How The Callback Option Can Improve Your Contact Center Performance

Businesses spend millions marketing their products trying to satisfy existing customers and gain new ones.  A great Customer Experience is at the top of the list when looking at ways to develop loyalty and shine above competitors.  However, all that effort goes to waste when customers feel upset and frustrated when they call into your contact center to resolve an issue – and have to wait and wait to talk to a representative.

One bad customer experience can lead to consumers dropping a business’s services and switching to a rival. Companies can make headway in reducing hangups by employing a callback option in their contact center.

What is a Callback Option?

Most customers don’t want to wait more than five minutes for a response when calling into a contact center. Their patience decreases rapidly from that point since long waits disrupt their daily routine and only create aggravation. The callback option, also known as a virtual hold, lets customers opt out of a long wait time.

Callers are given the option of leaving a message detailing their issue along with a telephone number where they can be reached. When an agent in the Contact Center is free, the call can be returned.  In some contact centers where AI is utilized, the call can be forwarded to a specialized agent, capable of researching the correct resolution to the customer’s issue before even making the return call.

What Benefits Do the Callback Option Provide?

The callback option helps contact centers to improve on different metrics used to measure the effectiveness of their customer service.

1. Reduced Abandonment Rate – Customers tend to hang up when they’ve been on hold for a long time. The option of a caller elected callback reduces the number of customers giving up out of frustration.
2. More Efficient Use of Resources – An effective callback option allows contact center supervisors to schedule agents more effectively.  Calls can be returned during slower times in the contact center,  helping to effectively utilize resources.
3. Quicker Call Completions – When possible, agents may save time by researching a customer’s issue before calling them back, thereby reducing the amount of time they need to spend on the phone when they make a callback. That allows customers to move on with the rest of their day and helps agents get to the next person faster.
4. Improved First-Contact Resolution – Instead of wasting time waiting, a caller may be given the option of leaving a message citing a specific task that needs to be addressed.  The callback option allows customers to receive a callback from an agent with the answer to their problem. That cuts down on the necessity of being transferred or even calling back in again because they didn’t get the answer they needed the first time they called.

Is the Callback Option Right for My Business?

Small and large businesses can benefit from adding a callback option to their Contact Center operation. A business depends on good Customer Experience to continue growing – a simple improvement in the Contact Center such as the callback option can help build a good rapport with customers and earn their loyalty.  It just might give you the edge over other competitors in your market that you need.