The problem has always existed for most companies: when a call comes in, it is first sent to the main company line, and then routed to individual departments to answer.
This process, however, can be really time-consuming and frustrating for callers, especially when they have to wait for a long torturing period during peak hours.
If the call is from a prospect, the communication inefficiency can even severely damage business opportunities.
We explore solutions many companies have implemented to address this problem, and how conditional call routing may be the answer they’re looking for.
Most companies traditionally have a dedicated receptionist who is in charge of answering and filtering calls before sending them to various departments and extensions according to the caller’s demand.
This process adds unnecessary friction to extend the caller’s wait. The receptionist might not receive enough training on how to ask questions that qualify the callers, especially with different types of callers trying to connect to different departments with different needs.
The constant process of answering calls inevitably limits the receptionist’s ability to match the caller to your rep efficiently. This inadequacy has led many companies to forgo and replace their receptionist.
The former Kayak CTO Paul English, for example, hired architects to design their Concord office to be reception-less.
IVR takes a step forward to handle callers’ demands and is implemented by many big companies including telecom and airline firms.
It is the voice menu you hear when you call a corporation. For example, in telecom companies, it would be “Press 1 for mobile inquiries, Press 2 for topup…” Based on these verbal prompts, you will then be connected with the most relevant department.
Traditional IVR helps to smoothen the communication process but also faces several flaws.
Being put on a long waitlist makes customers upset.
New research from Vonage reveals that 61% of consumers think IVRs make for a poor experience. This damages companies’ brand reputation and perception.
As customers continue waiting, they also tend to just drop off, which leads to a massive loss of interested leads and potential customers.
Statistics show that more than half of consumers abandon a business because of an IVR system, and this has resulted in companies losing $262 per customer every year.
When contacting companies, prospects fill out a web form. This form is then routed to the sales department. Based on the query, the team manually decides the most suitable person to follow up with the prospect.
Evidently, this process is fraught with friction, taking too long for a prospect to hear back.
If Tom in Marketing is notified by the team to call the prospect back, but he is too busy to answer at the time, extra effort is needed to reschedule the call via email or SMS.
As time is wasted, business opportunities are lost.
Novocall provides solutions to help your company by routing calls to different departments based on users’ queries.
Its smart system automatically collects information about your callers through the callback widget or web form, then routes your leads in real-time based on advanced round robin rules, territory assignments, account-based ownership, and more.
On top of routing your lead to the right rep, Novocall also simplifies the communication process by instantly booking a meeting or starting a phone call when reps are available.
This drastically reduces the time to respond to leads, which in turn increases their engagement and conversion without the lead turning cold.
First, it accelerates the procedure to connect your lead with your sales rep, which reduces response time and increases conversions.
Second, it helps to qualify your leads more quickly. The qualification enables you to make sure that the lead is a good fit for your product before engaging them further with a longer meeting or demo. This effectively filters out prank calls which messes up your normal routine.
Third, the final and most important stage of the real sales process. Novocall collects information to help the sales team discuss and customize for prospects’ specific needs, present offers, handle objections, negotiate terms, close deals.
Bingo!
Novocall simplifies every step to reach a successful deal.
Your prospect can first choose from various options to indicate their interests.
For travel agencies, users can answer questions prior to a call such as: “Are you interested in ‘Japan Tours’, ‘Europe Tours’ or ‘Egypt Tours’?” Call-reps who are most familiar with that specific travel package will then be connected to callers.
By answering questions like:
– How big is your company?
– How many employees do you have?
– What is your expected usage of our product?
– How many users/calls/servers?
Companies can identify the size of the potential deals prior to calls and then send different prospects to different salespeople. For example, smaller requests can be sent to the marketing team or SMB sales team, while bigger usage requests can be sent to the enterprise team which facilitates the expansion of the company.
As we have covered different ways that Novocall helps to qualify users, here is how you can practice and master this feature in Novocall.
Referring to the dashboard section of a Novocall user, you can first set up all the call-reps available by keying in their information and working hours, and then navigate to ‘Departments’. You simply build different teams according to functions and specialties, then segment your call reps into these teams accordingly!
We have all been unknowingly taken up dual roles both as customers and salespeople in our lives. Simply recall the unpleasant experience when you are a customer waiting for centuries to connect with the agency. You definitely don’t want to become one of the “slow and inefficient” companies which frustrate you most as a customer.
Novocall, as a call-back software that collects users’ information and qualifies them respectively, not only shortens lead waiting time but also enables you to provide the most customized and professional way to address your users.
So, don’t leave your leads hanging! Act now by using Novocall: it smoothens the work process by shortening waiting time and matching the right person, and it adds value to your business by improving customer experience and increasing potential sales.
JJ is the Co-Founder of Novocall. When he’s not busy building the Novocall brand, he spends his time watching crime shows and documentaries.
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