Solving customer problems on the first try is an inexpensive and easy way to increase your average order size. There are many benefits to this:
- Lower operating costs
- Opportunities for upselling
- Customer satisfaction is improved
- Revenue growth
There are many methods to improve and measure your first-time fix rate or resolution rate. These include automated IVR surveys, tracking calls from the same customers within seven days, and tracking callbacks.
You can track the reason codes that agents apply to customer accounts in a CRM system. Study after study has shown that there is a strong correlation between CSAT scores and the first contact resolution.
The reason is simple: customers don’t have the patience to repeatedly call for the same issue. Negative reviews are most often caused by brands not looking for ways to increase their first-time fix rate. This aspect of customer service must be emphasized by online businesses to ensure customer satisfaction.
7 Strategies to Increase Your First-Time Fix Rates For Customer Satisfaction-
These 7 steps will help you increase your contact resolution rate.
1. Determine the real reason customers contact
The first step to understanding why customers keep calling back is a Root Cause Analysis. These are the steps: Analyze CSat survey results to drill down to individual customer interactions to determine the reasons a customer has contacted you again. You should look out for signs such as long hold times, manager escalations, and follow-up calls, as well as indicators like transfers.
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2. Benchmark team performance
Next, compare the resolution rates of individual agents to find the average team rate. According to analytics specialist, Groove, ways that you can improve customer satisfaction experience, such as updating FAQs or adding self-service options such as chatbots.
3. Use technological tools
Comparable to a decade ago, the number of customer service channels has significantly increased. This can increase the workload of agents and reduce their ability to empathize with and understand customers. Examine whether agents can quickly access customer account information while speaking with customers.
If not, your helpdesk software and CRM need to be integrated to allow agents to access account-related/ticket information in real-time. This will give them more information and make it easier to offer solutions to customers. This will also help reduce the need for calls to be transferred to other departments.
4. Improved call routing and cross-training agents
Customer dissatisfaction can be caused by being transferred to multiple agents. This can increase the effort required by customers to resolve their queries. You might consider adopting call routing strategies that are specific to the reason a customer calls customer support. If a customer calls to upgrade their system, they can connect to a retention specialist immediately, rather than a general support agent.
Agents must also be trained in multiple skill sets to deal with multiple types of queries. This will increase their knowledge and reduce your operating expenses. Agents who have been cross-trained are more likely to assist customers with greater efficiency because they have a wider view of the business.
5. Empower agents with discounts, credits, and waivers.
Customers often request spot refunds and discounts, which agents are often unable to fulfill without having to transfer to a manager. This can lead to customer dissatisfaction and may affect the first contact resolution. You can make customers’ experience better by pre-authorizing agents to approve credit and discounts. This will allow agents to be problem-solvers and not just messengers.
6. Coaching and Development
Customer service agents often have to be able to use multiple systems at once while interacting with customers. They must be able to work with customers and have a good understanding of processing. Agents need to be able to do both and still empathize. This is why they must receive ongoing training.
Regular training in soft skills as well as production techniques can help improve their efficiency and enable them to master them. Make sure they are aware of how their work impacts other teams and the company as a whole. Let new agents shadow more experienced colleagues on other teams. Also, organize team briefings.
Last Words
The first contact resolution can have a significant impact on not only that but also your overall profitability as it relates to repeat sales and average order sizes. If done well, it can help you distinguish your brand from other brands. Ask about the first resolution rate of any outsourced customer service provider. This will help you make an objective decision.
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LiveHelpIndia’s datacentric customer support philosophy ensures performance metrics such as first contact resolution are monitored and reported in real-time. This allows you to see if your customer service goals are being met. It is easy to work together. We use the ‘no-contract, on-demand model that gives you maximum flexibility and cost-effectiveness.