Table of Contents
- What is an Abandoned Call?Ā
- Why is Call Abandonment Rate Important?Ā
- How to Measure Call Abandonment Rate?
- Why Do Callers Abandon Calls?Ā
- The Impact of Call Abandonment Rate in Call Centers
- What is the cost of poor customer service?
- Ways To Improve Call Abandonment Rate
- Latest Investments to Enhance CXĀ
- Are you Ready to Take your CX to the Next Level by Reducing Call Abandonment Rates with JindalXĀ
Benchmarks are pivotal, but itās much more necessary to analyse whatās acceptable for clients than to rely on ordinary metrics. Call abandonment is inevitable but lowering call abandonment rates in the contact center industry is considered the most powerful performance lever to enhance overall customer experience (CX).Ā
The call abandon rate of 6% is the average benchmark and less than 5% is considered decent. However, if the rate is more than 6%, it is too high.Ā
Have you ever called a call center support team and were put on hold before connecting with a representative? It’s frustrating, and if the duration is long, you are likely to hang up the call instead of waiting. These instances are categorized as āabandoned callsā in the customer service world.
What can trigger a high call abandon rate?Ā Ā
A poorly written IVR script, long waiting time, lousy hold music, or complicated IVR options can trigger a high abandon rate and it needs to be monitored closely.Ā Ā
Ā
What is an Abandoned Call?Ā
According to a TimeTrade survey, people arenāt willing to wait over 5 minutes for services.āÆInterestingly, when customers are assisted by agents timely, sales increased by between 25-50%.
An abandoned call refers to a situation in which a customer-initiated phone call is disconnected or terminated by the caller before reaching a service representative or agent. Call Abandonment Rate is important as it directly reflects customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. High abandonment rates acrossĀ BPO call centersĀ indicate customer frustration and potential operational flaws at the call center. Monitoring and minimizing this metric is crucial to maintaining positive experiences and optimizing the performance of call center services.
Why is Call Abandonment Rate Important?
The impact of the call abandonment rate in BPO call centers cannot be underestimated. It affects customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, financial performance, employee morale, and the overall reputation of a business.
By recognizing the significance of call abandonment rates and implementing strategies to minimize them,Ā outbound callĀ centersĀ can create positiveĀ customer experience, increase operational effectiveness, and drive business success.
How to Measure Call Abandonment Rate?
Call Abandonment Rate is a metric used in BPO call centers to measure the percentage of calls that are disconnected or terminated by customers before they are connected to a customer service representative. It is calculated by dividing the number of abandoned calls by the total number of incoming calls and then multiplying the result by 100 to get a percentage.Ā
Ā There are other common ways as well to measure the call abandonment rate. They include:Ā
1.) Abandoned Call Threshold: Set a predetermined threshold for the maximum acceptable abandonment rate. For example, if the threshold is set at 5%, any call center with an abandonment rate higher than 5% would be considered in need of improvement. This method helps establish benchmarks and allows for ongoing monitoring against set targets.Ā
2.) Time-Based Measurement: In addition to calculation, it can be useful to measure the abandonment rate at specific time intervals. For instance, tracking the abandonment rate during peak hours versus non-peak hours can provide insights into staffing and operational needs during high-demand periods.
Why Do Callers Abandon Calls?
- Long Wait Times: When callers experience extended wait times without being connected to a representative, they may become frustrated and choose to abandon the call.
- Lack of Resolution: If callers feel that their issues are not being addressed or resolved effectively, they may choose to end the call and seek assistance through other channels.
- Poor Customer Service: Rude or unhelpful customer service representatives can lead to callers abandoning calls out of dissatisfaction with the service received.
- Complexity or Confusion: If callers encounter complex or confusing IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems or struggle to navigate through various options, they may abandon the call due to frustration.
- Disconnection Issues: Technical difficulties, such as poor call quality or frequent disconnections, can frustrate callers and lead them to abandon the call.
- Time Constraints: Callers may have time constraints or urgent matters that prevent them from waiting on hold for an extended period, prompting them to abandon the call and seek alternative solutions.
Understanding the reasons behind call abandonment is essential for outbound call centers to address these issues and improve customer experiences, ultimately reducing abandonment rates.
The Impact of Call Abandonment Rate in Call Centers
According to the American Express survey, each abandoned call costs business around $50 and in most of the scenarios, there is a potential $4,000 daily loss in sales.
Businesses aiming to diminish the revenue losses majorly focus on reducing abandoned calls. The Survey concluded that if the average queue time is reduced to 2 mins, the abandoned call rate will also slash rapidly, and revenue will increase by $3,000 per day (approx). The Call Abandonment Rate leads to poor customer experience and damage the reputation of businesses.
What is the cost of poor customer service?
A HubSpot researchāÆdepicts that over 83%āÆof brands believe that making customers happy is pivotal as 58% of consumers switch companies due to customer experience.Ā Ā
According NewVoiceMediaāÆreport, a poor CX causes a tremendous financial loss of about $75 billion annually to the businesses and it is increasing year-on-year. Let us have a look at how call abandon rates and other factors of CX are co-related.Ā
Across all the industries examined, reports of bad customer experiences improved by just 1% point between 2017 and 2019. The largest improvements came in the Insurance, Streaming Media, Credit Card and Investment Firms industries.
Ways To Improve Call Abandonment Rate
- Optimize Agent Training: Invest in comprehensive training programs for customer service representatives to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to handle calls efficiently and effectively.
1. Train agents with scripts. It will guide them through customer calls, helping to reduce errors and increase efficiency.
2. Scripts enable agents to act as advisors to customers.
3. Agents will be well-trained to modify their approach in different situations. - Reduce Wait Times: Minimize the amount of time callers spend waiting in the queue by optimizing staffing levels, implementing efficient call routing systems, and offering alternative options such as callback services.
Optimize call routing protocol by sending queries to the right agent.
Automate routine service calls by implementing IVR.
Successful IVRs let customers handle their own queries by freeing up agents to handle more serious issues.
Improve Call Center Technology: In a long run, integrations allow businesses to enjoy all the contact center software features that can drastically enhance CX and reduce hold times. Upgrading call center technology and infrastructure to ensure smooth call handling, clear call quality, and minimize technical issues that may lead to call abandonment.
Support customers via all communication channels like email, live chat, or social media).
CRM Integration for Customer Context via CTI (Computer Telephony Integration)
CRM Integration for Customer Context
Analyze and Monitor Metrics: Regularly analyze call abandonment data, along with other call center metrics, to identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement. Monitor the data in real-time to proactively address issues and make necessary adjustments.
- Implement Customer Feedback Mechanisms: Gather feedback from customers to understand their experiences and identify pain points that may contribute to call abandonment.
- Use surveys, post-call feedback forms, or other feedback mechanisms to gain insights and make informed improvements.
Train agents to de-escalate issues by granting vouchers, discounts, or refunds through the software.Ā
Latest Investments to Enhance CX
The latest research by Qualtrics concludes that organizations risk 6.7% of their revenue, or $3.1 trillion across the globe due to poor customer experiences.Ā Ā
Around 50% of consumers decrease or stop making transaction with a company after facing any poor experience. This is a major reason why majority of the sectors like Finance, Education, Real Estate, E-commerce, IT, and more are spending billions to boost their services.Ā
Leading players across multiple sectors like Starbucks, Mastercard, Honeybee Health, Accenture, Google, and more are investing heavily to improve customer service.Ā
Financial Services CompaniesĀ
Financial servicesĀ companies infuse huge money to enhance on CX. According to a Microsoft Dynamics 365āÆsurvey, over 80% of financial services firms allocate 25% or more of their overall budget to customer experience. For e.g.: The Union BankāÆallows access to financial articles, coaching sessions to its customers and prospects.Ā
Also, Eastern Bank offers fully automated, end-to-end loan originations i.e., thereās no prerequisite branch visit or other unnecessary steps.Ā
On-Demand Travel IndustryĀ
With surging inflation and supply chain challenges, CX is taking a beating. As per Forresterās annual report, 19% ofĀ on-demand travel industryĀ including delivery apps, cab hailing platforms, and hotels faced a huge slash in CX scores and only 3% will truly regain the customer loyalty.Ā
Frontier Airlines is one such example as the brand miserably failed to fulfil the two core elements of customer service i.e., compassion and communication and faced serious consequences.Ā
Real EstateĀ
Research from PwCāÆhas shown that 32% of real estate customers stopped interacting brand/agents after a single poor experience. Above all 50% of potential customers abandon their search if the web page takes too long to load.Ā Ā
The real estate sector is constantly improving via SMS & email withāÆresponse rates as high as 24%.
Are you Ready to Take your CX to the Next Level by Reducing Call Abandonment Rates with JindalX
Remember, reducing call abandonment rates requires a holistic approach that involves optimizing staffing, implementing effective call routing systems, providing comprehensive training, and continuously monitoring and adapting to customer demands. By prioritizing these efforts, call centers can deliver exceptional service and maintain a competitive edge in todayās customer-centric business landscape.Ā
Monitoring, identifying the causes, and implementing strategies to reduce call center abandonment rates are crucial aspects of effective business management.Ā
By selecting the appropriate call center services software, you provide your team with workforce management, AI automation, and reporting tools necessary for maintaining lower call abandonment rates and ensuring high customer satisfaction. These features create a cohesive customer service experience throughout the entire contact center, enabling agents to work more efficiently and offer personalized, customer-centric support through self-service options.Ā
Significantly reducing call abandonment rates brings the added advantage of enhancing the experience for both call center agents and customers simultaneously, making it a win-win situation.Ā
Leverage customized CX solutions by JindalX and deliver excellent customer service across channels. We help minimize average resolution time, multiple follow-up costs, and improve FCR and CSAT scores. Using the most advanced features and functionalities by JindalX, you can create custom journeys, and automate tasks to reduce cart abandonment rates and improve conversions. To learn more aboutĀ call center outsourcing,Ā reach out to JindalX.
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