About routing: The right call to the right salesman

routing

Think back to the dark ages of call routing, when you had no way of knowing who was on the other end when your phone rang.

Fast-forward to the intelligence brought about via call-routing software like Dial800’s AccuRoute®, which not only gathers data about callers, but uses it to determine which of your staffers could best convert the call or solve a customer service issue. Your agents can then use data about caller location, demographics and the ad spurring the call to move into a customized, efficient pitch. And because each call is timed and recorded, regular summary reports let you make campaign adjustments once you know exactly who’s calling and what strategies are working.

Perhaps most importantly, your call-routing program can be customized according to the criteria most important to your business. Research by Softwareadvice.com, for example, shows correlations between a caller’s age, income, region and urbanicity, and their preferences during customer service calls. For example, 48 percent of 18–24-year-olds prefer to talk to a U.S.-based agent, a number scaling up to 78 percent for 55–64-year-olds.

If you’re curious about how call-routing systems can help your bottom line, here are some examples:

  • Phones can be answered more quickly when calls are systematically and automatically spread among multiple call centers.
  • Calls can be routed according to call center and agent schedules.
  • Agents can be armed with important caller details like age, gender, income and marital status to formulate an appealing pitch or response.
  • Callers may appreciate being recognized and not having to provide as much verbal information. Repeat callers can be routed to the same staffer to maintain continuity.
  • Callers can be matched with specific agents based on personality, conversational style or experience — or the agent’s ability to close a sale.
  • Callers can be routed to the geographical location closest to them.
  • Systems can be aligned so callers can easily talk to other experts at your company.
  • Your highest-performing agents can be recognized and honored, and you can reward them with the best prospects.
  • Data from various call centers can be integrated into one report for apples-to-apples comparisons.
  • Once you know which ad campaigns and call-center processes are most productive, you can redirect funds accordingly.

Simply put, call routing is not your grandma’s party line. And when it comes to being proactive, it’s certainly a big improvement over blindly adding incoming calls to your general queue.

“Experience clearly shows the right agent can more effectively help a new customer select the best cellphone plan, get an existing customer to purchase additional services or keep a high-value customer from canceling his contract,” notes Michael Schroeck in Forbes. “It’s bringing highly personalized service to the call center. For businesses, this translates to higher customer satisfaction and retention, increased sales yields and improved agent productivity and morale.”

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