Abandoned calls in a business represent missed business opportunities as well as poor customer support. Even though different reasons might force a client to abandon a call, the bottom line is that the client was not able to get what they were looking for.
However, businesses can implement different strategies to minimize or even eliminate their call abandonment rates. This helps them provide their customers with an amazing experience.
What is the Call Abandonment Rate?
Before reducing your call abandonment rate, you need to make sure that you are calculating it well.
It can be defined as the percentage of the number of calls that are disconnected before the caller talks to a business representative compared to the total number of calls that the business receives.
To calculate your call abandonment rate, divide the number of abandoned calls by the total number of calls received.
Reducing Your Call Abandonment Rate
1. Call Forwarding
You can use call forwarding to reduce your call abandonment rate. To start with, your business should have several team members who understand your products and services well.
When a customer calls and the person responsible for taking the call is busy or on another call, you can forward the customer’s call to the next available team member. However, this only works for those who understand how to forward calls effectively.
It ensures that your customers do not have to spend a lot of time on the phone waiting for your business representative to respond to them. This reduces your call abandonment rate.
2. Providing Different Options to Customers
You can also reduce your call abandonment rate by providing different options to your customers. For instance, you can implement virtual queuing for your customers to know how many people are ahead of them in the queue.
In addition, you can use online chats where your customers can chat with someone. Some minor issues do not have to be addressed via a phone call. You can also provide them with information through their email addresses.
If you have an FAQ page on your website, you can direct them to the page to see if the problem they are facing has already been addressed.
Finally, you can send them a message asking them to call back later when your lines are not busy. These techniques are not only important in reducing your call abandonment rate but also in making your customers feel valued.
3. Using Callbacks and Virtual Queuing
Every customer calling your business wants to get connected as fast as possible. Introducing virtual queuing ensures that your customers do not lose their number in the queue even when they hang up.
In such a situation, your business representatives can call them back after they are done with the other customers. This reduces the call abandonment rate by keeping the customers in the queue.
If you have a toll-free number, you can use callbacks to save money consumed by customers while waiting to get connected. At the end of the day, you need to make sure that you have addressed the concerns of your customers.
4. Notify Customers of Their Expected Wait Time
It is important to notify your customers about their estimated wait time when they call your business. If you call a business and you are placed on hold without an estimate of how long you will remain there, chances are that you will abandon the call due to frustration.
On the other hand, if you are provided with the expected wait time, you will likely remain patient and wait for your turn. Understanding what customers think about long wait times in a business is important when it comes to reducing your call abandonment rate.
5. Plan For Call Volume Patterns
You might experience different call volumes at different times depending on your business operations. You need to understand that having more call representatives means more calls are answered, reducing your call abandonment rate.
One way of doing this is by tracking peak times when you receive the highest number of calls. During peak times, make sure that you have enough call representatives to answer all customer calls.
Abandonment Rate in Conclusion
A high call abandonment rate means that your customers are not getting what they are looking for in your business. This might take them to your competitors leading to a loss of business. The strategies discussed above can play a crucial role in ensuring that they get better services.