Seeing Double? 10 Ways to Drive Down Repeat Contacts

Reducing repeat contacts is crucial for contact centres looking to improve efficiency and deliver better customer experiences. But how do you achieve this?

To find out, we asked our panel of experts for their top tips and advice on driving down repeat contacts.

Here’s what they said…

1. Use Mystery Shopping Techniques to Identify Pain Points

Regularly map out and check the customer journey that your organization’s customers experience.

This enables you to spot and fix any roadblocks in their engagement that could be requiring a second contact.

Have your team members follow the top customer journeys, including website interactions and calls to the contact centre.

Use mystery shopping techniques where staff pretend to be customers to identify pain points – this way everybody learns from the experience.

Document your findings from this experiment, make any corrections needed, and keep measuring improvements for a smooth customer experience.

Contributed by: Steve Nattress, Vice President of Product Management, Enghouse Interactive

2. Take Control of High Volumes to Stop Agents Rushing Through Calls

Accurate forecasting is essential for preventing unexpected peak periods that can cause agents to rush through customer interactions to manage high contact volumes. This typically results in unresolved issues and the need for repeat contacts.

By aligning your workforce with accurate demand predictions, you ensure that agents are well prepared to handle each enquiry thoroughly on the first attempt.

Effective scheduling complements this by ensuring that the right number of skilled agents is available at the right time, significantly improving resolution rates at the first point of contact.

This strategy not only reduces operational stress but also enables agents to give each customer interaction the attention and expertise it deserves.

Contributed by: Isabel Lim, Product Marketing Manager, injixo

3. Reassure Customers via SMS and Email to Minimize Double-Checking

An interaction doesn’t need to fail to trigger repeat contact, and it’s not always about journey redesign.

Sometimes all that’s needed is one or two additional automated steps to wrap a query up in a much more satisfying way for customers.

Policy changes, for example, frequently pair live agent changes with SMS and email notifications, taking advantage of each channel to reassure customers and minimize the need for double-checking.

The high visibility and open rate of SMS give instant confirmation and can link to knowledge articles, and remind customers to check for a more detailed follow-up email, which might otherwise be missed.

Contributed by: Finlay Macmillen, Junior Sales Executive, Odigo

4. Set Up Alerts for When Customers Are Reaching Out About Similar Issues

AI is enabling organizations to really know their consumers and anticipate their needs.

This means that instead of a consumer having to reach out to check on the status of their order, organizations can use proactive engagement to text them updates.

AI can also take things a step further and let organizations know proactively when things are going wrong.

As AI analyses CX operations in real time, it can alert organizations when consumers are reaching out about similar issues.

The organization can then address the problem and prevent further inbound contacts about the issue.

Contributed by: Catherine Forino, Senior Product Marketing Manager, NICE

5. Give Agents the Complete Picture of the Caller’s Journey – Right Away!

It’s still unbelievably common for agents to be saddled with databases that don’t update fast enough.

That puts them in the embarrassing position of not being able to resolve the caller’s query right away.

Contextual information can make a massive difference to your FCR rate, but only if it’s:

• Available instantly; if it’s not visible during the call, it’s useless
• Accurate and updated in real time so agents don’t go in blind
• Filtered so that it’s all relevant to the interaction and caller

Your systems have to be integrated; and they have to refresh often enough to show the caller’s journey right up to the present.

If the agent has the complete picture right away, they can start solving the issue right away. And that’s usually a good indicator that the caller won’t need to get in touch again anytime soon!

Contributed by: Pierce Buckley, CEO & Co-Founder, babelforce.

6. Offer Customers the Ability to Handle Simple Tasks on Their Own

Using speech analytics, organizations can take proactive steps to address root causes of repeat contacts, whether that’s through process improvements, better agent support, or enhanced self-service options.

For example, self-service options offer customers the ability to easily handle simple tasks on their own, freeing up agents to focus on more complex issues that need a personal touch.

This combination of data-driven insights and smart resource allocation is key to driving down repeat contacts.

Contributed by: Ben Booth, CEO, MaxContact

7. Tailor Responses to Meet Individual Customer Needs

Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, use customer data to personalize customer interactions and tailor the responses you offer to meet individual needs.

Segment your customers based on their engagement behaviour, preferences, and history, to ensure you provide targeted solutions that are more relevant to them and meet their needs first time.

Personalized service boosts customer satisfaction and reduces follow-up contacts. For instance, VIP customers might get priority support, while new customers might need more detailed guidance.

Contributed by: Steve Nattress, Vice President of Product Management, Enghouse Interactive

8. Provide Advanced Training to a Smaller Group of Agents

It’s worth considering setting up specialized teams to deal with specific complex problems.

It can be more efficient to provide advanced training to a smaller group of agents, and take advantage of advanced routing capabilities, than give more general training to every agent.

This is especially true when considering knowledge application, retention and efficiency, as unused skills can quickly be lost, so that despite training, these queries continue to be unresolved at first contact.

Contributed by: Finlay Macmillen, Junior Sales Executive, Odigo

9. Empower Agents With On-the-Spot Information

Real-time agent assistance tools empower agents with on-the-spot information and solutions, enhancing their ability to resolve issues during the first contact.

This instant access to relevant data and predefined responses significantly cuts down on the necessity for follow-ups.

Contributed by: David Samuel, Chief Product Officer, Contexta360

10. Continuously Monitor Call Data and Customer Feedback to Identify Patterns

Continuously monitor call data and customer feedback to identify patterns leading to repeat contacts. Implement process improvements based on these insights.

Conduct regular training sessions to update agents on new processes and technologies that can help resolve issues more effectively.

Regular audits and updates ensure that processes remain efficient and effective. Leverage voice analytics technology to perform topical analysis, allowing you to gain insights into why customers are calling back.

This technology can help identify recurring issues, training needs, and process gaps by analysing the content and context of customer interactions.

Contributed by: Tatiana Polyakova, COO, MiaRec

For more great insights and advice from our panel of experts, read these articles next:

• Top 10 Signs of Broken Processes (and How to Fix Them)
• Time-Saving Hacks for Quality Monitoring
• F*** This! How to Make Sure Your Chatbots Don’t Swear at Customers

Author: Robyn Coppell
Reviewed by: Xander Freeman