More Customers at Lower Cost: 5 Tips to Handle Growing Call Volumes

How to handle growing call volume without increasing labour costs or sacrificing customer service.

When service is your business, increasing call volume can really tax your organization. If your business isn’t designed to operate 24/7 but customers want round-the-clock service, it may be time to rethink how you can handle burgeoning call volume without blowing your staffing budget. Here are five tips for dealing with growing volume of incoming calls without letting the increase in customer demand bankrupt your business.

1. Focus on Quality

Don’t let keeping costs down mean you let customer service slip when faced with increasing call volume. Bain, an American global management consulting firm, reports that customers are four times as likely to leave your business for a competitor’s if their complaints are service-related rather than price- or product-focused. Don’t let service slip just because the phones won’t stop ringing.

2. Keep Close Tabs

When call volume rises, managers have to double-down efforts to ensure existing staffers are representing the company well. The won’t cost extra, but it may mean the difference between losing a client and keeping one happy. A CEI survey reports that 86 percent of purchasers would pay a higher price if it meant better customer service. You don’t have to increase costs to tune in a little more closely to your staff and ensure rising call volume isn’t derailing customer service.

3. Analyze Labour Efficiencies

Are you sure you’re getting what you’re paying for with staffing? It may be time to take a closer look at how your efficiency numbers measure up to existing industry benchmarks. Get down and dirty with your labour efficiency numbers and analyze average call length, logged off times, and all billable times to determine the root problem behind any efficiency issues in your internal client service centre.

4. Look Long Term

Working out the kinks in your in-house client service centre is key to keeping costs low even as call volume creeps up. Perhaps in the short term you may have to let go of unproductive reps or hire additional staff in order to keep costs down for the future. If you’re not focusing on the big picture, you may miss the forest for the trees. An additional investment in labour now may mean you keep your bottom line down over time. If you need to offer incentives or bonuses to reward quality service today, you’ll keep costs down tomorrow by cutting overall losses due to dissatisfaction with customer service. Don’t let rising call volume catch you off-guard; invest in your reps and reap the rewards long-term.

5. Consider an Outsourced Solution

If you’re not able to handle rising call volume without sacrificing service quality, it may be time to consider an outsourced solution. Outsourced vendors can offer scalable answers to your staffing issues while delivering quality service that meets or exceeds your in-house standards. If you struggle to meet demand for quality, bilingual service that’s available 24/7, you may be surprised at the economy of some outside vendors. For real solutions to the problem of rising call volume, check out our whitepaper “10 Proven Strategies to Decrease the Costs of Your Customer Care Without Sacrificing Service Levels.”

Conclusion

Increasing customer demand can be a good thing, as long as you’re prepared to handle it. Don’t let rising call volume derail your customer service standards. Look within first to see what you can change internally to keep costs low while meeting customer expectations. If that’s not enough, it’s time to bring in an outside vendor to help you meet customers’ needs without breaking your bank.