The goal of every business is to meet the fundamental needs of its consumers. But how do you know if you’re satisfying your customers? How can you prevent your customers from abandoning your business out of frustration? A necessary parameter to measure is the First Call Resolution (FCR) rate.
First Call Resolution, also called First Contact Resolution, is a measure of the ability of your contact team to resolve complaints within the first interaction with the customer. FCR has been considered a reliable metric for determining customer satisfaction.
Increasing your First Call Resolution rate will consequently increase customer satisfaction. It also reflects the efficacy of call centers at fixing problems presented by customers.
Importance Of FCR For Your Business
Customer Satisfaction.
For every improvement in FCR, there is an improvement in customer satisfaction. A low FCR rate shows that your customers are discouraged by poor customer service experience from your support agents. Consumers avoid dealing with businesses that constantly stress them out.
A strong First Call Resolution is an indicator of your business’s ability to provide useful solutions to your customers’ needs.
Retain Existing Customers.
A happy customer is a returning customer. Most people are one unresolved complaint away from abandoning a business for a more satisfying competitor. Consumers are more likely to trust your business when their issues are resolved quickly, preferably the first time the concern was reported. Increasing FCR can make a difference in reducing the abandonment rate of your business.
Generate More Revenue From Customers.
The higher your First Contact Resolution rate, the more people are willing to pay for your services. Consumers will rather patronize businesses that work to serve their immediate needs. They will also pay more for efficient customer service and recommend your business to friends and family, therefore generating more income for your business.
Efficient Call Centre.
A strong FCR shows that your contact call center team provides efficient service. It shows whether you can solve customer’s issues on whatever platform they reach you on. This reduces the number of repeat calls handled by the team, leading to more productive customer service agents.
Reduce Operational Cost.
It will cost you more to gain a new customer if you lose an existing one to unresolved complaints. Limit your contact center operational costs by providing a high first call resolution rate to customers. Time and resources that will be spent covering damages are better allocated to more beneficial purposes.
Tips To Improve First Call Resolution
Identify The Problem.
Why are the call center agents not able to meet the needs of your customers? Why is a client making repetitive calls over the same problem?
Firstly, you need to do a thorough check to find out exactly why your business has a low FCR rate.
You may not be able to apply appropriate solutions if you do not know the root cause of existing issues. Measure First Call Resolution using methods such as; post-call surveys, quality monitoring, and repeat call tracking. Information gathered from these analyses is therefore used to improve the first call resolution rate.
Empower Your Team.
Empower your contact team with the right tools, software, and resources to ensure that they are capable of resolving customer complaints on the first call. They should be properly trained on how to use tools available, educate them on call handling practices and provide access to a knowledge base containing all the information needed to deal with issues presented to them.
Provide Incentives For Agents.
Keeping your call center agents motivated is a good way to increase their productivity. An unhappy agent leads to dissatisfied customers. Incorporate incentive plans to boost your employees’ morale. A support agent has to be willing to patiently listen to customers, show them empathy and take the time to properly answer questions.
The enthusiasm of the support agent to fix problems can massively impact your business’s FCR rate. This is why you should ensure that your agents are always supported and motivated.
Monitor Contact Channels.
What are the interactions your customers are having with your business on different channels? Are you having repeat calls because your product is difficult to use? Reviewing customer support requests can give you an idea as to why your customers are not satisfied with your service. Sometimes, businesses have a high FCR rate on phone calls but a low FCR rate on email.
Measure your FCR across all support channels including calls, chats, emails, social media, and other channels. With this, you can work on suitable solutions from data collected on these channels.
Use The Right Technology.
Implement improved technology to measure the impact of FCR. An example is the use of speech analytics to measure repeat call rate. It gives you an insight as to the reasons for failure to meet the customer’s needs, as well as measures the number of times an agent generates repeat calls.
Incorporate your business CRM data system and knowledge database into FCR to help the contact center team improve the FCR rate. This is a simple way to provide agents with access to all the data needed to satisfy customers on the first call and improve customer service.
