4 min
Customer loyalty and retention is a priority when it comes to call center goals. But pushing them requires more than just measuring the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) or Net Promoted Score (NPS) and finishing it. There are many other indicators that affect these two aspects and ignoring them can affect the customer experience (CX). So how do you improve customer retention and loyalty rates? What contact center metrics should be measured?
How To Improve Customer Satisfaction?
Most call centers understand the importance of customer satisfaction (CSAT). It is generally the first metric any agent or supervisor learns. But the problem that arises when contact centers put their full focus on the CSAT is that they often neglect the KPIs that drive this score. So instead of delving into the cause of the problem, officers feel pressure to improve CSAT scores.
If an agent has a low CSAT score, it’s best to focus on improving call center metrics that drive customer satisfaction, such as first call resolution or average response speed.
Leading (Major) and Minor Metrics Measurement
In simpler terms, one anticipated metric is the action / behavior change associated with winning something, and the secondary one is the outcome.
So if the call center is focusing on secondary metrics, but not paying attention to the main ones in terms of customer satisfaction, there are five important main metrics that can be measured and improved to impact CSAT scores.
1) Average Speed Of Response
Average response speed is the speed with which an agent responds to customers waiting behind the phone. Every second that goes by without an answer increases the chances that a customer will hang up the call. ASA is an efficient and easy way to show customers that their time is valued and top-notch customer service will be provided. A typical rule of thumb is to follow the 80/20 rules. If 80% of your calls are answered in 20 seconds, you are probably going to happier customers.
2) Average Call Duration
The average handling time is the duration of the call from when an agent answers it until he hangs up. It’s often related to customer satisfaction, and for good reason: According to Forrester, 66% of adults believe that the most important thing a company can do is value their time.
More experienced agents are more likely to resolve calls immediately without having to search a database, escalate to a supervisor, or transfer the call. Therefore, it is important to train agents to help them feel competent in their role.
3) Average Turnover Rate
Average abandonment rate is the percentage of people who call and hang up before contacting an agent. An optimal turnover rate for most contact centers is between 4% and 8%. When customers hang up, they are more likely to have negative thoughts about the company and possibly share their opinions on social media.
What Can The Call Center Do?
- Offer customer options, such as receiving a callback or text message when an agent is available.
- Improve your self-service options.
- Evaluate the IVR to detect possible problems.
- Show dashboards in the call center so that everyone can see the queues in real time.
- Look at volume forecasts and adjust schedules and breaks to ensure adequate staffing levels.
- Offer support on other channels.
4) First Contact Resolution
First contact resolution is the percentage of contacts where customer inquiries are resolved on the first attempt. Customers whose problems are solved with a single phone call or chat session are generally more satisfied than those who require multiple interactions to achieve a resolution.
5) Agent Turnover Rate
High agent turnover not only costs your company money to recruit, hire and train employees; it also has a significant negative impact on the customer experience, which is even more detrimental to the bottom line. If you don’t know where to start, it’s a good idea to start by measuring your agent churn rate and understanding whether it’s low, medium, or high for the industry. Then you need to implement tactics to improve employee engagement.
According to Forrester, engaged agents drive 81% more customer satisfaction and half the employee turnover. Therefore, improving agent engagement and decreasing turnover should be one of the key tactics to improve customer satisfaction.
What Steps Should Be Taken To Improve Customer Satisfaction?
There are many factors to consider in order providing a good customer experience. Therefore, it is necessary to improve each metric in a specific way, than just focus on the CSAT.
When choosing a primary metric, make sure you have a way to monitor both the first and the secondary metrics it impacts. It is important that both supervisors and agents can see and track performance improvement, whether on individual or company-wide dashboards.
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