Customer service standards have risen significantly with the advent of better technology. Even within the technological realm, cloud telephony solutions have changed the game as people demand more from a contact centre than ever before. There is no room for errors.
PricewaterhouseCoopers found that despite loving the company or the product, 59% of consumers would not purchase from a business after several bad experiences. In fact, 17% would drop the brand after even one such experience.
Hence, companies cannot afford a bad service in this day and age. To ensure steady, satisfactory consumer experience, call continuity is an important factor. So what does this term really mean?
Call continuity refers to the persistence of a call despite any initial loss of connection. In simpler words, if a call gets disconnected on a particular extension, the system detects that loss of network and redirects the call to a backup number with an available agent. This service guarantees a smooth consumer experience despite switching circuits.
What could cause a loss of network when a consumer is on call? There are a number of circumstances you need to be wary of:
- Bad weather such as hurricanes, floods, rains and more can often result in connectivity issues.
- Issues in or complete outage of a network provider can lead to total disruption.
- Power failures can also lead to bad connections when calls are handled on the cloud.
- Minor network issues on both ends can cause an unstable connection.
Call continuity is the solution you need. It ensures that the consumer does not lose the conversation but is simply forwarded to another agent who can handle their complaints better. Essentially, your business is able to deliver excellent experiences by overcoming all hurdles.
How can You Improve Your Call Continuity with Cloud Solutions at Hand?
Cloud telephony providers can ensure that your consumers are not victims of a disconnected call. Several features of cloud telephony allow easy transition and seamless communication:
Backup Agents
First things first, you need someone to back you up if the call gets disconnected. However, for this, there need to be a sizable amount of agents on your team. When the call is disrupted, it will then be forwarded to another agent who is free and suitable to take over the conversation.
With an (Interactive Voice Response) IVR service, you can delegate the task of determining agent schedules and suitability to automation. The virtual assistant greets and routes the call to the right agent, whenever necessary.
Access to Information
What happens once the call is redirected? The second representative takes over exactly where the conversation was cut off. Therefore, it’s important to be up-to-date with the customer’s query, product information and history so that they don’t need to keep repeating themselves.
Thanks to cloud telephony, all your consumer data is stored in a central location that can be accessed by different agents when required. This allows your agents to instantly gather data and understand the consumer’s requirements instead of making them relive the whole process.
This not only enhances the experience but also shortens the call duration, allowing your team to answer more requests at the same time.
Remote Working and Portability
One of the greatest benefits that cloud entails is the possibility of remote working and portability. Since the cloud is an Internet-based system, it does not require extensive hardware or infrastructure to function. So you can easily decentralise and set up kiosks in different locations.
This is especially important for maintaining call continuity. Your agents may suffer the effects of network disruption as a whole if they are located in the same region. However, with representatives in separate areas, a common network issue is much less likely to occur.
Hence, if a particular agent is facing low connectivity, you can simply redirect to an employee with a better network.
Support Teams
When you employ cloud telephony solutions, you are also entitled to the providers’ support team that can back up any issues. For example, if there is a call continuity issue, one call to your provider ensures quick redressal so you’re up and running in no time. Hence, you have the benefit of the technology as well as the team behind it.
This is an important factor when it comes to call continuity because it no longer becomes only your problem. You can find experts to work at the back end while you take care of the avenues of your expertise.
Switched Devices
As mentioned earlier, cloud telephony enhances remote working and mobility. This means it also allows freedom to the agents to choose their own device. Hence, they can switch between networks and devices freely.
In the case of call continuity, if a particular device is having network issues, your agent can swiftly set up the call on another device.
Database and Call Monitoring
In a traditional telephony setup, it is quite a task to navigate all calls and keep track of the systems. Cloud telephony provides you with an admin database that can be used to monitor and track call flows.
Not only can you gain information on call statistics—duration, frequency, initiation—but also record calls for training and analysis purposes. With this database, you can assess where each call is being diverted and to whom. To provide good customer experience, you should be completely aware of the inner workings of your contact centre, and an administration database allows you to do just that.
Scalability and Easy Payments
You can allow greater call continuity with more extensions and phone lines. Cloud solutions can be easily scaled up or down, which means you can add systems quickly or relocate anytime.
When you have more requirements, you can employ more features and vice-versa. Since most cloud telephony providers offer a pay-as-you-go system, you can budget your expenditure as per your needs. Fulfil your most urgent requirements and don’t worry about overspending.
The Bottom Line
As consumer expectations increase, a dropped call can be an extremely frustrating experience for them. Call continuity ensures that a bad connection is not the end of a consumer call. By rerouting to a backup agent, you can provide a smooth sailing customer experience.
Cloud telephony providers help you achieve call continuity with minimal effort. This is made even easier as agents have access to customer information in a common location—the cloud.
At a time when simple errors result in a loss of several customers, it’s better not to take a chance and employ technology that will help you in the short and long-term.
So, what are you waiting for?
Give your consumers the superior experience they deserve and invest in a cloud telephony system provided by Servetel.
Call our expert team at 1800-120-4132 any time to get in touch.
