August 24, 2024
Customer service excellence is a cornerstone of business success. As consumer expectations evolve and companies seek to balance quality support with operational costs, innovative strategies like call deflection are becoming increasingly important. But what is a call deflection, and how does it transform customer service efficiency?
In this article, will explore what is a call deflection, examining how it works, its key advantages, and practical implementation strategies.
Let’s dive in!
Call deflection refers to the strategic redirection of customer inquiries from traditional phone support to other communication channels. These channels include chatbots, knowledge bases, live chat, and even social media platforms.
The primary objective is to resolve customer issues quickly and effectively without the need for direct human intervention.
By harnessing advanced technology and intelligent routing systems, organizations can reduce incoming calls, cut wait times, and enable customers to resolve issues independently. This approach not only streamlines operations but also boosts overall customer satisfaction.
Example: A customer trying to reset their password might initially call the support center. With call deflection in place, they could be directed to a self-service password reset tool or a chatbot that guides them through the process.
Call deflection helps reduce operational costs by lowering the volume of inbound calls. When customers use self-service options, fewer resources are required to handle these inquiries, allowing businesses to allocate their budget more effectively.
Example: A company might save significant costs by using an AI chatbot to answer frequently asked questions, eliminating the need for additional staffing during peak hours.
Customers value quick and accurate responses. Call deflection provides them with instant access to the information they need. It reduces the frustration of waiting on hold or navigating through complex phone menus.
Example: A customer looking for product information can be immediately redirected to a detailed FAQ page, allowing them to find answers without the delay associated with speaking to an agent.
Learn More About How AI Customer Experience Can Upgrade Your Business
Call deflection frees up contact center agents by deflecting routine inquiries. As a result, he agents can focus on more complex and urgent issues. This not only improves agent productivity but also increases job satisfaction, as agents are less burdened by repetitive tasks.
Example: Agents who previously spent time answering the same basic questions can now dedicate their efforts to resolving high-priority cases, improving overall service quality.
As businesses grow, so do the number of customer inquiries. Call deflection provides a scalable solution, allowing contact centers to handle increased volumes without a corresponding increase in staffing.
Example: An e-commerce platform experiencing a surge in holiday traffic can maintain service quality by deflecting common queries to automated systems, thus avoiding the need for temporary staff.
Unlike human agents, digital channels such as chatbots and knowledge bases can provide round-the-clock support. This ensures that customers will get support whenever they need, even outside of normal business hours.
Example: A global software company can offer 24/7 support through a comprehensive knowledge base and AI chatbot, catering to customers across different time zones without requiring a 24-hour support team.
A well-organized and easily accessible knowledge base is critical for effective call deflection. It should include detailed FAQs, how-to guides, troubleshooting steps, and video tutorials. Regular updates are essential to ensure the content remains accurate and relevant.
Example: A tech company with a large customer base can reduce support calls by creating an extensive online knowledge base covering common issues like installation and troubleshooting.
Pro-Tips: If you use Mevrik, the best digital customer experience platform, you can easily develop a robust knowledge base.
Mevrik AI KnowledgeBase lets you create and manage a knowledge base with AI-assisted features. You can generate high-quality knowledge base articles, FAQs, and more in seconds. Plus, it shows surface relevant articles that suggest the perfect answer to the agents right within their inbox.
AI chatbots are increasingly becoming the front line of customer service. They can handle routine queries, provide instant responses, and guide customers to the right resources, significantly reducing the workload for human agents.
Example: A bank might implement an AI chatbot to answer common questions about account balances and recent transactions, deflecting these simple inquiries away from call center agents.
Pro-Tips: The Mevrik AI chatbot is designed to unify and supercharge your customer engagement. You can automate, engage, and retain your customers through this tool. It can generate human-like conversations, answer common queries, and automate simple tasks.
It can offer instant customer support through a rich conversational journey. You can also broadcast or send re-engagement messages to your customers and prospects to keep in touch with them.
Customers should be able to switch between different channels seamlessly. An integrated omnichannel support system allows them to move from a chatbot to a live agent without repeating information, enhancing the overall experience.
Example: A customer starts a conversation with a chatbot but needs further assistance. With omnichannel support, they can transition to a live agent who has full access to the previous conversation, making the process smooth and efficient.
Pro-Tips: You can easily integrate omnichannel support by using Mevrik AI-Powered Unified Inbox and Mevrik AI-powered Omni-channel CRM
Mevrik AI-Powered Unified Inbox automatically gathers customers’ inquiries from multiple channels, like email, social media, reviews, calls, and SMS, in one unified inbox. You will get a holistic view of all customer interaction across channels and simplify the communications experience between your business and customers.
Mevrik AI-powered Omni-channel CRM collects historical customer data across all support channels, empowering your business to offer proactive support. Agents can smartly categorize leads and track their journey to boost the sales pipeline.
Anticipating customer needs and addressing common issues before they arise can prevent calls. For example, sending proactive notifications about known issues, system outages, or scheduled maintenance can reduce the number of inbound calls.
Example: An internet service provider could send out alerts about a planned maintenance window, reducing the number of calls from customers reporting service outages.
If you want to make your call deflection strategies, it requires continuous monitoring and analysis. Metrics such as call volume reduction, customer satisfaction scores, and chatbot resolution rates should be regularly reviewed. This data provides insights into what’s working and what needs improvement.
Example: A contact center might track the number of successfully deflected calls and adjust their knowledge base or chatbot scripts based on customer feedback to improve effectiveness.
While call deflection offers numerous benefits, it's not without challenges. One significant concern is ensuring that customers are aware of and comfortable using alternative channels. Clear communication, user-friendly interfaces, and regular prompts can help bridge this gap.
Maintaining the quality of customer support is another challenge.
Even with advanced AI and self-service options, you will find some issues where human intervention is required . Ensuring a smooth transition from self-service to human agents is critical to maintaining high customer satisfaction levels.
Call deflection is a powerful tool that can transform the efficiency and effectiveness of contact centers. By reducing call volumes, lowering costs, and improving customer satisfaction, businesses can not only meet but exceed modern customer expectations. As customer service continues to evolve, those who master call deflection will find themselves ahead of the curve, offering a more efficient and satisfying customer journey.
Ready to thrive on the customer experience and increase sales & support?
AI-Powered all-in-one platform to connect, engage, and delight customers across digital channels.
© 2024 Mevrik. All Rights Reserved.
.png)