Why Your Call Centre Should Have Low Average Speed of Answer

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

February 8, 2019

6 mins read eye

Table of content

A call centre’s success is dependent entirely on what quality of customer experience it offers to its audience. To measure the service quality, there are few metrics which have been set in place to generate an idea about where a call centre stands among the competition. One of the most critical criteria that says it all about a call centre is the Average Speed to Answer (ASA). This self-defining metric of quality is what we’ll be discussing in detail in this article.

Basic Overview

ASA for a call centre can either make or break their path towards success. ASA tells the consumers how reliable, quick and efficient a call centre can be when it comes to delivering quick answers to customers. It is measured as the average time it takes for a call centre to answer incoming calls. The most idealistic call centres have the lowest ASA numbers which mean that they can reply to a customer inquiry almost instantaneously.

How To Find ASA For A Call Centre?

Finding the ASA for a call centre is as easy as calculating the average of the waiting duration within calls. For example, if there was a total waiting period of 30 minutes of 10 incoming calls, the ASA can be denoted as 30/10 which comes out to be 3 minutes of average waiting time for answering an incoming call. As it might be obvious, higher ASA numbers mean that a call centre takes more time to answer calls than what is desired and hence, speaks of their unreliability.

How Can A Low ASA Benefit You?

There are innumerable benefits to boast a low ASA score. Some of which are detailed as follows: –

1. Reduced Abandonment Rates

Abandonment Rate, in regard to a call centre, is defined as the number of incoming calls that are dropped before their query gets resolved. It is crucial to have low abandonment rates to provide a better customer experience. If a call centre has a low ASA number, then it technically means that they take relatively less time to answer an incoming call which further means that there are fewer calls being abandoned.

2. Reduced Costs

If a call centre has a low ASA score, then it means that there are more than enough employees engaged in answering incoming phone calls. Since the more a call has to wait before being answered, the more are the costs that the call centre has to bear to sort out the long waiting queues. A higher ASA number can be a probable sign that a call centre requires more hands behind the company to function properly.

3. Lesser On- Call Durations

The more a customer has to wait in the queue to get their query answered, the more frustrated or angry they will become. It’ll always take longer to end a frustrated customer’s call since they initially need to be pacified before they can clearly express their queries. This adds to the on-call durations which ultimately leads to longer waiting queues for other customers. The cycle repeats itself with every frustrated customer. Hence, a lower ASA is considered ideal to reduce total on-call durations and by further derivation, simplify the entire process of answering calls.

4. Increased Agent Satisfaction

When the agents don’t have to deal with frustrated customers, it increases their level of work satisfaction. This increase in satisfaction among employees implies a reduced number of unhappy agents which ultimately means more hands are answering calls. Moreover, if the employees are satisfied with the workspace, they inevitably will give in the best of their efforts towards their work which also mean increased customer satisfaction.

5. Increased Customer Satisfaction

When customers don’t have to wait in long queues before they can state their query for resolution, it leads to an overall increased customer satisfaction rate. Along with the reduced waiting times, since a lower ASA also guarantees a better agent satisfaction, customers would be treated well by the agents which further enhances the customer satisfaction rate.

6. Better First Call Resolution Rates

First Call Resolution (FCR) is defined as the situation where a customer’s query is answered within the first call they make to the call centre. A better FCR rate essentially symbolises that a call centre agents are well-versed with the frequent queries and are capable enough of solving them within the first attempt.

Since a lower ASA number means less frustrated customers, agents can clearly understand their problem and therefore, can come up with an appropriate solution. Since customers prefer calling in when there is a high FCR rate, a lower ASA score becomes ideal in this scenario.

7. Increased Number of Leads

If a call centre can report an increased customer satisfaction rate, it would mean an increased inflow of leads which further translates to an increased income for the company. An increased number of leads would inevitably mean more potential for scalability for a call centre in the future.

8. Increased Agent Efficiency

When an agent doesn’t have to divert their focus on pacifying customers, they can strategise their efforts in solving customer’s query.

How to Decrease overall ASA?

Reducing ASA demands consistent efforts and dedication. The following are a few steps that, if followed diligently, are efficient in reducing ASA significantly:-

1. Implement Mock Tests

A high ASA can be a probable cause of an understaffed company. The only solution to the same would be to hire more reliable agents into your company.

2. Implement Mock Tests

A high ASA can also mean unsatisfactory performance of few agents. As a solution, one should implement mock tests that simulate a conversational environment like that of answering an actual query of a customer. This helps to analyse each agent’s reply towards a specific query from the customer and hence, would help you to pinpoint the root of the inefficiency.

3. Organise Incoming Calls

You should ensure that incoming calls are directed to agents in a fair manner and not all towards a single agent. By ensuring this, you would be distributing the calls equally among the employees who can then answer calls within the minimum period.

4. Implement Newer Technologies

Within advancing technology, one should embrace every enhancement towards in the current technology and should be open about implementing change for the better. A prime example would be the use of artificially intelligent bots to answer the frequently asked questions for the customers which only redirects the call to a human agent if requested so by the customer. This would significantly reduce the waiting queue and will further improve the ASA scores.

5. Train Your Agents

An extensive training session for the agents before they directly come in contact of the customers can go a long way. Agents without an appropriate training program would usually have difficulty in answering a customers’ query within the first call which drastically effects the FCR rate of a call centre and hence, takes a toll on the ASA scores. Therefore, an exhaustive training program for the agents is essential to maintain a low ASA score.

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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.

Auto Attendant vs IVR: Which Solution to Choose and Why?

Acefone Editor

Author

IVR Service

February 5, 2019

4 mins read eye

Table of content

Having the right telephony phone system is imperative for running a successful business. With the advent of new technology, it has become important to select the most advanced tools to ensure proper and efficient functioning of an enterprise. Auto Attendant and IVR are two similar systems of telephony though they undoubtedly have some notable differences. Additionally, these systems are quite renowned in the world of business because of their utility and efficacy.

Auto attendant, also known as auto-receptionist, refers to a telephony system that routes the calls to different destinations such as mobile devices or landline phones, without the intervention of a human operator or receptionist. Many auto attendants also offer a simple menu system which provides the users with a number of options. These options can be used for navigating through the system. In addition, a digital receptionist may also allow a caller to contact a live customer service agent.

On the other hand, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a smarter auto attendant. The technology allows the users to communicate with a computer through Dual Tone Multi-frequency (DTMF) signals generated by the telephone keys. IVR offers a sophisticated and advanced level of interaction with the callers.

Difference between Auto-attendant & IVR

It is feasible that auto attendants and IVR systems may offer the same capabilities and perform functions in a similar manner. However, it cannot be denied that these two telephony systems have some great differences.

First and foremost, an automatic attendant revolves around the telephonic options that you receive when you call a number. It transfers calls to various accessible communication platforms on the basis of your needs and requirements. Whereas, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is better in terms of interaction, response and technology.
An auto attendant lacks voice recognition technology and this is where IVR comes into play. It offers a much-advanced level of interaction with the computer.
It is true that both the systems of telephony aim to get rid of human intervention. Nonetheless, IVR indeed has a better interactive ability and offers more options in comparison to an auto attendant.

Which Option to Choose & Why?

There is no doubt that the auto attendant is a great and efficient telephony system. However, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a better technology in terms of performance and the results that it delivers. Here are some of the advantages of choosing IVR over the auto-attendant system.

1. Enhanced Customer Service

By making proper use of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, a client will feel more satisfied with the prompt and quick service. An immediate response will be provided to the customers once they pose a question or make a query. A customer can save a great deal of time with the speedy and informative response just by following all the essential instructions from the menu. Customer wait time will reduce along with the high call volume since the call will be answered in the first ring without any delay.

2. Better Production

It is clear that call routing results into better process efficiency. Routing is quite advantageous as it saves time and enhances the overall efficacy. Along with that, it allows entrepreneurs and businesspersons to prioritise call as well. Additionally, the waiting time declines and your company is able to handle a large volume of calls with the assistance of IVR systems.

3. Efficacious Call Routing

The information from the caller is collected by the IVR system. The issue is addressed by the agent after the call is successfully routed. An IVR system can undeniably lead to a great decline in the holding time. Eventually, the fast response time and excellent quality of service offered by IVR will ensure that all issues have been solved and the customers are happy with the results.

4. Progressive Speech Recognition

The speech recognition becomes advanced as IVR can recognise multiple words at the same time. In this way, customers can get a quick response. The system will direct inbound calls in a speedy way with the combination of directed speech and button pushing.

5. Reduced Costs

IVR system significantly reduces customer service costs. It is even cheaper than IM and SMS interactions. Anyway, the automation rates are bound to increase if the managers offer the customers with several options to meet their specific requirements.

6. Self Service Options

The best thing about an IVR system is that it makes the clients self-sufficient. This leads to the improvement of overall customer service. Moreover, the customers can get prompt service along with the reduced waiting time. Another advantage is that customers can make inquiries according to their need. In addition, the simple and easy menu options are an added benefit.

7. Personalised Caller’s Information

An IVR which has been designed with caution and dexterity works in an extremely efficacious way. IVR does not only benefit the company but the customers, as well. They get instant updates about the subsequent sales and special offers by using the modern system of telephony.

Still confused about choosing IVR, read more through this blog here-how choosing IVR steps up your businesses’ customer experience.

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10 Points to Add in Your Checklist While Testing IVR – Part 2

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

January 30, 2019

4 mins read eye

Table of content

In part 1 (10 Points to Add in Your Checklist While Testing IVR), we had explored below IVR testing points which companies should check before launching their IVR for customers.

IVR Greet Callers Warmly
IVR has Limited Menu Options
IVR Announces the Option Before the Description
Self-Help Options Are Providing Correct Results
IVR is Giving the Option to Connect with an Agent

Continuing the IVR check, in this part, we will discuss five more testing points to ensure your IVR delivers accurate and high-quality query resolution.

6. IVR has Minimum Average On-Hold Time

This is an indispensable part of IVR testing. Most customers are not willing to spend their time waiting in queues while using IVR.

In a study which surveyed 2500 customers, more than 60 per cent believed that they are not pleased to be kept on hold for more than one minute. And 32 per cent answered– keeping on hold should be eliminated while using such an efficient method of communication.

Thus, it is evident that having an average on-hold time which nears up to one minute or more is dreaded by the customer. As a result, you need to deploy optimized routing and call-queue strategies to ensure minimum on-hold time and maximum process efficiency.

7. IVR Understands DTMF/Voice Responses Correctly

Voice and DTMF responses are the two popular methods used in IVR for customer interaction. These options ensure that customers can find answers to basic queries without human assistance. Hence, you cannot afford to overlook this basic IVR functioning while testing its effectiveness.

To ensure your IVR can comprehend and distinguish different customer responses, you must test all the possible customer responses. In the case of DTMF inputs, make sure all the touch tones are recognized accurately by the IVR system. On the other hand, in case of voice responses, ensure all kind of human voices and tones can be understood by your IVR system accurately.

8. IVR Can Handle Unexpected Call Overloads

Not testing the call load capacity of the IVR is a major mistake made by businesses. It is easier to handle the lower number of calls when the business is growing at a steady pace. But to handle the rapid rise of the business or sudden surge in the number of customers, an IVR needs to be well-designed and thoroughly tested.

Therefore, if you aspire to scale your business in future, consequently, the number of callers, then you must test the number of calls IVR can handle smoothly. Perform rigorous call load testing to ensure your IVR can large number of calls.

9. Call Routing Strategies Are Correctly Mapped with Departments

Every caller should be routed to the most skilled agent to maximise the effectiveness of the query resolution process. It not only makes the process easy and quick, but also increases the First Call Resolution (FCR) of the call center.

However, if the routing process is faulty, i.e., routing structure is incorrectly mapped with the departments or agents, then repercussions can be increased waiting time, inefficient query resolution and as a result, dissatisfied customer.

To avoid any such routing inconsistencies, check your routing structure and strategies. The algorithm used for call routing should connect different departments accurately as per the caller’s response. Call routing strategies such as skill-based, priority-based and more, can be implemented to optimise the call flows.

10. Error Handling on Incorrect Input

While interacting with IVR, there are high chances caller might press the wrong key input. Reason for such situation can vary from a simple human error to figuring out the right menu option for the customer’s query.

The problem arises when a customer gets stuck in the endless loop of menu options due to error in response. Consequently, with no other solution, the customer is forced to disconnect the call. As a result, it knocks down the overall customer experience of a brand.

Thus, it is imperative for an IVR to test such error possibilities and provide solutions to handle them. Exit options such as “Press * to go back to previous menu option” can be of great relief while handling such erroneous situations.

Conclusion

Testing is a fundamental step in any product development. In addition to handling an error, it provides a real-world usage of the product and informs you of the possible loopholes, beforehand. As IVR will be used by wide number of customers including potential as well as existing, the importance of IVR testing increases by multi-folds.

The above points are few of the IVR testing cases which you can implement. However, to exhaustively test your IVR, you need to be well aware of your customer’s pattern and expectation which varies as per industries and businesses.

To understand more about how IVR works, read this blog post or call us.

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10 Points to Add in Your Checklist While Testing IVR – Part 1

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

January 25, 2019

4 mins read eye

Table of content

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is getting widely adopted by businesses irrespective of their size. And the reason behind the wide acceptance of IVR has been the acceleration in efficiency it has offered to everyday business processes. IVR has also been a lifesaver in handling mundane tasks such as answering a never-ending number of phone calls or solving basic customer queries.

While IVR has become a popular option among business, on the other hand, there are a significant number of customers who encounter a disappointing IVR experience which hampers their customer journey with the brand.

So, in order to avoid poor customer service, a company needs to put in their best foot forward while designing an IVR. Before getting started with the development, it is important to create a blueprint of the IVR by keeping in mind all the touchpoints of customers’ journey.

Once the IVR is developed, the next step is to perform IVR testing before putting it to use. However, in haste to launch IVR this step often gets neglected by the businesses, and they end up delivering unsatisfying customer experience. Thus, before putting your IVR in customers’ hand, companies should invest time in IVR testing in order to examine the delivered customer experience.

Let’s have a look at the below checklist which will equip you with points for thorough IVR testing.

1. IVR Greet Callers Warmly

It is important for your IVR to welcome every approaching customer warmly. Therefore, the persona and voice used in the IVR should be welcoming and natural. If voice greeting of your IVR sounds robotic, monotone or less humane, then possibility of losing the customer in the first point of connection increases drastically.

Thus, always make sure that your IVR welcome message

Has a warm, clear and audible voice
Does not use industry jargons
Has a consistent voice texture throughout the IVR
And is not filled with company introduction or offers

2. IVR has Limited Menu Options

The customers want to be quick in finding the answers to their queries. Overcomplicated menu structure can affect the efficiency of the whole query resolution process as providing more than 3-4 options confuses the customer. High chances are that most customers might even forget the initial menu options till the time they reach the last option.

During IVR testing, inspect if the number of menu options provided to the customer is more than four. If the list contains more than 4 options, then you must evaluate the importance of every option and trim it to the minimum.

3. IVR Announces the Option Before the Description

Press 1 to connect with the Sales department.

We are familiar with this IVR approach where the option (Press 1) is stated before the description (to connect with the sales department). But only a few companies have realized the setback of this approach.

Announcing the option before the description affects the recall of the option. As IVR has a list of options to announce and customers have a short attention span, the probability of customers remembering the option after the description reduces to a great extent.

In such scenarios, the customer is left with no other option other than traversing through the whole list again. Thus, to eliminate any such scenario, always make sure that description is stated prior to the option, such as

To connect with the Sales department, Press 1

This multiplies the chances of receiving an accurate response in the first attempt and reduces customer frustration.

4. Self-Help Options Are Providing Correct Results

Every quality IVR is designed with self-help options to ensure their customers can resolve basic queries on their own without having to wait for the agent’s assistance. These self-help options provide a speedy issue resolution to customer queries; thus, are the most preferred choices by customers.

As the customer relies on a self-service option to find answers, it becomes highly critical for the business to ensure their IVR provides accurate information. So, while testing your IVR system, ensure your self-help options are working correctly.

5. IVR is Giving the Option to Connect with an Agent

“Connect with an agent” is the second important option after self-help, which a customer looks for while using an IVR. So, along with other menu options, it is imperative for the business to provide an option that can connect them with an agent.

During IVR Testing, make sure to provide an option to the customers which connects them directly with the agent without any added hassle. Also, ensure to place this option in the first level of IVR to avoid any complexities in the search process for the customer.

We will discuss the remaining 5 points in our next blog – IVR Testing Part 2.

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How to Enhance Customer Service Using Voice Broadcasting

Acefone Editor

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Voice Broadcasting

January 16, 2019

4 mins read eye

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In the business world, the customer is the ultimate boss. Every company aims to provide its customer with an undaunted experience, be it during sales or after-sales support. Voice Broadcasting is one such customer-service tool which ensures a quality customer experience.

The first customers of voice broadcasting were the general public, targeted by the government to share information.

The broadcasting of music and talk via radio started experimentally around 1905-1906 whereas commercial usage came into existence around 1920 to 1923. The first broadcasting, however, was a morse code transmitted from a temporary station by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895.

Later, commercial businesses found various methods to voice broadcasting in order to enhance customer service and attract leads. Two popular methods used to create marketing leads with voice broadcasting involve firstly, delivering a pre-recorded interactive message and secondly, the voicemail message. However, nowadays various methodologies have been developed to enhance customer experience.

In this blog, we’ll be looking as to how customer service is enhanced with the help of voice broadcasting.

PERSONAL TOUCH

In contrast to a written message, with voice broadcasted message a customer experiences familiarity rather than the distant feel of texts. It provides a comforting experience to customers. Moreover, voice broadcasted messages can be customized with regards to what influences each customer.

Also, a policy of gratitude expression, such as “Thank you for calling XYZ company”, is also being employed by companies to express their indebtedness to each customer. These personalized messages at the end of every voice message add warmth to the customer experience, which was previously possible in only person-to-person interactions.

CONSISTENCY

Using voice broadcasting, a company can maintain message consistency while reaching out to their customers. Without voice broadcasting, a company needs to hire callers in order to communicate with their customers; this makes the process a lot slower. Moreover, the chances of providing the same experience to every customer become dimmer, and the scope of message inconsistency during calls affects the whole experience.

Also, the limit on the number of simultaneous calls renders the process hectic. On the other hand, with voice broadcasting, a company can ensure on-time delivery and can out-dial and retry each unanswered call.

WIDER RANGE OF AUDIENCE

With voice broadcasting, one gets to reach out to a wider range of audiences. Businesses can easily reach out to people living in different parts of the state/country and to people who did not get the opportunity to learn to read or write.

This is also handy when a company wants to reach out to customers who are visually impaired. In the case of customers with such challenges, voice broadcasting takes another step forward to exterminate the line of differences among people.

CUSTOMER REMINDERS

This is counted as the most important aspect of voice broadcasting. It ensures that customers are never late in completing everyday tasks such as timely renewal, bill payments, attending scheduled events and more. In case of emergency alerts, it’s imperative that a voice broadcast is delivered to a customer as messages and emails can get lost in the never-ending list of spams.

Also, when a new policy is launched, it is often needed that the customers are updated in order to share their willingness or unwillingness to enroll under the same especially when updates are required to be provided by the customers. Hence a timely reminder ensures that the customer is always on time in giving out their details.

Lastly, in the cases of delays and re-adjustment of services, be it flights, trains, or a mess at a cinema hall, voice broadcasting service proves to be of immense help.

DND FILTERATION

Finally, with DND filtration, a company ensures that they are only reaching out to customers who want to hear them, and thereby avoid creating an unnecessary ruckus. This also ensures that they are pertaining to government guidelines.

ANSWERING MACHINE DETECTION

At times when calls are diverted to answering machines, it is more suitable that a different message is broadcasted. For this, an intelligent system is embedded in a voice broadcasting system that identifies whether a live person or an answering machine has answered the call. This ensures a diligent service is provided.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

A company can also opt for interactive voice broadcasting to ask for customer’s input in order to use it for press 1 campaign. This is often used in cases where a company wants to opt for a poll to introspect the perspective of customers for a new service, they might be looking forward to starting or updating an existing one.

Press 1 campaigns are also useful for political campaigns. Parties can host press 1 campaigns to influence people or spread awareness. They can also use voice broadcasting service to find more people who are willing to volunteer for a party or want to join the party. Implementing this with live call transferring, a company can turn potential clients into long term associates.

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9 Myths About Cloud Telephony Services

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Cloud Telephony

January 11, 2019

5 mins read eye

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Cloud technology is reforming the modus operandi of various services at this age and era, to which telephony remains no exception. Cloud telephony is a cloud-based telephone service that has changed the course of traditional telephone services.

Although cloud telephony has well established its roots in the world and is globally recognized for its benefits, certain myths about it are still in circulation. In this blog, we will be looking forward to disposing of such myths and establishing clear facts about it.

Top Myths About Cloud Telephony Services That Businesses Should Know

Myth 1

Setup is expensive and requires rigorous training.

Fact

The installation of cloud telephony services is quite simple, and service providers can usually establish a fully fetched system in a few hours. It’s true that cloud telephony services have complex algorithms at the back end. However, the front end is user-friendly with the necessary information and lacks any irrelevant buttons or information, providing a delightful user experience. Since there are no hard-wired line systems involved, this dissolves the cost of establishing an on-premises system, rendering the remote cloud-based telephony system a lot less expensive and producing a better Return on Investment (ROI) in the long run.

Myth 2

Once installed, portability is quite hectic.

Fact

Cloud telephony systems allow one to relocate to any location they see fit while still retaining the same number they previously used. Devoid of the traditional hardware-based wired PBX systems, cloud-based telephony is much like plug-and-play. Also, since the data is at cloud servers the probability of loss of data while moving the business is none.

Myth 3

Cloud telephony service is insecure.

Fact

Cloud telephony service is very secure as vendors that maintain large data centers handle the task of data storage. They are aware of the sensitivity of the information stored and the damage it may cost when rendered in wrong hands. Such vendors usually employ high-end technology to pertain from any loss or misuse of data. To top it all off, cloud telephony service providers themselves cannot overhear or attain call recordings, rendering all information safe and authorized.

Myth 4

The quality of calls is reduced.

Fact

The quality of calls, when referring to cloud telephony is largely dependent upon the quality of one’s internet connection. If there is a decent internet connection, then the quality of cloud telephony is way better than traditional telephone systems.

Myth 5

Monitoring and recording of calls in case of cloud telephony is tough.

Fact

Cloud telephony is quite easy to maintain. With the surplus efforts put in by the back-end developers at various stages, it’s quite simple to monitor, manage or route the calls, as per one’s requirement. To the front-end user, these tasks happen by a simple click of a button, thereby providing a much-adored user experience. The dashboard or web portal provided by a service provider makes it quite efficient to record and maintain calls.

Myth 6

Upgradation and expansion in case of cloud telephony service is expensive.

Fact

It’s quite easy to upgrade and expand cloud telephony service. This comes because of the simple fact that hardware-based private branch exchange (PBX) systems are by far more demanding than cloud-based telephony systems. Being wired, traditional-telephony systems require the presence of an on-premises engineer and setting up new lines is anyways a tedious task. With cloud-based telephony, there is no need for on-premises hardware PBX systems. Additional lines can be easily added as the business grows. Since a cloud service provider always keeps several lines ready for disposal, the request to add lines can be met within hours. This results in faster initial installation and more rapid expansion shall the company need it.

Myth 7

It will eliminate the need for IT jobs.

Fact

Installing a cloud telephony service does not require a company to let go of their IT employs. However, the role of the IT department is modified at large, requiring them handling the responsibilities of adding new users, updating auto attendant, and maintaining and editing policies. By this, a company’s IT department is employed towards more fruitful tasks, rendering the department more efficient and feasible.

This ensures that a company is performing more efficiently and deploying resources smartly and right where they are needed.

Myth 8

Cloud telephony services are only for large enterprises.

Fact

It can’t be more wrong to say that cloud telephony services are only for large enterprises. There are multiple benefits of cloud telephony service that a business irrespective of its size can enjoy.

Firstly cloud-based telephony systems allow one to serve at multiple locations by utilizing just one phone system. Thus, there is no need to maintain multiple phone systems. With cloud-based telephony, a company gets one pricing policy across multiple locations.

Secondly being the latest technology, they include automatic upgrades. With the implementation of a central control panel system, management is way more comforting. This saves cost, provides easy support, and increases reliability.

Thirdly, one gets to build a better reputation and rapport for their company. This allows one to pick up calls from wherever they are, a luxury previously only practiced by large enterprises. Thus, one can face competition against larger enterprises by providing the same services to their customers, devoid of any hefty fees.

By this, a small enterprise can save upon their expenditure on human resources, while enjoying a happy clientele.

Myth 9

Issues at data centers cause termination of services.

Fact

This is perhaps the biggest and most propagated myth concerning cloud telephony service. Since most service providers employ multiple data centers, if there ever occurs an issue at one data center, another automatically gets allocated so that services may resume smoothly.

Although, it’s quite improbable that a problem may arrive at a data center, even if it does one will be shifted to another data center without even realizing it, ensuring smooth operation at all times. In this manner, cloud telephony services are far better than traditional telephony services because a problem with traditional telephony services involves the presence of an engineer who would first detect the issue and based on that might even need to change phone lines to restore connectivity.

TAKE AWAY

In lieu of the facts above, it is evident that cloud telephony services are quite the necessity of enterprises, irrespective of the scale of their operation. Hence, enterprises should not get coaxed by the various myths that circulate regarding cloud telephony services.

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How Different Industries in India Are Using Missed Call Service?

Acefone Editor

Author

IVR Service

December 28, 2018

6 mins read eye

Table of content

India is no new to the concept of missed call services. In fact, with over 1 billion mobile subscribers, India is a market where missed call service has been used to market services, and its potential is only expected to grow with time.

Here is the statical data which proves India has a vast potential for missed call service today.

to figure released by the World Bank, population of India as of 2014 is over 1.2 billion
As per a report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, 1.03 billion citizens are part of mobile network.
The Pew Research Centre in 2015 found that at least 17% of the Indian populace owned a

smartphone. This figure roughly equates to around 220 million smartphone owners.

So, with all these phones and smartphones being used all around by such a large section of people, it’s fascinating that missed call service is a huge storm in the Indian market. Missed calls are convenient, less time consuming and cost nothing at all. Considering that a majority of the India population are subscribers of prepaid connections, the cost factor is a really significant factor to why missed call service is a big hit.

So, now let us take a look at some of the things that a simple missed call can get you in India.

1. Get Your Account Information with a Miss Call

The most common things that customers of banks do each is to check their balance frequently to remain updated of their expenses. Now, this routine can get really tiresome if one has to visit a bank to get this information. And not every customer is aware of net banking or can use this facility to enquire their balance, especially old-age people or people with less literacy. Also, even the young working class mostly do not have time to spare to go to the banks or ATMs to check their balance. So, what does one do in this case?

Banks have started their own native miss call services where the customers can get basic account information, including account balances by just a miss call. The only authentication required in this process is your registered mobile number with the bank.

Some banks have taken it a bit further to make things easier for the customers such as Federal Bank in South India. It introduced a feature through which their customers could transfer money to another account in any bank, by just verifying the transfer via a missed call. Although, the customer has first had to verify their as well as receiver’s account number through SMS.

2. Connect With Prime Minister

In his tenure since 2014, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has employed the use of missed call for the citizens to connect better with him and the other politicians.

PM Modi tweeted on 24^th March 2015 that anyone with a phone could reach out to his tweets by just leaving a missed call on 011 3006 3006. Once they leave a missed call, their mobile numbers would get registered in the database, and the latest tweets are sent to them over an SMS.

One more used case of Missed Call Service used by PM Modi has been in ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio show. He used missed call service to send an audio recording to those people who could not listen to the live broadcast due to any reason.

They can simply leave a missed call in 1922 to listen to the ‘Man Ki Baat’ recording. Once done, their mobile number gets registered, and they receive a call on the same number with an audio recording of the latest ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode. So, in this way those who missed the live broadcast and catch up.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) also used the missed call feature in 2014 general elections to get the support of people who backed their election campaign and trusted the party. Anyone who wished to support the BJP or join their ranks would simply have to leave a missed call at the provided number after which their support or induction into their ranks would be verified.

3. Job Search

It’s a bit staggering for those who are seeking jobs when they do not have access to the internet. Most vacancies and new positions are mostly notified over the internet as companies and government organisations are choosing to opt for the digital world for notifications and promotions and not opt for printed media or very less of it. This causes a lot of problems for those are on the lookout for jobs using newspapers and other printed media.

Missed call services in this regard make things much easier. Quikr.com offers a job listing service, which can be accessed by anyone by leaving a missed call at +91 1800 1033 331. Once a missed call has been registered, an agent from Quikr calls the person back and takes their information to outline a basic resume. Once done, the person is then notified about potential job offers and openings as per their resume and requirements.

4. Entertainment (Bollywood/Reality TV)

The entertainment industry is also not left behind when it comes to utilising missed call service. Hindustan Unilever launched a missed call campaign in an attempt to make entertainment accessible to the remotest places of the country. All one has to do is give a missed call on the number +91 1800 3000 0123. Once done, they soon receive a call, which will then play any entertainment channel

Bollywood fans in the remotest places of the country, launched a missed call feature so that fans can get entertainment right on their mobile phones. All one has to do is call on the number +91 1800 3000 0123. Once done, they will soon receive a call, with a variety of entertainment options such as jokes or songs.

Indian TV is home to a wide variety of singing shows, dancing shows, talent shows and other kinds of reality shows. So, if one is into reality TV, then they can vote for their favourite contestants on a particular show by leaving a missed call on a specific number. Thus, missed calls act a simple channel for people to connect to these shows, more specifically to their favourite contestants.

5. Voting/Surveys

Surveys are often conducted by public sector organisations, private companies and the government of India to get to know the opinion of the people about the latest products, services, laws and other government schemes.

Mass surveys and polls are conducted across the target demographic, and people find it easy to take part by leaving their opinions or votes through missed calls. One saves their time this way, and the conducting organisations can effectively draw out a reasonable analysis by having a larger number of people participate.

6. Miscellaneous

Apart from the ones mentioned above, people in India can avail other things through missed calls.

If you want to subscribe to offers, for instance, from your mobile service provider or cable TV provider, then you can do so by leaving a missed call on the provided numbers.

When one buys products online, then the E-commerce companies can have the customers leave a missed call to confirm if they would want the payment as Cash-On-Delivery. In India, Cash-On-Delivery is a huge factor for customers to buy products online. So, in this regard, the missed call feature is vital from both a business’s perspective and the customers.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the missed call has proved to be a crucial in engaging rural as well as urban audience and has made it a crucial part of our everyday activities. From consumer-facing MNCs to big corporates, everyone is using it missed call service in one or the other way to save their time and cost.

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How Different Industries Are Using Voice Broadcasting Service

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Uncategorized

December 19, 2018

5 mins read eye

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Voice Broadcasting (VB) is remarkably useful for a business or industry when it comes to spreading information to large masses. With time, the uses and applications of voice broadcasting service have expanded by manifold. Companies are no more restricted to only sending promotional/emergency updates. Instead, they are now maximising its utilisation by using it in creative ways.

For instance, health industry is using voice broadcast to help their patients by sending appointment or prescription reminders. Whereas, political industry is using VB to attain name recognition among voters.

Furthermore, companies are integrating their voice broadcast with interactive response system to facilitate two-way communication between the customer and business. This addition in the voice broadcast functionality widens the scope of VB to a greater extent. Companies are using this two-way communication to conduct surveys and collect customer responses. Different industries have been employing VB service in unique ways to level up their customer service.

Let’s look at how few industries are using voice broadcasting service to expand their reach among customers

1. Political Industry

Political parties are using voice broadcasting services to promote their election agenda and promises among party volunteers and voters. Parties are reaching out to diversified voter base by organising multiple broadcasting campaigns and customising it as per target voters’ need.

Along with potential voters, parties are also reaching out to their volunteers with this service. Regular updates of party activities, schedule of upcoming rallies and simple motivational messages are among some of the information which is being broadcasted to party volunteers with this service.

In addition to sending information, political parties are also utilising VB service to conduct pre-election polls and surveys. These surveys collects responses in the form of numeric inputs such as Press 1 if you support ‘x’ party and Press 2 if you support ‘y’ party. The numeric responses make the survey quick and easy to respond which considerably increases the success rate of the survey campaigns.

Voice broadcasting has proved to be a holistic solution for political parties. Be it pitching your campaign message, sending rally reminders to volunteers, or motivating people to vote, with voice broadcasting political parties are sending every type of information to their target audience.

2. Government

Over the years, government has been creating many policies, laws and schemes for the welfare of its citizens. But a major barrier in the success of these welfare initiatives has been to inform the people about this initiative and what good it holds for them. Voice broadcast has been of great use when it comes to communicating this information to its right beneficiaries.

Government is using this service to broadcast information about new schemes. Due to easy reachability on basic phones, voice broadcast has made it easy for the government to broadcast information to people belonging from lower or middle-income class.

Moreover, voice broadcast has also eased up the process of sending emergency alerts to the people. To inform about any emergency, government can simply record and send a voice broadcast to its citizens at once. These alerts demand a quick and hassle-free way of sending information, and voice broadcast caters to both the aspects aptly.

3. Education

Technology has modernised the education industry in unexpected ways. Going by statistics, the smart education and learning market size is expected to grow from USD 193. 24 billion in 2016 to USD 586.04 billion by 2021, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 24.84%.

Educational institutions are adopting smarter methods to advance their methods of teaching, assessments and sending information. Adopting voice broadcasting is one such method of circulating important information among student as well as parents.

Be it exam announcement, event updates, fees reminder or PTA meetings, educational institutes are making sure to keep students and parents updated of all the important activities by sending a voice broadcast. Furthermore, schools are also using this service to run promotional admission campaigns.

4. Advertising & Promotions

Marketers are always in a hunt for new techniques to capture their target customers’ attention. Sometimes by quantity, and other times by quality, they are trying to lure customers into buying their product or service. But with voice broadcasting service, marketers can attract customers by keeping the mix of quality and quantity.

By sending a voice broadcast in place of SMS or email, marketers can capture customer’s attention in the first contact itself. Thus, unlike SMS or email marketing, marketers do not need to send “n” number of broadcasts to capture target audience’s attention. With 1-2 voice broadcasts, marketers can get across their message to the audience.

Marketers are using this service to spread promotional, special events or social awareness messages.

5. Healthcare

In healthcare industry, time is money. One cannot afford to waste a minute when people’s lives are at stake. The role of voice broadcasting in healthcare industry is thus very critical.

As a quick method to broadcast information, voice broadcasting is used as an Emergency Response Coordination and Communication Solution (ERCC). While the patients are on their way, the hospital staff is informed of the arriving patient along with the type of emergency.

Besides informing hospital staff, voice broadcasting also helps patients. Hospitals are using this service to remind patients of their medicine dosage. Further, to avoid any no-shows for the appointments, hospitals are also sending appointment reminders to patients. Moreover, to eliminate any last-minute chaos, hospitals are also collecting appointment confirmation by using an interactive form of voice broadcasting.

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How Our PM Narendra Modi is Using Missed Call Marketing

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Missed Call Services

December 12, 2018

4 mins read eye

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missesd call service

This tweet on the 24^th of March, by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, clearly highlights the fact that he knows how to reach out to the people of India.

This innovative idea to reach out to the urban as well as the rural population of India who resides in distant corners of India proved to very helpful in connecting the PM to his people. A simple missed call to connect with PM would suffice for the people who live in remote places of India where constant connectivity is still an issue. Moreover, people appreciated this effort made by the government.

Continuing his desire to connect with people, Shri Narendra Modi decided to connect with his countrymen through the national broadcasting medium ‘All India Radio’ and thus began ‘Mann Ki Baat’. This was an important step in his efforts to let people know that the new government is a ‘people’s government’ and that the nation would run under more transparency.

Use of Missed Call Marketing to Connect with People

Now even during his election campaign, Narendra Modi made sure to utilize the latest technologies to connect to both the older and younger generation to get his word out faster. Mobile screen units, 3D projectors were used to spread his word far and wide. The effect was massive, and the result was reflected in the mandate he received.

The tweet above clearly highlights the fact that Narendra Modi wanted to connect to even those who did not have access to smartphones, internet connectivity or any media platform. But the miss call marketing feature for his tweets allowed anybody across India even with just feature phones to receive his tweets, simply by dialing 011 3006 3006.

‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio program which was broadcasted over the ‘All India Radio’, a radio network of Prasar Bharati has a reach of 98% of India geographically and 90% demographically. Thus, it proves to be a wise decision of Modi to opt for a channel which was the widest reach among others.

But even this communication method has few limits. Not everyone could tune in to the radio at the right time; some missed the broadcast due to other commitments and some due to network issues. So, in the year of 2016, the government knew that other implementations had to be done to go beyond radio to make ‘Mann Ki Baat’ more accessible to the people

The most common medium was the cellular phone, and this was deemed as the best tool to reach out to a wider section of the people. It was not an easy task though, as India has the world’s second largest population and to target every phone user would be a herculean task of sorts.

To tackle this problem, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) consulted mGage India for help. mGage India had already helped the NIC and the government of India before. The Ministry of Agriculture had launched their farmer outreach program. The farmers would receive updates on the weather, the latest fertilizers, pesticides, etc. through SMS. Under this service, it was surmised that around 600 million messages were being sent.

National SMS solution

mGage India thus started their journey by providing national SMS solutions which could reach out to a wide audience. But today, the voice solutions such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR), outbound calling (ODB) and most importantly missed call marketing have become more popular.

Quite recently the company was tasked to survey the Indian population for the opinions on the performance of the new government under Narendra Modi. The survey was conducted across a wide demographic and bulk SMSs were sent out. Interested citizens could then give a missed call on the provided number to receive a survey call. Thus, missed call marketing already proved to be a great tool in reaching out to people in such a short duration of time.

Now during the search of a solution to increase the reach of ‘Man Ki Baat’ program, missed call marketing turned out to be of great use. So, for those who missed the live broadcast of the program, could now give a missed call to receive the recording of the broadcast.

Use of Voice-Based Technology

The missed call marketing service was set up using a voice-based technology is an association with telecom operators. Any citizen, who missed the live broadcast could leave a missed call on the number 1922 and request for a replay of the latest broadcast of Shri Narendra Modi from ‘Mann Ki Baat’. The national database would register that citizen’s number. After that, an automated call would be initiated to that number, and on answering the call, the entire episode would be replayed on the mobile phone. Whoever listens to it, can listen to it as long as they’d like and disconnect anytime in between if they wished to.

It is estimated that around 7 to 8 lakhs of the population catch the replay of the broadcast of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ through their phones. So, it is quite evident that missed call service has played a vital role to connect PM with his fellow citizens.

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How Does the IVR System Work?

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Contact Center

December 3, 2018

5 mins read eye

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Having your own Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system has become a prime necessity in today’s competitive business scenario. Not only it gives your business an edge, but it also reflects that providing a quality customer service is your top priority. But to utilize IVR service to the best of its abilities you need to be fully aware of what it offers and how you can integrate its capabilities into your business. Below is a detailed description of what is IVR, how it works and why should your business adopt this solution in your business.

What is IVR

IVR in simple terms is a technology that automates the telephony system. It responds to the incoming calls automatically and interacts with the callers through automated voice messages. This communication takes place with the help of numeric inputs entered by the caller.

How does IVR System Work?

At Caller’s End

When a customer calls on the business phone number, IVR system greets the caller by playing an automated welcome This greeting message includes the name of the company, along with a list of IVR menu options.

These IVR options are customized as per company’s customer service needs. However, in most of the cases, the IVR options are divided by departments, geography or the service/product company offers. These options are self-explanatory which makes the navigation and query resolution easier for the caller. The two major kinds of IVR options used by companies are self-help option and connect with a customer service representative option. For example,

how does ivr system work

In the above example, first three options as mentioned below are self-help options.

Press 1 for Billing Related Queries
Press 2 for Product Enquiries
Press 3 for Sales Related Issues

These options help the customers to resolve queries without intervention of a live agent.

However, the option with a description “Press 3 to Talk with our Sales Representative” connects you with a live customer representative directly.

After listening to the options thoroughly, a caller can numerically input their desired response depending upon the type of query they want to inquire.

According to their requirement, the callers can proceed forward with self-help IVR option or can connect to the customer service representative of the desired department.

At Backend

While the process seems simple at the front end, the backend involves combination of technologies to facilitate the smooth functioning of IVR. These systems use Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) technology to computerize their calls, i.e., instead of calls being received on a traditional landline set, the calls are received, forwarded or dialed on computers. This technology eases the whole communication process by providing many additional features other than dialing or receiving a call. Below is the list of actions which process in the backend.

When the caller calls on the business phone number, the automated message is played to welcome the caller. This automated message is either a recorded audio or a customized text-to-speech.

After listening to the options thoroughly, a caller can numerically input their desired response depending upon the type of query they want to inquire.

Further, numeric response of the customer is interpreted by the DTMF technology where every frequency of numeric input tone generated by keys is used to decode the response. A computer needs special hardware known as telephony card to understand this DTMF response.

If a caller opts for a self-help option, then the answer to the query is retrieved from a database or a pre-recorded script.

However, if the caller opts to talk with the agent, then features such as call forwarding or routing is used to direct the caller to the desired customer service representative.

And with the help of CTI technology, the calls are displayed on agent’s desktop. Hardware devices such as softphones are further used to answer the incoming call and proceed with the conversation.

What IVR Offers?

Apart from easing up the process of query resolution for customers, IVR system widely helps businesses to streamline their everyday processes by replacing manual tasks with automated processes. Below are few of the advantages which makes IVR a promising solution for business.

1. Process Automation

Adopting IVR solution automates many of the mundane day-to-day tasks, be it answering thousands of calls with an auto-receptionist feature or using the call forwarding feature to route the calls to the right department. These number of reduced manual tasks optimizes the overall efficiency of the agents and smoothens the overall customer experience.

2. Cost Reduction

As many of the manual tasks get eliminated in the process, the cost of overall process gets reduced to a large extent. Moreover, by using cloud-hosted IVR services, a business saves a lot on their capital expenditure as now one needs lesser infrastructure as well as human resources. Scaling up or down also becomes very cost-efficient with cloud-hosted IVR.

3. Customer Data & Analysis

IVR comes with an added feature of call recording. This information proves to be of great help to the business as it provides them with insights of conversation. Businesses can use this information to understand the approaching customers and their concerns. This further helps the business to refine their services by adjusting it according to the customer’s requirement.

4. Enhanced Productivity

Self-help options resolve many customer queries without the need of contacting a customer service agent. IVR system segments the incoming calls into different departments which allows the agent to address the query of their expertise. This reduces the number of calls and queries received per agent and helps them to deliver quality customer service.

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