How does your company prevent customer churn?
It is not uncommon for brands to make customers wait before their issues are considered and resolved by call center agents or managers.
More often than not, consumers have to go through the nine circles of the phone tree hell to resolve their issues the very first time they occur.
And if the first point of contact is poorly managed, the customers are unlikely to return.
What businesses need, in this case, is to make sure that inbound calls are handled effectively.
With an IVR system, brands can rely on intelligent call routing enabling clients to reach the right company representatives or departments.
But IVRs can fail to provide clear guidance to consumers. And if the IVR system appears to be ineffective, brands need to assess and optimize their call flow.
Let’s analyze the role of call flows in customer care and examine how different call flow models can deliver a superior customer experience (CX).
Quick Overlook
The Role of Call Flows in Customer Interactions
The success of the company is not only about understanding customer wants or meeting their expectations.
It is also about hiring the right people, organizing the processes, building cultures, and utilizing appropriate tools and technologies.
The latter plays a critical role in how successful your business can be.
Back in 2011, Gartner predicted that by the end of 2020, around 85% of customer interactions would not require the assistance of contact centers due to the development of IVR systems.
With IVR call flows, consumers can be routed correctly and enabled to choose out of several options that can help resolve their issues or simply get the information they require.
Why is it imperative that brands assess and optimize IVR call flows?
Well, more than 70% of consumers make buying decisions based on their experiences.
But keeping the CX positive is not an easy task to accomplish.
The concept of brand loyalty has transformed over the years.
So now, switching to a competitor is not what consumers will think twice about, even if they have only one bad experience with their favorite brand.
Ultimately, it means that positive CX is the key to staying competitive in any market.
But before getting into it, let’s get back to basics and look into the definition of call flows.
Call Flows Explained
A call flow is a roadmap of the way inbound calls should be handled from A to Z.
Simply put, it is a blueprint created to guide consumers through all types of scenarios and aimed at ensuring customer satisfaction.
The call flow is a fundamental element of contact center operations.
Regardless of the call center software they utilize, every call center agent is trained to communicate effectively and elevate CX.
The IVR call flows, for instance, offer several advanced features like professionally recorded messages, AI-based voice recognition, automatic call-back, and much more.
When utilized along with the service provided by call center agents, brands can derive maximum benefits out of both.
Let’s unpack that a bit more and examine the advantages IVRs offer.
Benefits of Utilizing IVR Call Flows
Optimizing an IVR system and enhancing the call flow can help enterprises achieve multiple objectives, including the following:
- Eliminate misrouted calls
- Identify the calls that do not generate leads
- Boost sales
- Lower the level of irritation by reducing call times
- Reduce contact center costs
- Elevate CX at the first point of contact
As mentioned before, IVRs ensure accurate call routing and collection of crucial call data, which is possible thanks to the automatic call distribution systems.
In fact, it is common to imply successful call flows when talking about the automatic call distribution system (ACD).
Phonexa’s ACD, for instance, offers a multi-level IVR technology that can handle different volumes of call traffic and guarantee all the above-named benefits and even more.
Here is what business should expect when utilizing it:
#1. Significantly improved call flow
The advanced IVR system accelerated the process by letting clients handpick help options.
#2. Hyper-personalized experience
A powerful protective layer guarantees no fraudulent calls and misdials.
It means that agents (when requested) will deal with qualified leads and calls only.
#3. Going hand-in-hand with Phonexa reporting solutions
Real-time reporting provides crucial performance data that enables clients to optimize (pause, scale, or edit) their ongoing campaigns and identify issues or discrepancies right away.
Ultimately, IVR can help companies stay in absolute control of their call flows.
How to Ensure a Successful Call Flow
Naturally, there are many things marketers need to keep in mind when optimizing and improving a call flow.
One of them is to keep it logical and intuitive.
Let’s face it: the most complex process can turn out to be simple if it is properly mapped out.
It also implies that your support team should not be overwhelmed by the changes.
In other words, it might result in numerous errors if the process is not intuitive.
Here are the four fundamental call flow models businesses should use as a foundation or reference when elevating the call experience.
#1. Call Queue Call Flow
While it is not the best option to make your clients wait, the call queue model implies that it can be assigned to one or several phone numbers.
It means that if all of the agents or managers are busy, you can send calls to voicemail and offer a call-back option, sent it to another queue, or choose a routing call flow.
#2. Classic Call Flow Model
If it is properly set up and managed, you can pair IVR with the following features and technologies:
- Call queues for routing
- Another IVR menus to collect more granular call data
- Automated custom routing utilizing information available in your CRM or phone system.
Such combinations can make an IVR an even more efficient solution.
#3. Data-Driven Model With Automated Routing
This model allows businesses to route all the calls based on dynamic data inputs from external software integrated with your phone system. It can be combined with Call Queues and IVRs.
How does it work? First of all, you need to choose the app for data delivery.
Then, you need to create specific call routing conditions utilizing the app inputs for routing automation.
It can be used to set up call flows with priority levels.
For instance, it can be a separate flow for priority callers and VIP clients.
#4. Voicebot-Based Flow
Voicebots can make your business available 24/7, which is a great way to manage high call volumes.
Voicebots can provide detailed information on-demand without the need to engage support teams.
In case, a voicebot cannot answer a question, it can use a fallback routing option.
But bear in mind that it takes time to train voicebots so that they can answer a wide range of questions and queries.
Testing Makes Perfect
Mapping out the call flows and visualizing them are the best approaches to keep them logical and intuitive.
Besides, visualizing can help identify the missing pieces and alternative scenarios.
After creating a diagram, you need to put the call flow to test.
While it might be a time-consuming process, it will help you determine the weak spots and address the issues.
Conclusion
It is no secret that positive CX can only be ensured when numerous factors are considered and different feature combinations are tested.
Selecting a suitable call flow model, testing and optimizing it, and pairing it with IVR can empower your phone system and make your call flow flawless.
Make data-driven decisions a priority and schedule a consultation with our experts.