Corry Cummings
Customers expect seamless, efficient, 24/7 support. that level of contact center CX is table stakes for maintaining a positive brand image for today’s buyers.
Providing a high-level contact center customer experience requires more than just quick responses — it demands thoughtful integration of technology, well-trained agents, and personalized service.
This post will explore practical strategies to enhance CX across the board. I’ll focus on actionable steps you can take to create a more efficient, personalized, and secure experience for customers.
Zero-spend ways to improve contact center CX
These changes can streamline processes, reduce friction, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction. Chances are, you have most of the tools you need to accomplish these strategies already.
If you have to go out and invest in better contact center technology, so be it, but I’d try these cost-effective strategies first.
1. Support and empower your agents
Burnout is common in contact centers, and attrition is high. So anything you can do to support your agents helps, and it’ll likely trickle down to improve your customer experience.
SEE: Learn about the most pressing causes of call center burnout and how to fix them.
Regular and comprehensive training is the best way to support agents. Having experienced team members share tips in peer-to-peer training sessions is a beneficial and engaging way to build comradery amongst team members.
I know that time is precious in a contact center. Pulling veteran agents away from their desk to talk with rookies isn’t always feasible. Consider using recorded calls to train agents where they listen to examples of good and bad customer service. Focus specifically on the customer experience and frame the lesson around how to improve it.
In addition to training, see what you can do to help your agents work-life balance. This is one of the top reasons people will stay with an employer. Is it possible to offer flexible scheduling? Have you created a perfect PTO policy and created a culture where managers encourage employees to actually use their time off?
When agents feel valued and well-equipped, they’re more likely to provide better service. Training, proper tools, and a positive work environment help agents handle customer issues more efficiently and empathetically, which leads to faster resolutions and higher customer satisfaction.
When agents are confident in their role, they can focus on solving problems rather than struggling with limited resources or burnout, ultimately benefiting both the customer and the business.
2. Survey your customers
Consider low-cost feedback mechanisms, like email follow-ups or quick phone surveys. These simple post-interaction surveys can provide valuable insights into customer satisfaction. Yes, you can spend a ton of money on customer surveys, but you can also get useful data by being scrappy.
Basic analysis of customer feedback can be done manually or with standard office software. Over time, you’ll identify common themes, sticking points, and areas of concern.
That said, for high-volume contact centers, investing in specialized call center quality assurance software might be justified. These tools can automate and streamline the feedback analysis process, providing real-time insights that are crucial for larger operations.
SEE: Learn about critical call center quality assurance best practices.
But for smaller or medium-sized centers, manual methods and basic tools can be surprisingly effective in capturing and utilizing customer feedback to refine your CX strategy.
3. Streamline IVR menus
Improving your customer experience could also begin the moment customers reach out to your contact center. How? By streamlining your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. A well-designed IVR menu can significantly improve customer experience.
To streamline your IVR menus:
- Assess current IVR effectiveness: Start by evaluating your current IVR system. Identify points where customers frequently get stuck or opt to exit the IVR to speak to an agent. Analyzing call logs and dropout rates can provide insights into which parts of the menu are causing frustration.
- Simplify menu options: Experiment with reducing the number of options in each menu to avoid overwhelming your callers. Focus on the most common reasons customers call and ensure these are addressed early in the menu. Make sure you’re using clear, concise language.
- Prioritize quick resolution paths: Arrange the menu options in a way that the most frequently selected choices are presented first. If certain queries can be resolved without agent intervention, such as account balance inquiries or payment confirmations, make those options readily available.
- Regular updates based on feedback: Going back to our last tip, continuously gather feedback on the IVR system, both from customers and your agents. Use this feedback to make regular adjustments. For example, if a new product or service is leading to an increase in calls, update the IVR prompts to address this immediately.
- Test and iterate: Implement changes in stages and monitor their impact. You can experiment with A/B testing different versions of the IVR menu to determine which is more effective in improving caller experience and reducing call handling times.
Along with these tactics aimed at improving CX, contact centers should run regular IVR testing to ensure that their system is fully functional, secure, and able to withstand spikes in traffic.
SEE: Understand automated IVR testing and explore five IVR testing tools to help you get started.
4. Implement effective call routing
Optimizing call routing in your contact center can go a long way toward improving CX. By ensuring that customers are connected with the most appropriate agent or department, you can reduce wait times and increase the likelihood of first-call resolution.
Here’s how to maximize the effectiveness of your call routing.
- Analyze call patterns: Start by analyzing the types of calls your center receives. Are there patterns, peak times, or common queries? This analysis will help you understand how to categorize calls and route them more efficiently.
- Skill-based routing: Implement skill-based routing by assigning calls to agents based on their expertise. For example, technical queries can be directed to agents with technical knowledge, while billing questions go to those trained in finance. This ensures customers are speaking with the most qualified person to handle their specific issues.
- Dynamic routing adjustments: Be prepared to adjust routing strategies dynamically. For example, if there’s a surge in calls about a particular issue, temporarily reroute these calls to a dedicated team trained to handle that specific problem.
- Incorporate agent insights: Create a feedback loop with your agents. They’re the ones on the front line and can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of your current routing system. Utilize their feedback to make ongoing improvements.
As you update routing strategies, just make sure your agents are regularly trained on any changes. They should be well-informed about the types of calls they’ll receive and the standard procedures for handling them.
SEE: Learn how call routing can impact your brand.
5. Maintain an internal knowledge base
Creating a comprehensive knowledge base is difficult to do well and requires ongoing updates. Especially if it’s one your agents will actually use. I know it’s a lot of work, but there is really no better way to empower agents to offer consistent service.
If you can provide a single source of truth for agents on day one, think of all the questions managers won’t need to be asked.
A knowledge base should encompass things like in-depth product details, troubleshooting guides, frequently asked questions, and any other resources relevant to customer inquiries.
The key is to ensure this content is thorough yet easy to understand. Even new agents need to be able to navigate it without problems. You should train agents on how to use the knowledge base, but a well-implemented search functionality will be the biggest help for most people.
Another key to creating an effective knowledge base is keeping it accurate and relevant. As products evolve or new customer issues emerge, the knowledge base has to be updated accordingly.
Designate someone to oversee this task and ensure that the information remains up-to-date and accurate. Speaking from personal experience, someone has to own the knowledge base, or it will get outdated and no one will use it.
Encourage agents to contribute suggestions and feedback since they have hands-on experience and daily interactions with customers. Agents can provide invaluable insights that enrich the knowledge base and instill a sense of ownership.
6. Customer journey mapping
Do you know all of the touchpoints your customers make during their experience with your contact center? How sure are you that customer journey maps are accurate and cover every customer service channel?
Mapping the customer journey lets contact centers see exactly where customers get frustrated or stuck, so they can fix those rough spots. It also gives agents a clearer picture of what each customer has already tried, so they don’t waste time repeating steps and can get right to solving the problem.
The mapping process begins by identifying all the stages a customer goes through when engaging with the contact center. Here’s a simple example journey where a customer:
- Scans a QR code with their phone.
- Visits a website and browses.
- Gets clarification from a chatbot.
- Makes a purchase.
- Receives a text notification.
- Calls in to report an issue.
- Navigates through an IVR.
- Spends some time on hold.
- Talks to a service rep.
- Signs up for email notifications.
This exact journey could happen when you order pizza, and yet it crosses four channels and relies on a dozen or or more integrated technologies. By mapping out these stages, you’ll gain a detailed understanding of your customer’s experience and be able to better identify specific pain points or areas of frustration.
The biggest benefit here is that contact centers can essentially view their services from the customer’s perspective. This change in perspective alone often reveals inefficiencies or issues that aren’t apparent from an internal viewpoint.
For example, customers may find certain IVR prompts confusing or may feel that their needs are not being adequately addressed during the first point of contact. IVR call flows must reflect the real needs of your customers.
SEE: Learn how to set up effective IVR call flows.
After identifying these areas, you can implement changes to improve the customer experience at each touchpoint. This could involve simplifying menus, training agents to handle specific types of queries more effectively, or improving the process for escalating complex issues.
Customer journey mapping is a cost-effective tool for identifying and addressing common bottlenecks in your contact center that may be impacting customer satisfaction.