins read eye

Table of content

As we get ready to leave behind 2020 and step into the new year, we can sit back and recap how things went—and how they’re likely to continue for at least a while in the future.

Businesses suffered, social lives went on a neverending pause––everything was shrouded in uncertainty. And this holds true for governments around the world as well. Except, they also had the mammoth task of handling the country and their citizens.

However, they kept communications going with the help of the latest cloud technologies, to prove their reliability.

In fact, the UK government signed a deal with Google that would grant the public sector discounted access to cloud services. Herein, we saw the popularity of Government as a Platform (GaaP) soar.

For instance, in October 2020, a new ‘dual-region’ UK government cloud was announced‘ with centers in London and Wales. The aim was to help organisations like the National Health Service (NHS) store and process data in a more secure manner.

Needless to say, the popularity of cloud-backed solutions is only going to soar now. So, let’s take a look at how the government adopted and further promoted cloud telephony in the year 2020.

1. Set up helplines

As all Potterheads know, Albus Dumbledore once said, “Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.” We’re not wizards, but we do have the right to seek help from those in charge.

One of the first plans of action undertaken by the government was to establish clear helplines. This includes the non-emergency 111 NHS number where you can call to get advice about your symptoms.

In addition, the NHS regularly posts updates and notices about government regulations and is also available as an app for wider access.

The support is not limited to treating infected individuals––it also helps people get isolation notes. A coronavirus helpline was also set up to help businesses and self-employed people with income support and job retention.

Besides a cloud-enabled free phone number (0800-024-1222), this service is also available as webchat. Here, you can talk to advisors about any tax problems arising due to COVID-19.

Additionally, people realised the dangers of a lockdown in abusive households as well as the toll it takes on mental health everywhere. Therefore, you have support lines for vulnerable groups too.

You can check out the UK supportline to get general advice about restrictions and businesses, NHS updates, and about availing support for sexual and domestic abuse victims, older people, young children, carers, differently-abled people, and much more.

For most of these helplines, you can leverage free phone numbers or vanity numbers and connect with local volunteer groups.

Cloud services make it possible for people in need to connect with the concerned authorities—at no extra cost to themselves. This ensures everyone gets the help they seek.

2. Telemedicine

The dichotomy of the situation is that as more sickness started prevailing, people seemed reluctant to go to hospitals.

Think about it. You have a terrible stomach ache that just doesn’t seem to quit. But you fear that hospitals receive so many infected patients that you may get sick by going there. So what do you do? Do you simply brave the pain and let your life and work suffer?

Not at all. Lay all your qualms to rest and simply avail telemedicine services. The government has wholeheartedly encouraged hospitals and clinics to provide their services online—via VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) or video calling.

Virtual consultations are not only safer, they’re extremely convenient. You don’t need to risk travelling––you can be home alone and still connect to a free cloud-calling service. The clinic can employ an auto-attendant and create a virtual waiting room, accordingly routing callers to the best-suited practicians via an IVR system.

Patients can also book appointments efficiently on the cloud and integrated tools ensure that everyone stays notified for a smooth flow.

3. Pre-call information broadcasts

Since people couldn’t freely meet others physically, it’s natural that phone usage increased. For those who aren’t in the habit of checking email or text updates regularly, it’s a great idea to play informational broadcasts when they make calls.

The idea is that when you dial someone up, before the call goes through, you hear a short recording of any important COVID-19 update. This pre-recorded message is sent as a cloud voice broadcast.

It can also be created as an outbound IVR, wherein the recording is interactive and you can feed in your answers with key inputs. Such measures allow governments to take stock of citizens’ health and needs in a simplified manner, and then do the needful.

Take this as an example: When you call up your friend, the first thing you hear is a recording that informs you of new restriction updates. Then, the voice asks you about your recent travel history. You press the relevant key and that’s it––you’re connected with your friend.

4. Contact tracing

The UK government has, for a while now, talked about its COVID-19 app. As recently as December 10, 2020, the NHS issued a privacy notice about a nation-wide rollout of the app.

With this service in place, it is expected that people can manage exposure by informing the most at-risk groups. Furthermore, with appropriate alerts, it allows you to take action in a timely manner.

So, if you came in contact with a person who tested positive, or if the risk status of your locality changes—you’ll get notified immediately. If you test positive, the app will request permission to make your code available to users which will then alert people who came near you in the possible contamination period.

The data collected will also help the authorities plan and execute COVID-19 management strategies better.

With cloud services, the process of contact tracing becomes all the more streamlined and smoother. You can receive broadcasts about updates, have tests scheduled quickly with a free call, and update your status even in a remote quarantine.

5. Emergency calling on the cloud

If ever we needed accessible emergency services, it’s now. That’s just what the cloud offers you—increased accessibility. If one is in an area with weak signal bars or doesn’t have the balance to make calls, they should not be excluded from receiving essential services.

Therefore, you have an emergency calling that is free and always available. Ofcom regulations make it compulsory for VoIP providers to allow emergency calls. So, if you’re stuck with only your office softphone and need to make a 999 call, you can absolutely do it via your computer—or any device you have at hand.

6. Informational campaigns

In a time of rampant uncertainty, it’s the government’s job to inform, educate, and support its citizens. Informational campaigns are vital to curbing panic and promoting healthy practices.

The NHS has come up with GOV.UK Notify, a cloud-based API that can be integrated with web applications or back-office systems. It allows authorities to send emails, texts, and letters to the users by sending an HTTP request to a provider.

This means, important information from the central government, local authorities, as well as the NHS can be relayed to citizens on the most widely used platform—their SMS inbox.

What’s next?

Clearly, 2020 has been a breakout year for the relationship between government bodies and cloud communications. Even though a digital transformation was on the rise, it was magnified manifold by the COVID-19 crisis.

All these changes we witnessed are here to stay. With people slowly realising all the benefits, we can expect 2021 to be a year of continued technological growth.

Important services like transactions are increasingly becoming online and cashless, educators are moving to e-learning, and businesses are undergoing a digital transformation. Cloud contact centers and unified communications are the norms now—not the exception.

Perhaps in the future, we can even minimise dreary public office queues and procedures, and take these conversations to the cloud.

As you can tell, there is a lot of scope for the field of cloud telephony in every sector worldwide. Whether you’re a startup or an established corporation, there’s something for everyone.

Get on-call with our cloud experts at 1888-859-0450 or drop an email at [email protected] to get started today!

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Diksha Gusain

Author

Top 5 Use Cases of Speech Analytics for Business Growth

Acefone Editor

Author

Business Communications

6 mins read eye

Table of content

Customer Experience (CX) is a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market. If businesses do not keep up with the latest developments in consumer service technology, they risk losing a chunk of their clientele to competitors.

With the rise of technology in the last couple of years, contact centres have also revamped and upgraded their systems. As the first point of contact for a business, these centres are not only responsible for ensuring the best possible response to customers, but also need to provide effective solutions.

One way to achieve this balance is to employ smart tools like speech analytics. Not just in business—we’ve all dealt with this technology in our personal lives as well. Think Siri, Bixby, or Alexa.

The power of speech analytics manifests itself in our day-to-day lives, and we’re already aware of its ease of use, convenience and functionality.

But how does it help businesses? What do they get out of it? And why should they use it? We’ve got all these answers:

How Does Speech Analytics Help Businesses?

Picture this: you’re sitting in your office, listening to hours of customer call recordings to create an effective strategy for your business. Sounds taxing, right? This is where speech analytics comes to your rescue. Aimed at reducing endless hours of recording to useful and applicable insights, this tool significantly boosts business productivity.

What Do Businesses Get Out of Speech Analytics?

Instead of combing through lengthy call recordings and transcripts, speech analytics gives you direct access to just the data you need. By delegating the task of sorting through large amounts of data to automation, it presents only the valuable insights.

Why Should You Use Speech Analytics?

Speech analytics is helpful for businesses looking to gain an edge over competitors. If extended carefully to all departments, the insights obtained can help drive growth and engagement.

Here are the top 5 use cases for delivering business value with speech analytics:

1) Workforce Management and Compliance with Guidelines

One of the most significant aspects of any organisation is how the employees are performing. Whether it is the call duration rate or the ability to provide effective solutions—everything contributes to business growth as well as customer retention and acquisition.

The question that arises is: how do you do it?

With a large workforce, it is almost impossible to analyse each and every individual in-depth. Speech analytics is a simple tool that will help you overcome the problem. It will not only help make the data comprehensible but will also identify any individuals that require special training, focus or mentoring.

The analysis of the data also helps you determine if the workforce is adhering to company policies and guidelines. If employees are aware that every call is being monitored and analysed, they will put their best foot forward, leading to better customer satisfaction. Speech analytics can thus lead to effective employee management.

It is true that the customer is king. But who’s to say if the intention of the customer is always correct? What if there is a danger of fraud looming large on the business’ head? In such cases, speech analysis can help predict and identify any suspicious behaviour that may jeopardise operations.

2) Identifying Common Phrases and Better Assistance

For businesses, it is of utmost importance to understand the main pain points of their customers. Now, the best source of this information comes from daily interactions between your agents and customers. You can analyse the conversations between them to identify commonly asked questions and train your agents to swiftly resolve these queries.

Speech analytics takes this process to a completely different level. By utilising machine learning and NLP algorithms, speech analytics can also figure out the sentiments of your customers and most-used keywords during a conversation.

For example, if your customers constantly mention your competitors during calls for a certain reason, you can modify your pitch accordingly for a more positive experience.

3) Aiming at Better Agent Performance

With the large influx of calls in a day and almost an overflow of customer queries, it is almost impossible to individually monitor each agent call. Businesses need an effective way to ensure employee compliance with company guidelines, behavioural standards and a solution-based approach.

What a business needs is a positive growth chart of agent performance over time. With speech analytics, supervisors can properly assess customer calls and zero in on keywords and catchphrases. This would help them identify proficient performance areas as well as points to improve.

In addition, speech analytics also analyses the language and tonality of customers and agents. It specifically looks for sentiments and other inputs that can automatically be scored against multiple criteria.

4) Identifying Customers Who Require Live Assistance and Effectively Routing Them

Undoubtedly, customer experience is of utmost importance for any business. According to a survey by Deloitte, 85% of respondents said that customer experience was the main driver behind call centre investments and enhancements.

And it is a business’ responsibility to deploy the appropriate support channel for its customers, wherever required. So while an app-based AI may be good for scheduling a call, a chatbot may be better for initial support.

But there may be times when your customers need a more hands-on approach—perhaps they can’t find what they’re looking for or have an urgent issue. They want to connect with a real person and get their doubts sorted.

In such circumstances, when customers require more personalised service, speech analytics will come handy. It’ll help leaders identify the need for human intervention vs tasks that can be handled by AI.

Similarly, the tool will be of great help in matching the right customer and agent. If a client is looking for a particular solution, they can be patched to the most skilled agent in that domain. Therefore, you can enhance the user experience for all.

5) Increase in Sales

Customer behaviour is just as important as your business practices. So one of the motives of a business is enhancing client relationships with greater sales and offers.

But what is the right time to make a sale? When should you approach your customers? You need to understand your audience well before approaching them to establish a relationship.

Speech analytics to the rescue—yet again. It can successfully predict when to make the sales pitch by identifying previous interactions and sentiments of the customers.

By perfecting this process, you can eliminate unproductive behaviours that do not lead to sales. The previously determined data can highlight indicators of a successful sale.

Conclusion

For any business, the name of the game is customer experience. If you have a wide clientele, there’s bound to be huge amounts of data to sift through to effectively strategise.

Speech analytics is a powerful, adaptive and easy to use tool that allows businesses to go through large data and make it comprehensible. Not only will this be effective for your agents but also for your customers.

Right from reducing the workload on your staff and generating more sales to identifying customer patterns—speech analytics help you do it all easily. You can now manage your resources and the skill set of your workforce on a large-scale, not just for one department.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)