Industry Standards for Outbound Calls

[inov8ive]

Set aside from the FTC restrictions on making outbound calls, I would like to know what the industry standard is for the following;

1) If we reach an A/S, how long should an automated message be?
2) Is there a industry standard to forecast the abandon rate after your caller holds for 15 seconds --> 30 seconds --> 60 seconds? i.e. the abandon rate increases by 5% within each 15 second interval.(I am using a vendor and do not have the ability to view this information that Avaya would normally provide)

These questions may be difficult to answer without knowing the demographics of my customer, but I am unable to provide that information. If you have a generic industry standard, that would be helpful...Or a website I could visit...

Thanks!

[Michcall]

There are far fewer industry standards in call centers than people assume because the swing can be so wide with varying demographics and industries.

As far as your first question, I've never seen anything published. A rule of thumb I typically use is that the message can be longer if the message is pertinent/important data or if the person has a relationship with the company (i.e. info on when a package is shipped, confirmation of an order, next scheduled appt, new product related to something already purchased, etc). It also depends if it's automated or live. Other than that, the shorter (<60 sec), the better. In general (in the U.S.), we've done surveys that show automated messages turn people off in general; live messages are less negative.

On your 2nd question, you are correct in that it would be almost impossible to determine that answer without understanding both your industry and the demographics of your callers. Even with that info, there is again only anecdotal info. Dr. Jon Anton of Purdue University does a lot of benchmarking of call centers by industry. You may be able to find something there.

I don't understand your comment that you use a vendor and can't get that information. I work for an outsourcer, and we always work with the client to refine abandon rates, etc. and provide whatever stats they want to look at. We've done studies looking at hold times and comparing abandons and cust sat rates, so I would think if you're working with a reputable company they should be able to help you with this.