Summary
The call queue is often perceived as an obstacle for the caller. It can negatively affect their experience, whether it's a customer, a prospect, or even a partner.
Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to implement effective phone queue management actions. How?
Tips for managing your phone queue
| Strategy | Description |
|---|---|
| 1. Transparency about waiting time | Give customers a realistic estimate of the remaining wait time to reduce uncertainty and the impact of the wait |
| 2. Use automated solutions | Use interactive voice response (IVR) systems to distribute calls among agents and offer priority queues |
| 3. Offer call-back options to customers | Allow customers to leave their number to be called back at a convenient time, distributing calls throughout the day |
| 4. Play pleasant hold music | Play background music to make the wait less tedious, choosing music that reflects your company's identity |
| 5. Use reports and statistics | Collect data on phone activity to identify peak times and allocate resources effectively |
| 6. Train and coach employees | Train agents to manage stress, improve communication, and reduce wait times |
| 7. Continuous evaluation and adjustment | Regularly monitor queue performance, collect customer feedback, and make adjustments to improve the process |
| 8. Communicate company updates | Share relevant information about your company to reduce perceived wait time and engage customers |
Call queue management: definition
In telephony, queue management refers to all practices implemented to handle callers before connecting them to a representative.
Good phone queue management optimises incoming call flows and provides a better experience for callers.
Why is it so important to manage your queue effectively?
As mentioned earlier, phone queues directly impact the overall satisfaction of callers and their perception of customer service. Effective queue management can contribute to:
- Improving customer experience and increasing customer satisfaction
- Strengthening brand image
- Increasing agent productivity
Improving the customer experience
Most often, when customers contact a company, they expect a quick and effective response to their questions from the organisation. This may involve a purely informational request, an issue with a product or service, a complaint, etc.
By implementing actions that allow the company to quickly address these requests, it can reduce the time spent on the phone for both the callers and the agents handling their inquiries.
Strengthening brand image
Providing an experience without excessive waiting, with quality support and good queue management can help reinforce the company's reputation.
During the wait, in addition to soothing music, useful announcements about the progress of the queue and other options available to callers can be provided.
Increasing productivity
A good queue system allows agents to focus on the ongoing calls. If they are not distracted by other incoming calls, they can fully dedicate themselves to resolving customer issues. Broadcasting information messages about service quality or wait times can help reduce the number of incoming calls and the length of the queue.
Leverage a Business Phone System Software
If you have a large incoming call volume, a contact center software can make all the difference.
How to effectively manage the phone queue?
Below are some tips to put into practice for more effectively managing phone queues when you have put calls on hold:
1. Be transparent about wait times
During the phone queue, make sure to give customers a realistic estimate of the wait time or the number of callers ahead of them. The more you reduce uncertainty, the better you reduce the impact of the wait.
2. Use automated solutions
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems can be a good way to distribute the call load among agents through filtering.
This helps reduce overall wait times. The most advanced professional phone solutions even offer priority queue solutions, allowing companies to prioritise certain numbers.
This can be useful when dealing with clients with whom the company has a privileged relationship.
3. Offer clients a callback
To facilitate interactions with your clients without making them wait, one option is to offer them the possibility to leave their number to be called back at a convenient time.
This method allows calls to be spread throughout the day, thus avoiding peak activity times when resources may not be available to handle them.
4. Play pleasant hold music
80% of customers prefer music over silence while waiting, as it makes the wait seem shorter. However, it is important to choose music that reflects your company's identity.
Ringover's intuitive interface gives you the ability to create this experience. You will find various royalty-free background music options and the ability to record your personalised messages.
5. Use reports and statistics
Advanced cloud telephony solutions like Ringover allow you to collect valuable information on your company's phone activity.
You can gather insights on call volume, peak times, and wait times. With this data, you can identify peak periods and better allocate your resources to minimise caller wait times.
6. Train and coach your employees
Call centre coaching is essential for optimal management of the telephone queue. This helps them manage stress and improve their communication skills.
They are then better equipped to respond to customer requests quickly and accurately, reducing wait times and increasing overall productivity.
7. Continuously evaluate and adjust
Regularly check the performance of your phone queue, gather customer feedback, and make necessary adjustments to continually improve the process.
By closely monitoring real-time statistics such as average wait time and call abandonment rate, you can identify areas for improvement.
8. Communicate your company's news
Another relevant way to reduce phone wait times is to communicate news about your brand or company. This can include special events, trade shows, or even special offers about your product or service.
🔥Ringover Tip
Help callers help themselves with an interactive voice response menu (IVR) which allows them to direct their call based on preset options.
What are the goals to achieve in queue management?
Below are 4 targeted goals by the measures listed above:
| Goals | Descriptions |
|---|---|
| Reduce wait times | Ensure quick handling of requests to increase customer satisfaction and team efficiency |
| Improve the waiting experience | Keep clients engaged by offering “distractions” and increased comfort to make waiting more pleasant |
| Promote employee well-being | Create a healthy work environment by reducing the pressure from impatient clients and providing proper management tools |
| Make the wait valuable | Use wait times to collect relevant data, inform clients, and promote commercial offers |
In conclusion, queue management is more than just an operational process, as you can leverage it to create genuine customer experiences and improve team productivity.
Ringover can help you achieve this with its multiple inbound call management features. Explore all the features of our solution and discover how they can help you utilise wait times effectively.
A free trial is available so you can see the difference Ringover makes for yourself!
