We are in the era of big data and decisions based on that data. As they say, better data makes for better decisions, and with all the data available to us now, the decisions we make are less risky and can yield better results in less time.
Phone metrics can deliver some of those results for customer service if you know the metrics to pay attention to. At one time, phone metrics were only available to large corporations that made huge investments in their phone systems. Only they had the resources to afford the collection services and analysts required to convert the data into a narrative and an agenda.
Today, cloud-based business phone systems, or hosted VoIP, has made that valuable data available to organizations of all sizes. The data ranges from ready access to raw data to the full functionality of automated dashboards that offer instant insights.
The most meaningful phone metrics to track.
This year, it’s estimated that the average manager will make around 40 to 50 important decisions for the business. Research shows that these decisions will drive 95% of business performance. Data driven choices and the implementation of best practices raises the chance of making a good decision and improves manager performance by 20%.
When considering phone metrics that will give you the key measures that will improve the results of the decisions you make, start with:
Call volume. This most basic metric provides a baseline with which you can establish trends and pattern behavior.
Response times and wait times. Determine how quickly inbound calls are being answered as well as wait times.
Call duration. Measure how long your staff spends on the phone solving problems.
Transfers. This is an important metric as it can reveal inefficiencies in your call routing and auto attendant menus. The more transfers there are the more likely your customers are calling in to the wrong numbers, or not receiving the customer care they need. Customers typically don’t appreciate getting bounced around and repeating their requests or complaints to every person they get transferred to. Therefore, generally, a high transfer rate means a low customer satisfaction rate.
Abandon rate. This is the percentage of callers that hang up before it is answered. It can be that the caller suddenly had something come up they had to attend to, but more than likely they just gave up and that does not reflect well on your client care.
Day of the week and time of day. Tracking when calls occur, by day and by hour, can help determine whether you are holding the proper staff levels to handle the current call load. If not, then it’s time to make some change and remediate the issue.
Satisfaction measurement. Regularly give your customers a chance to record their level of satisfaction at the end of the call.
Hosted VoIP delivers effortless, extensive phone metrics.
Hosted, or cloud-based, phone systems eliminate the need for an additional person to provide you with the integral phone metrics. Customizable reports are readily available at any time, generally in the provider’s customer portal. Hosted VoIP offers a treasure trove of metrics and reports to analyze them with giving you a greater advantage in the decisions you make.
To discuss how VoIP can help you get the metrics you need to make decisions that will yield you better results, give us a call today.
