For a business to experience consistent growth, it needs repeat customers. It is more expensive to attract new customers than to maintain existing ones. Every new customer comes through your ability to create content, advertise, make sales calls, follow up, and all that costs you. However, with your existing customers, your main goal is simply to satisfy their needs.
When you find ways of nurturing your existing customers, you will generate a steady flow of repeat business.
A customer will call you for assistance. How you handle their needs will determine when and if they return. How long it takes you to resolve their problem will determine their level of satisfaction with your services. There are many variables that may cause you not to finalize with the customer in the first call- some of which are out of your control. Nevertheless, your goal should be to resolve customers’ issues as best you can or provide a solution on that very first call.
So why is it important? While there are countless benefits here are a few to get you started.
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It encourages efficient call handling :
A phone call is one of the most effective ways of getting assistance from a representative because you get immediate answers. When your team focuses on resolving customer grievances during the first contact, they learn better call handling practices.For example, if a representative is use to escalating calls to the manager, it gives you an opportunity to check why they are not handling the customers. Once you get to the root-cause, which might be a lack of confidence or product knowledge, then you can train it. The next time that representative answers the phone, they will be ready with solutions, not escalations. The result is a satisfied customer who doesn’t have to wait for that satisfaction.Efficient call handling has an impact on your bottom line results. The time spent on a customer will reduce significantly, your customers will be happy with your services, your representatives will be motivated and will enjoy their jobs and often that results in increased profitability and reaching objectives.
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It has direct impact on customer satisfaction :
There is a direct correlation between first call resolution and customer satisfaction. When FCR rate goes up, the levels of customer satisfaction follows suit. Resolving a client’s issue in your first interaction increases NPS. The higher the NPS the more positive reviews your customers will provide. There is nothing like a referral from a happy customer.On the flip side, if it takes two to three calls to resolve a problem, the customer will be frustrated with your services and opt to look elsewhere for better solutions. It is in the best interest of all stakeholders to resolve any issues in that first interaction. A high FCR rate will keep you ahead in the noisy marketplace.
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It motivates agents :
Employees are at the core of a customer interaction. In essence, you measure the first call resolution rate based on the data. That data often tells a story.A high FCR motivates a representative. The more efficient the rep the more likely they are able to be recognized for doing the right things. Working in the call center can become stressful, making it easy for representatives to quit or stop trying to get better. However, when your representatives are motivated, they will overcome the challenges that come with being a representative.Motivated employees will deliver excellent services simply because they enjoy assisting customers, especially when they know how to.
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It reduces employee turnover :
One of the main challenges facing contact centers is extremely high turnover rates. Many factors contribute to the turnover; however, other factors reduce the rates. First call resolution is one of the elements that can reduce churn in your center. Representatives who can resolve an issue in the first contact will feel great about themselves and the organization as noted above.That feeling will raise their confidence leading to increased satisfaction at work. Often it is the customers we must handle several times that create frustration for not only the customer, but the representative. The longer it takes the higher probability that neither party will be satisfied in the interaction. Representatives who deal with those type of customers often find themselves dissatisfied with their jobs, and often it trickles over to their results. In a results driven environment this translates into lower commissions and lower job satisfaction, and ultimately higher churn.
While this topic has been discussed, it is one worth revisiting time and time again. The importance of resolving customer grievances on the first call is important to not only the satisfaction of the customer, but the longevity of your representatives. Encourage efficient call handling, train your representatives, provide them the tools necessary to handle those grievances. I assure you that you will see the impact not only to the moral of your team, but in higher NPS scores, and ultimately a happy team, a happy customer equals a higher profit margin.
