Understanding Call Deflection: What It Is and Why It Matters
Table of contents
Picture this: The customer service team of an online retailer is dealing with an overwhelming number of support calls from their customers on a daily basis. Upon further analysis, they find out that most of the customers who are calling them have very basic questions.
Questions such as: ‘How do I initiate a refund on the app? How to add a new address? How to set up an alert for when a product comes into stock?
These simple, straightforward queries ideally don’t require customers to reach out to the support team. A smarter way to tackle such queries would be to enable customers to self-serve.
And so, the retailer decided to implement an IVR system, a knowledge base, and an AI-powered chatbot. The aim was to direct customers to self-service options for resolving routine queries without compromising service quality.
This strategy is called call deflection. In this guide, I’ll be exploring call deflection strategies in detail, and also talk about how you can integrate it into your current customer service strategy.
Table of Contents
- What is Call Deflection?
- Common Methods of Call Deflection
- Benefits of Call Deflection
- Elevate Agent Productivity with Call Deflection
What is Call Deflection?
Call deflection is a support strategy that focuses on reducing the volume of support calls handled by customer service agents.
The goal of deflection is to avoid long call queues and make support interactions faster and more efficient. Customers with routine queries are directed to self-service options or routed to interactive voice response systems. This frees up call center agents so that they can focus on handling more important queries and tasks.
For example, banks often use IVR systems to deflect common banking queries such as:
- Account balance inquiries
- Credit card services
- Branch/ATM locator
- PIN changes
Common Methods of Call Deflection
There are multiple approaches you can integrate into your customer service strategy to handle routine queries. Here’s a brief look at some of the most common methods.
1. Create a comprehensive onboarding process for new users
Some of the most common queries are based around how you can use a product or service to its maximum potential.
A good way to handle such queries is to help customers thoroughly understand your offering and its benefits right from the start.
Implement a well-thought onboarding process to familiarize new users with your product or service. Use a sequence of welcome emails, tutorials, guides, and videos to help users understand how to set up and use your product.
Companies like HubSpot even offer personalized onboarding experiences that are tailored to customer goals, needs and challenges. This helps users quickly understand how they can use the product effectively and shortens the time to first value (time it takes for a user to unlock the first successful outcome with your product.)
2. Maintain a detailed knowledge base
Think about the most common questions a customer is likely to ask. Create detailed help articles and tutorials on these questions and store them in a central hub so that everything is easily searchable.
A platform like Hiver, for instance, allows you to create a centralized knowledge base that enables customers to self-serve.
The platform also offers the ability to categorize topics, so that it’s easier for your customers to look for information.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re choosing a knowledge base:
- Easy to navigate: Choose a knowledge base tool that is easy to set up and navigate. It’s best if the tool has an intuitive search functionality so users can find and access information easily. You should be able to categorize information by topics, keywords, or tags.
- Multimedia support: You should be able to use multiple content formats such as videos, images, and text to support different learning preferences.
- Third-party integrations: Look for a knowledge base tool that can be integrated with CRMs, help desks, or chatbots so that support agents can access relevant information and provide quick responses.
- Customization: Choose a customizable knowledge base so that it matches your brand’s colors and themes especially if you plan to implement it on your website or mobile app.
Easy to update and maintain: You should be able to easily add or remove content and make changes to existing information without having to deal with technical complexities
3. Deploy chatbots on your website and mobile app
Use AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants on your website or mobile app (if you have one) to assist customers with basic queries. You can set up auto-responders to direct customers to resources, inform them when agents are busy or unavailable, and capture their contact information.
The advantage with chatbots is that they can function around-the-clock. This means customers can get their queries answered even outside of business hours which can decrease the volume of support calls during peak hours.
Plus, chatbots are easily scalable. Their ability to handle multiple interactions simultaneously can reduce the need for a large number of contact center agents, enabling more cost savings.
Let’s take Uber’s WhatsApp chatbot for example. Users can directly book a cab from WhatsApp, enabling effortless ride bookings. The chatbot offers information on the driver’s location, fare estimates, and provides 24/7 assistance to users. The biggest advantage is that you can book a cab without having to switch to the Uber app, making it super convenient for users.
4. Provide robust email support
Another call deflection strategy is to encourage customers to contact you via email. This is because email is an asynchronous mode of communication and agents can handle multiple queries simultaneously which is not possible with phone support.
However, for your email support to work efficiently, you need to first set the right expectations.
To start with, ensure that all incoming emails receive a response as soon as possible. It does not necessarily have to be a resolution to a problem. Simply let customers know that you’ve received their query and give them a timeframe within which they can expect to receive a solution.
You can do this by establishing SLAs (Service level agreements) to help your support team manage customer expectations. For instance, say every customer query should be responded to within the first two hours.
Hiver allows you to set SLA based reminders for customer conversations. In cases where the SLA is not met, stakeholders are automatically notified with an SLA violation tag. This ensures that every customer email receives a timely response.
Another important aspect in offering effective email support is to make sure that each query is handled by the right agent. Software bugs and system issues require a technical expert, billing queries need someone from finance, and pre-purchase inquiries require a sales support specialist.
Hiver allows you to automatically route customer inquiries to specific agents by configuring certain triggers. For instance, all emails with the word ‘Refund’ in the subject line or message body will be routed to your billing and payments department.
5. Offer social media support
Offer social media as an alternative option to contacting your support team. This allows you to engage with customers on apps or platforms they’re already using, thereby reducing long call queues.
You can establish a dedicated support team to handle customer queries on social media. They can engage with customers in real-time, monitor mentions, hashtags, comments, or posts related to your brand, and proactively address issues before they escalate.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when using social media support as a call deflection strategy:
- Choose the right platforms: Offer support across social media channels where your audience is most likely to be active. For instance, LinkedIn may be better suited for B2B customers whereas X and Instagram are frequently used by B2C customers.
- Use auto-responders: Set up automated responses to inform customers that their queries have been received and will be addressed soon.
- Pay attention to your brand voice: Establish guidelines for social media support so that customers receive consistent responses across any channel. For instance, some brands may prefer to go with a casual and conversational tone while others may prefer to keep their brand voice more formal.
- Review customer feedback: Use simple polls and surveys to assess what customers think about your support strategy. Leverage these insights to adjust your support strategy and improve how you communicate with customers.
6. Create community forums
Invite customers to be part of community forums where they can easily engage with other users. Communities are a great place for customers to share information about their experiences and find quick help for any issues they may be facing with a product or service.
The peer-to-peer support decreases the need for customers to contact customer service and helps them find solutions either by initiating new discussions or searching through past ones.
For instance, Salesforce has a huge community called the Trailblazer Community. It offers a forum where Salesforce developers from across the globe can connect, share information, and help each other. The forum is always active and there are multiple groups within the community dedicated to specific topics of discussion.
Benefits of Call Deflection
Here are some benefits of using call deflection in your customer support strategy:
- Reduced call volumes: The most obvious benefit of call deflection is that your agents have to handle a lower volume of support queries. Most calls are directed to alternative customer service options like FAQs, chatbots, or IVRs.
- Faster resolution: Aside from complex queries, customers don’t have to wait in line to get answers to simple queries. Tools like chatbots and virtual assistants also offer 24/7 support, leading to quicker problem resolution.
- Better agent productivity: With routine queries being taken off their hands, your support agents can direct their focus on assisting customers with more complex queries. This reduces agent overload and improves their productivity.
- Scalability: Call deflection allows businesses to handle larger call volumes at a fraction of the cost as compared to proportionally hiring more agents.
Elevate Agent Productivity with Call Deflection
Call deflection is no longer just an option; it’s a necessity for businesses looking to enhance customer satisfaction and optimize operational costs. By strategically implementing call deflection strategies, you can empower customers to find answers independently, reduce call wait times, and improve support staff productivity.
Remember, the goal isn’t to eliminate human interaction but to optimize it. By combining self-service options with skilled agents, you can create a seamless customer experience that drives loyalty and growth.
