When was the last time you felt truly connected to a brand? Odds are it wasn't just because of their shiny new offerings or competitive discounts. It was because they went the extra mile to make you feel valued and understood.
That's the power of excellent customer experiences (CX). If you treat customers well and ensure productive interactions, they will be five times more likely to keep buying from you. They might even become ambassadors for your business, which is the most effective form of advertising – also the least expensive! The importance of delivering exceptional CX cannot be understated. According to Accenture, positive CX is your business's secret weapon to stand out from competitors. As more brands compete for public attention and more options become readily available, CX provides a way to put your product and brand at the forefront.
If you’re ready to start building a great CX strategy, we've got the perfect place for you to start – your hosted VoIP phone system. Though often overlooked, it can have a massive impact on your CX. Especially when you utilize these five features.
Feature 1: Advanced Call Routing
First impressions are crucial, especially when customers contact your business. Advanced call routing, a hallmark of hosted VoIP phone systems, instantly ensures incoming calls are directed to the correct department or agent. It slashes wait times and reduces the likelihood of misrouted calls, which, in turn, reduces customer frustration. Win-win-win.
Cloud9's hosted VoIP phone systems take this a step further by offering personalized routing options. For VIP customers or returning clients, the system recognizes them and directs them to their preferred contact. This personal touch demonstrates your commitment to their satisfaction right from the start.
Feature 2: Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems
Want to give your customers the option of self-service but need to maintain personalization? Enter the IVR, one of the crown jewels of Cloud9's hosted VoIP phone systems. It acts as an automated guide for callers, letting them navigate through menu options to find answers to their questions.
While an IVR is no substitute for a human being, they're great at handling routine questions, such as "What's my account balance?" Or "What's the status of my order?" Now your customers won't have to waste time waiting for an agent, and your agents are freed up to tackle more complex tasks.
However, please remember to design your IVR system with the customer in mind. IVR systems that force customers to repeat themselves or leave them on hold for extended periods do far more harm than good.
Make sure your IVR menus are easy to understand, short, and helpful so customers get where they want to go ASAP.
Feature 3: Call Analytics and Monitoring
In the quest for exceptional CX, data is your ally. Call analytics and monitoring offered by hosted VoIP systems give you the data you need to improve your processes by identifying the following:
Bottlenecks: Call data analysis can help you identify and remove common delays.
Call Abandonment Rates: If a lot of customers are hanging up before reaching an agent, it might be time to reevaluate your wait times and call routes.
Peak Call Times: By determining the hours (or days) you get the most calls you can staff accordingly and watch your wait times plummet.
And more!
Armed with this information, you can make tweaks to provide your customers with a smoother, more effective experience.
Feature 4: Customer Relationship Management Integrations (CRM)
Imagine your agents having a dossier of customer information at their fingertips before they even say hello. That's the magic of CRM integrations with Cloud9VoIP. As soon as the call comes in, the platform gives your agents all the necessary information – from purchase history and preferences to past interactions.
This helps agents make the customer's experience memorable and solve their problems in just one call –no transfers needed. Not only is that what every customer wants, but increasing first contact resolution (FCR) rates, a KPI in customer service that gauges the percentage of customer inquiries or issues that are resolved during the initial interaction, can increase sales opportunities and decrease operational costs!
Feature 5: Unified Communications
According to a survey by Salesforce, 78 percent of customers use multiple communication channels to reach out to you. Sadly, a lot of companies only monitor one or two channels. If a customer reaches out via email, for example, it might take weeks for them to get a response. Or they might not get a response at all. A staggering 62 percent of companies do not respond to customer emails! Ninety percent of customers say an instant response is vital, with 60 percent defining an immediate response as ten minutes or less. This is why voice still reigns supreme in the digital age.
Thanks to unified communications (UC), you can change that. It's a feature of Cloud9's hosted VoIP phone systems that unites multiple channels into one cohesive platform. Now, no matter how your customers reach out – phone, email, text, etc. – your agents can see their requests and provide prompt, consistent responses.
With UC, every customer will get the attention they deserve.
And there you have it! Five features of VoIP phone systems that, if used well, can increase your satisfaction rates like never before.
Cloud9VoIP is ready to help you out. Our hosted VoIP phone systems can elevate your customer experience like nothing else. Contact us today to discuss how to best utilize VoIP for your business and improve your customer experience!