Whether it's finance, sales or support, every business decision relies on accurate, timely information. Any gaps in your business data can quickly lead to mistakes in the planning process.
To combat this, it's crucial to identify multiple sources of data that can be used to support your business metrics. One such valuable insight is your business communication system. Data about the use of your telecoms will enable you to accurately assess business performance in terms of customer service, sales and even missed opportunities, helping with future strategic planning.
The following questions are crucial to every business - but ask yourself, can you accurately answer them?
Are calls being answered?
In an ideal world, every incoming call would be quickly answered. However, for some business this simple isn't practical, so provisions need to be made to ensure service continues smoothly for those customers who can't get through. Statistically, the vast majority of customers hate leaving voicemails. And for the minority who do, an unreturned call is even more frustrating, so it's imperative that messages are followed up efficiently.
How long does it take to answer calls?
Rather than using a mailbox, some business opt to place incoming calls in a queue until an agent becomes available. Waiting times need to be kept to a minimum to reduce the risk of the call being abandoned. Useful statistics to help with this include:
- Average call wait time
- Call abandonment rate
- Average call duration
These can be further broken down to reveal departments, teams or individuals who would benefit from further training to improve service delivery.
How many calls were lost?
If a customer rings off before speaking to someone, you shouldn't have to lose their business entirely. With call reporting, you can see a list of calls that were abandoned alongside the originating phone numbers. This allows agents to ensure every customer is called back and queries are followed up satisfactorily reducing lost sales figures. In addition, you can identify individuals or departments who may not be meeting service level expectations.
How successful are marketing campaigns?
Ultimately, marketing campaign success comes down to a single metric: how many new leads were generated?
A good reporting system allows incoming calls to be 'tagged' with a specific account code, which can be used to denote several factors, like whether the call is in response to a specific campaign or call-to-action. This makes it simple to generate reports that can be used to calculate overall marketing campaign success.
These figures can be integrated with other feedback data, ensuring you have a complete view of resources and conversions and assisting with future resource and budget planning.
A hosted phone system can help businesses gain all of these valuable insights about customer communications, allowing better planning, assistance with budgeting and improved customer service. Find out what Sirus can do for you.
More like this:
- 4 signs it's time for a new phone system
- Don't lose out to your competitors - never miss a call again
- 6 questions to ask when considering a new CCTV system