Call avoidance is a strategy businesses use to reduce inbound call volumes to contact centers in the

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

industry, particularly in the consumer market.

Basis

Businesses choose call avoidance techniques because person-to-person service calls are time-consuming and costly and should be accessed only when there is no viable option. Voice calls can then be reserved for high priority customers, complex service requests, or emergency situations where the quick response of skilled phone agents is essential.

Concerns

It is impractical and expensive for call centers to provide a live answer for every caller during peak demand periods such as certain times of the day, days of the week, or seasons. Callers in urgent need to discuss an issue with a live person are typically put on hold along with callers whose request could be better served through other channels. Both are competing for valuable talk time.

Strategies

With the spread of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

and

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

access, contact centers are moving toward self services via a searchable knowledgebase,

Interactive Voice Response Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that allows telephone users to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through the use of voice and DTMF tones input with a keypad. In telecommunications, IVR allows customers to interact ...

(IVR), or computer generated emails.

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode (for example in Apple devices), is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of ...

resets are the most popular form of website self-service where clients are asked pre-established confidential questions that verify credentials before the system sends them a temporary password. Other typical areas to employ call avoidance strategies include the following: *Voice message indicating wait times, unusual activity, downtime, etc. *Web forms that gather pertinent information before a call is answered *Electronic chat via the Internet *Online software update notices of upgrades to prevent security or virus breaches *Blogs, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), web site links to common problems *Simpler, clear and concise product documentation and descriptions *Automatic return policies and procedures *Reports that identify key problem areas for corrective action, i.e., additional instruction/training

References

* Last, Rober S.; "Please Don’t Call Us: Building a Customer-friendly Call Avoidance Strategy for the Support Center", ''Help Desk Institute Newsletter'', November/December 2007 * Contact Babel; ''Getting Call Avoidance Right'', A White Paper August, 2007

Basis

Concerns

Strategies

References

See also